It's confusing to me too when it's phrased that way. Stallman's original quote makes much more sense, "Think free as in free speech, not free beer." In other words, contrasting free as in "no restrictions", versus free as in "no cost".

If you see a sign advertising “Free Beer” you understand that the meaning of “free” in this context means “goods and/or services available at no cost”. The English word “free” means a lot of things and the meaning of “free” in the expression “Free Beer” is very different from the meaning in the expression “Free Speech”, where it is used to mean “not legally restricted”.

Perhaps Freedoms vs Freebies?

I always thought “free as in beer” meant that you could make your own beer if you were willing to put the discovery, learning, and work in to make it happen. And you were responsible for the output.