Beer from Costco

MRT888 · 01-12-2010, 01:40 AM

Hello all,
First post but been reading for about a month and finally registered the other day so I'm in for good I suppose:

Wondering if anybody has tried the beer from Costco that is made by Kirkland (their brand). It's "hand crafted" or something like that and what I saw was a case with 6 each of Hefeweizen, an IPA, a brown ale, and something else. At 19 dollars for 24 bottles it was a steal compared to Sam Adams but I held off buying it for now.
I'm only about 75% sure the bottles are pry offs and not twists, and not sure if the beer is decent or not, but I'd sure love the price break from Sam Adams and other microbrews that I normally drink mainly for the bottles...

Thanks and let me know!

**SkiSoloII** · 01-12-2010, 01:45 AM

Check out this thread. Good bottling bottles, plain white 6-pack carriers, somewhat reasonable beer.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/cheap-bottles-costco-beer-inside-151619/
Dave

**david83** · 01-12-2010, 01:46 AM

its beer so it cant be all that bad,and if they are pry offs then they serve has bottles down the line sounds like a deal!

MikeinAK · 01-12-2010, 01:47 AM

Check this thread.

northernlad · 01-12-2010, 01:47 AM

Don't forget this one:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f5/costco-beer-53812/

mezak1gd · 01-12-2010, 02:14 AM

There's been several threads abut this. But Whatever. Bottom line is pry off bottles, cheap, and decent beer. They contract with outside breweries obviously. My understanding is its Gordon Biersch out west, and by me it's some place in NY. I have some in the fridge now. The hefe and Pale ale are just generic beers, good but not great or bad. I liked the German Lager, but the AMber Ale is very good. Nice hop bite and the malty flavor compliments perfectly. Nice and crisp.

MRT888 · 01-12-2010, 03:59 AM

Frustrating to have my first post be a repeat... sorry i didn't search more first, thought I was on the forefront of this- first time I saw it at my Costco and I'm there pretty regularly... oh well. more reading to do! Thanks for the links!

GaryPGK · 06-14-2010, 02:38 AM

I'm sipping a Kirkland Pale Ale as I type this. The Costco brew is from the "New Yorker Brewing Company" of Utica, NY. This is actually the (F. X.) Matt Brewing Company of Utica, which is a major regional brewery. Today they brew "Saranac" beers, a fantastic regular and diet root beer, and are/were a craft brewer for mass producing beers for such companies as Brooklyn, New Amsterdam and others. I toured their plant twice in the 1990s - great experience! I bought the Costco case "on a whim" while shopping in Delaware, "Home of Tax-free Shopping" and was glad I did.

Do a Goodle on Saranac, check out the wide range of seasonals and get an idea for stuff to homebrew yourself.

**Airborneguy** · 06-14-2010, 05:35 AM

I actually just noticed this today while picking up laminate flooring at Costco. Right away figured it came from a contract brewer, and right on the package saw Utica, NY.

As stated above, F.X. Matt brews a ton of beers under different labels, including most, if not all of Brooklyn's Lager and I think some Sam Adams also. I think they own the Saranac Label themselves.

wulfsburg · 06-14-2010, 05:36 PM

This is how I acquired most of my empty bottles. It is by far, the cheapest fastest way to get emptys. My local brew house sells 24 12 ozers for 15 bucks. EMPTY!!!!
I found that the kirkland beer is the cheapest pry off 24 pack I could find. The beer is pretty good (better than any generic american lager brand... bud, coors, etc), although I wish the Hefe was better. Another plus, the labels come right off in the dishwasher.
Easy to drink, easy to remove the label, AND cheap? You can't go wrong if you are short on bottles.