This is the 29 cent beer judged the best on the supermarket shelves by OCU in Spain

A cold beer in summer can be the best ally to combat the high temperatures - in moderation, of course. When it comes to choosing the best beer though, therein lies the debate among consumers. As a result, many turn to the rankings done by Spain's independent Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) watchdog, which regularly passes judgement on this type of product based on its characteristics and price.

So, the OCU has again revealed which are the best supermarket beers on the shelves after analysing several brands that come in 33cl cans. The ranking also includes the classics and the best-known beers, although the results might surprise some regular beer drinkers.

As stated already, the beers analysed by OCU were the canned versions and the variables to be taken into account were the price-quality ratio. In this ranking, therefore, one of the top beers is Karlsquell, which can be bought at Aldi for 0.29 cents and is considered the cheapest in the analysis. This product is sold in a 33cl version with an alcohol content of 4.7% and a half-litre price of 0.88 cents.

It is worth noting that the analysis found Xibeca to be the best beer, gaining 80 points in the scoring process. This product is from the Damn line of beers, a mild tipple brewed in the traditional way with a selection of malt and hops. Meanwhile, the beer that stands out in the price-quality ratio is Eroski's Aurum, priced at 0.30 cents per can, and to which the OCU awarded 70 points.

It should be noted that the OCU only assessed canned beers within the 30 to 70 cents price range. There might have been the odd beer of great quality but poor value-for-money or vice versa. The analysis was aiming for a balance between quality and price to make affordable recommendations for the everyday beer drinker.

Finally, the lowest quality product as judged by the OCU is Cruzcampo's Pilsen brand, which costs 0.72 cents and yet scored only 60 points. A can of Heineken was the most expensive, priced at 0.76 cents with a quality score of 67 points. In the bottom slots for quality are also Steinburg from the Mercadona supermarket chain, Alhambra beer and Dutch Saerbrau, which is popular in Carrefour stores.