I compared Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons own-brand beer - there was a clear winner

As the cost of living soars, many of us are being forced to make savings wherever we can. Food bills are higher than ever, forcing households to consider cheaper alternatives in their weekly shop.

Luxury items such as beer are likely to be among the first items culled from the shopping list. But it doesn't have to be this way.

While a four pack of premium lagers will usually set you back around a fiver, most supermarkets stock their own branded alcohol for half the price. Admittedly, there has long been a taboo surrounding own-brand beer but is it actually deserved?

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We decided to find out for ourselves by putting the budget beer offering at the UK's six most popular supermarkets to the test. The candidates were Tesco Ashfield lager, Sainsbury’s Original Crown, Morrisons Continental lager, Aldi's Galahad, Lidl's Excelsior and Asda's Biere de Luxe.

I'm not one to judge a book by its cover, but the branding of this beer struck me as fairly uninspired. Still, it is what is inside the can that counts, right?

Flavour-wise, this was not good. With each gulp came a flat, bitter taste that made it extremely difficult to drink.

I managed to soldier on and finish the majority of the can's insipid contents but I can't say I enjoyed the experience. Surely things can only improve from here on in.

4/10

Despite being billed as a continental lager, this was the weakest of the beers at a very un-European low of 3.5pc ABV.

The black, white and red branding is suspiciously reminiscent to that of Carling - a lager I've never been fond of - so my hopes were not high to begin with.

Although not terrible, it was difficult to ignore the faintly