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Food & Drink / Beer, Wine, & Spirits

15 Popular Beers with the Biggest Price Increases

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A person in a yellow jacket selects a green glass bottle of beer from a shelf in a store, surrounded by various other bottled drinks and crates.
LordHenriVoton/istockphoto

Nothing escapes the eternal hand of inflation. Beer prices have indeed shot up throughout the last ten years, but how badly? Has it become a problem for our wallets? Economy news hub FinanceBuzz recently put together a study pinpointing what’s happened to beer prices over the last decade, based on data from Total Wine, the Wayback Machine, and the Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Though beer prices aren’t outrageously higher than they were 10 years ago, the difference between the first five years and the second five is pretty distinct. From 2015 to 2020, beer prices rose about 11%, but the five years after that brought them up by 29%.

Here are 15 popular beers with the biggest price increase over the past 10 years. Did your favorite beer make the list?

1. Sam Adams Summer Ale

A can of Samuel Adams Summer Ale sits next to a curvy glass filled with foamy golden beer, with foam overflowing down the side of the glass. Both the can and glass display the Samuel Adams logo.
Samuel Adams

2015 Average Price: $13.99
2025 Average Price: $23.99
Change: 71%

Interesting to see a seasonal beer taking the number one slot in FinanceBuzz’s report, with a full $10 increase over the decade. Do we have some seasonal sneaking going on? A dollar a year? Let’s see what the 2035 prices of a Sam Adams Summer Ale look like.

2. Dos Equis

A six-pack of Dos Equis Lager Especial beer bottles in a green and gold cardboard carrier, featuring large red "XX" logos and the brand name prominently displayed on both the bottles and the packaging.
Walmart

2015 Average Price: $11.99
2025 Average Price: $18.99
Change: 58%

The Most Interesting Man in the World probably could have squeezed more than $7 out of us over the last 10 years, so we can take that one as a gift. Dos Equis is brewed in Mexico but was founded by a German immigrant and is currently owned by Netherlands-based Heineken.

3. Miller High Life

Five bottles of Miller High Life beer are standing upright in a row, with golden beer visible and condensation on the glass. The beige and red labels read “Miller High Life.”
Amazon

2015 Average Price: $8.99
2025 Average Price: $12.99
Change: 44%

4. PBR

A can and a 12-pack box of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer are shown. Both have a red, white, and blue design with a large blue ribbon logo and the text “Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer” on the front.
Amazon

2015 Average Price: $8.99
2025 Average Price: $12.99
Change: 44%

5. Guinness

A pint glass of Guinness stout with a creamy head sits on a weathered wooden table outdoors, with a blurred background of pub-style windows and doors.
WaraJenny/istockphoto

2015 Average Price: $12.99
2025 Average Price: $18.49
Change: 42%

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6. Michelob Ultra

A Michelob Ultra beer bottle stands next to a 12-pack box. The bottle and box display the Michelob Ultra logo, blue and red accents, and highlight “2.6 carbs” and “95 calories” per serving.
Walmart

2015 Average Price: $10.99
2025 Average Price: $15.99
Change: 41%

7. Yuengling

Yuengling Beer
Yuengling Beer by Phil Romans ((CC BY-NC-ND))

2015 Average Price: $10.49
2025 Average Price: $14.49
Change: 38%

8. Bud Light

Six-pack of Bud Light beer bottles with blue and white labels and packaging, featuring one bottle displayed in front and the others in a cardboard carrier.
Walmart

2015 Average Price: $10.99
2025 Average Price: $14.99
Change: 36%

9. Budweiser

A six-pack of Budweiser beer in 12 fl oz glass bottles, with one bottle in front and the rest in a red cardboard carrier featuring the Budweiser logo and branding.
Walmart

2015 Average Price: $10.99
2025 Average Price: $14.99
Change: 36%

10. Coors Light

Several cans of Coors beer are chilled in a large metal bucket filled with ice cubes, with condensation visible on the cans and ice.
Amazon

2015 Average Price: $10.99
2025 Average Price: $14.99
Change: 36%

11. Miller Lite

Six cans of Miller Lite beer are grouped together. The cans are white with gold tops, blue "Lite" text, and a red and gold emblem that reads "A Fine Pilsner Beer" on the front.
Walmart

2015 Average Price: $10.99
2025 Average Price: $14.99
Change: 36%

12. Corona Extra

A bottle of Corona Extra beer with a lime wedge in the neck stands in front of a 12-pack box. The box displays the Corona Extra logo and reads "La Cerveza Mas Fina" with details about the beer's origin from Mexico.
Walmart

2015 Average Price: $12.99
2025 Average Price: $17.49
Change: 35%

13. Modelo Especial

A single Modelo Especial beer bottle is shown in front of a blue 12-pack box, both featuring the gold and blue Modelo branding with "Especial" written below the beer's name.
Walmart

2015 Average Price: $12.99
2025 Average Price: $17.49
Change: 35%

14. Heineken

Two hands hold up green Heineken beer bottles in a toast, with condensation visible on the bottles. In the blurred background, a person sits at a table outdoors.
Walmart

2015 Average Price: $12.99
2025 Average Price: $16.99
Change: 31%

Heineken, which is also behind the only-seven-buck rise of Dos Equis, dealt us another kindness with its flagship prices. $12.99 to $16.99 over ten years feels a lot easier to swallow than the $10 that Sam Adams is charging.

15. Blue Moon

A bottle of Blue Moon Belgian White beer stands next to a tall glass of the beer garnished with an orange slice. Both the bottle and glass display the Blue Moon logo.
Blue Moon

2015 Average Price: $12.99
2025 Average Price: $16.49
Change: 41%

Not even four full bucks in 10 years? Respect to you for that one, Blue Moon, and by extension, Coors, which owns Blue Moon. This is a beer for the people. Especially if those people love oranges.

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Wilder Shaw is a staff writer at Cheapism who has written for publications like The Washington Post, Thrillist, Time Out, and more, but you most likely recognize him as Trick-or-Treater No. 2 from a 1996 episode of “The Nanny”. Give him a shout on Bluesky and Instagram.