You want a budget beer.

With the dog days of summer in mind, we embarked on a challenge: Find and review a month’s worth of low-cost, simple beers. Are they all the same? Are some better than others? Do they all look alike? We found the answers: No, yes and pretty much.

We learned a few things along the way. Almost everyone — from beer snobs to casual drinkers — has a memory of these mostly long-established beers. People often told us, “I remember drinking that when . . .” Or “That’s the beer we used to buy when . . .”

About our methodology: We tried to avoid light or ice versions of these beers. We stuck mostly to lagers. All the selections are brewed in the United States and, despite some being regional beers, can be found at Northeast Ohio retailers. All are 12-ounce cans or bottles unless noted.

To see all our reviews, go through the photo gallery. See links below for our overall remarks.

Description: Free beer!  OK, so they’re not free. But they are cheap, and some are even worth drinking. Plain Dealer beer expert Marc Bona and Akron Beacon Journal brewmeister Rick Armon sampled a month’s worth of what they call “budget beers” — 31 low-cost, and often low-flavor, brews. Here’s their report.

See The Reviews in the Photo Gallery