5 Aldi Beers, Ranked

German-based discount grocery store Aldi sells mostly its own private-label brands, and that includes more than just food. When you browse Aldi's beer section, you'll find many brands and brews you won't see at other stores. In keeping with Aldi's dedication to lower prices, many are notably budget-friendly options that offer plenty of flavor without the higher price tag.

We had already reviewed nine cheap wines at Aldi (the best was only $6 per bottle), but Aldi's beer choices were uncharted territory. There are things to know about Aldi's alcohol, like how the selection can vary depending on the day you go. That said, you'll generally find a healthy range of lagers and ales, including IPAs, and occasionally even a stout. It just so happened that the stout was sold out on my shopping day, but I got five other interesting beers I was eager to assess for flavor, texture, and mouthfeel.

I invited some friends over to help with the tasting. Two are serious beer drinkers, although one isn't a fan of IPAs, while the other two generally prefer cocktails to beer. That gave us a useful mix of opinions as we worked our way through the five brews. Some were pleasant surprises, while one fell short of expectations. Most interestingly, one beer was a hit with everyone at the table, including the two people who aren't particularly enthusiastic about beer — though it wasn't the beer that ultimately took the top spot.

To understand why this beer landed in last place, it helps to know what a session ale is — because Hopping Nomad IPA is one. Session ales generally have an alcohol content of 5% ABV or less and are designed to be lighter and more approachable than their higher-alcohol counterparts, making them a good option for a sober-curious lifestyle. For a session IPA, that also means the hop character tends to be more restrained. That suited my tasting companion, who isn't a fan of IPAs, but I found this relatively mild hoppiness disappointing.

That said, Hopping Nomad came off fairly strong and hoppy on the nose. Our two beer lovers detected some fruitiness there, too, almost like a hazy IPA, but this didn't make it into the flavor. That taste was notably more muted than the aroma — the IPA not-a-fan winced upon smelling it — but the hops popped on the palate at first sip and then backed away, as one might expect from a session ale. Overall, we classified this as an easy day drink with a smooth mouthfeel. 

As to why Hopping Nomad earned last place, it's down to the nature of the session ale beast. The IPA fans wanted far more hoppiness, while the haters could have done with none. The beer looks like an IPA but doesn't deliver. If I wanted an IPA, I'd reach for one of the other Aldi beers we tried that actually brought the goods.

Mexican-style lagers are generally light and easy-drinking, with subtle sweetness, mild corn notes, a clean, crisp finish, and relatively little bitterness (a trait that differentiates lagers from pilsners). That's pretty much what we found in Aldi's Tesoro Especial Mexican Style Lager (4.4% ABV). It was light-bodied and refreshing, with a mild sweetness and none of the pronounced bitterness you might expect from an IPA. For anyone who prefers a straightforward, easy-drinking beer, this one delivered exactly what its style promised.

The aroma wasn't very impactful, giving just a hint of corn and mild skunkiness, and the flavor was crisp, not overwhelming the palate or leaving any lingering notes. One of our crew said it had a Budweiser mouthful and a PBR taste, referencing both beers' light body and minimal bitterness. Overall, Tesoro Especial was drinkable — it tasted like a solid, well-made lager — but it wasn't great or particularly memorable. Still, it didn't underwhelm like Hopping Nomad, putting it in fourth place.

My companions, who were tasting the beers blind, guessed from the first sniff that this was a wheat beer (aka witbier). Belgian wheat beers are typically spiced with orange peel, among other flavorings, and Aldi's White Tide Belgian Style Wheat Ale had that distinctive nose. Some entertaining similes came out as we tried to describe White Tide's citrusy aroma and flavor. My bartender friend said it smelled like a radler — a blend of lager and citrus soda; another said orange juice. Upon sipping, my beer-averse companion discovered that she liked this one — it didn't taste like beer — and we agreed. I found it reminiscent of a creamsicle, and that flavor note felt more right the longer I sipped. Another of our party noted it gave Smirnoff Ice vibes — but in beer form.

Ultimately, White Tide sits somewhere between Shock Top and Blue Moon. If you like either of those Belgian wheat beers, you should like this. It would make a solid beach beer, a refreshing treat at a summer cookout, and a great beer to balance the heat of spicy dishes. As for why it landed in third place, the top two contenders actually tasted more like what we want when buying beer (as in, they tasted like beer), and they just happened to be really nice versions of their respective styles.

Besides the beer's name, the tricorn-hatted fellow on the label of Patriot's Reserve American Lager (5% ABV) suggested it was Aldi's dupe for a Samuel Adams Boston Lager. American lagers are moderately hopped and malty, and Aldi's version came across as balanced, with hints of both fruit and malt. There was a lot happening on this beer's nose for a lager, one beer-loving companion noted.

Flavor-wise, this beer offered a nice earthiness with floral notes backed by malt. The companion who noticed the beer's busy nose found the taste reminiscent of Bell's Two Hearted. It was a good, old-fashioned-flavored beer — that's what set it a notch above White Tide. Patriot's Reserve would be a solid option if you're at Aldi stocking up for a gathering of folks whose tastes in beer you aren't entirely sure of.

Like the Belgian-style wheat beer in third place, this contender's aroma immediately broadcast its style to my two beer-tastic tasting companions. The other two took one whiff and said, "Oof!", or something to that effect. I enjoy IPAs, so I just smiled. What's interesting is that Great Pines American IPA (6% ABV) smelled much less hoppy than the Hopping Nomad Session Ale IPA in fifth place. If you recall, that beer had a hoppy aroma and a dialed-down flavor. Great Pines was the opposite: the aroma was gentle, but the flavor was punchier.

It was balanced, neither bitter nor sweet, with a fairly light mouthfeel. I've had stronger-flavored IPAs before, but this was good; it gave pleasant pine notes and came across overall as fresh and drinkable. The final verdict: this would be a good intro IPA for someone who prefers regular beer. Even my beer-loving companion, who doesn't typically enjoy this style, agreed. If you're a beer drinker, it just might find its way into your cart each visit. 

My companions and I sampled each beer from a glass in order to best gauge aroma and flavor, the criteria we used to review each of these five Aldi beers. Between each brand, we refreshed our palates with plain water. We noted mouthfeel, but it wasn't one of the assessment categories. Although I knew which beers we were drinking, my companions went into the taste test blind to avoid bias. We did not assess the beers' appearance (color, foam, etc.), primarily because I poured our samples from a single can or bottle after taking a little time to snap each photo, which would impact appearance.