Costco...craft beer?

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Yellowirenut

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We have a Costco opening up in my city soon. Unfortunately they will not let you walk around the store before deciding to buy a membership. So I am not sure what to expect. We have a Sam's club but most of the prices do not seem like a deal (same stuff you get at wal-mart anyways).
I was curious on the craft beer selection. I am expecting pallets full of the big 3 brewers but it would be nice to see some smaller producers. Do they support regional brewers or go more for the national ones?
 
I have seen "craft beer" in my Costco but never a huge selection. Some examples are Sierra Nevada (Pale Ale and Celebration Ale) and Real Ale (Fireman's 4) which would probably be a regional here in Texas. I haven't seen anything from any of the smaller breweries in the area that distribute.

There have been a few others from time to time as I recall but it's never consistent and again, the selection is small. I do always have to look though cause you just never know what might be sitting on a pallet there. (Unless your a BMC consumer.. :p )
 
Just checked out the craft beer at Costco the other day. Pretty good! I picked up a bomber of Boulevard's Tank 7...which was fantastic.
 
Most of the offerings they will have are more national, but somewhat obscure. The one near me always has Stella Artois, Sam Adams, Heineken, etc. Not Craft Brews by any stretch, but certainly more premium than Bud.

Usually around the holidays they'll start getting in some interesting beers. They've had a Chimay sampler in the past. They had the Sam Adams Brewmasters Series. They've also had others in as well. Oh, and Duvel as well.

You won't find something from right around the corner unless they happen to have national distribution.

The prices aren't awesome either, but you might typically save a buck or two and find something interesting.
 
I would be a bit wary of buying craft beer at a bulk discount store like Costco. Check those dates.
 
Can't say about other places, but in Massachusetts, the liquor sales is separate from the rest of the store. I'm pretty sure you can buy the alcohol without having a membership in Costcos.
I haven't been there myself, because of other Mass laws regarding the number of liquor licenses a store or chain can have, but people I know have been. There is a little craft beer, but not much, and you do have to keep your eyes on dates.
 
I would definitely not get a membership for the beer, and Costcos are a little different everywhere.

Mine has BMC of course, and Sam Adams/Stella/Heieneken as stated above. They have recently started carrying Stone too.
 
You know what, funny you mention it but I've been seeing a pretty darn good bomber selection lately at Costco. I snapped a pic of one of the shelves:

costco.JPG


They have a ton of belgian type selections, La Fin Du Monde etc. with a yummy White Oak from The Bruery. Also Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale...

They also had an Alesmith Red Ale that was superb.

I bought a few (mostly those noted above) and a bayhawk pale ale which was absolutely disgusting and I dumped it (it actually foamed out of the bottle which made me wonder if it was infected). Pale ale but had a belgian taste to it. Something was definitely wrong with it... Date on it was bottled only two weeks ago... otherwise dates on all of the above were fine.

I didn't have a cart so I lugged out 6 bottles by carrying them through the checkouts. Looked like an alcoholic.
 
Man, I must be spoiled. Our Costco has Stone, Mendocino, Sierra Nevada, Ninkasi, Lagunitas, Ommegang, Tripel Karmeliet, Firestone, Karl Strauss, Chimay, Duvel, Crispin, etc. in stock all the time.

I will agree with the poster above, you gotta check the dates.
 
I live in eugene oregon...so we have quite a few craft beers in our costco. And a buttload of local breweries!
I will say this....almost everything at costco is of great qaulity. However I tried the "kirkland" craftbeer case. It was not very good. Comparing it to others...it was an epic fail. However, everyones beer tastes are different. It might be worth a purchase. Id rather spend a cpl xtra $. But the butternut sqaush stuffed ravioli is AWESome!! Lol
 
I live in eugene oregon...so we have quite a few craft beers in our costco. And a buttload of local breweries!
I will say this....almost everything at costco is of great qaulity. However I tried the "kirkland" craftbeer case. It was not very good. Comparing it to others...it was an epic fail. However, everyones beer tastes are different. It might be worth a purchase. Id rather spend a cpl xtra $. But the butternut sqaush stuffed ravioli is AWESome!! Lol

Kirkland Signature Bourbon is quite good. And their 18-year-old Scotch is the best $30 bottle you will ever buy in that price range.
 
awesome replies.. thank you.
I am going to roll the dice and get a membership, not just for the beer.


Only odd law Indiana has is no liquor sales on Sunday and convince stores can not sell cold beer.
 
Everywhere I've lived, it's not legal to charge a membership for liquor sales.

Ask for a manager if the doorman won't let you in. You can go in to buy just alcohol without a membership. Same with the pharmacy I believe.
 
Beer selection varies wildly from Costco to Costco and oftentimes you'll find local stuff. Ours had a pretty terrible selection for years, but just recently has gotten a lot better.
 
I think it all depends on your region too, We get a lot of San Diego beers at our costco. I've seen some good other stuff too, and I'm sure you can ask them to stock craft beer at your store and they might be able to make an effort to stock more. Also, If you spring for the $110 membership, they send you a 2% rebate check at the end of the year based on what you spent. We usually get ~120-150 check so that covers the next years membership.


Annual 2% Reward and More
Executive Membership is our highest level of membership. All Executive Members enjoy a 2% Reward (up to $750 per year) on most Costco purchases, as well as additional benefits and greater discounts on our suite of services.
 
Man, I must be spoiled. Our Costco has Stone, Mendocino, Sierra Nevada, Ninkasi, Lagunitas, Ommegang, Tripel Karmeliet, Firestone, Karl Strauss, Chimay, Duvel, Crispin, etc. in stock all the time.

I will agree with the poster above, you gotta check the dates.

This sounds like my costco too. Do you go to the Danville store?

I just picked up the Karmeliet and the Ommegang Quad. Haven't had them yet, but I love the selection.
 
I live in eugene oregon...so we have quite a few craft beers in our costco. And a buttload of local breweries!
I will say this....almost everything at costco is of great qaulity. However I tried the "kirkland" craftbeer case. It was not very good. Comparing it to others...it was an epic fail. However, everyones beer tastes are different. It might be worth a purchase. Id rather spend a cpl xtra $. But the butternut sqaush stuffed ravioli is AWESome!! Lol

I agree with this post, their kirkland series isn't very good and butter stuff squash ravioli is good
 
Just got home had dinner with the GF and her little girl. I kind of brought costco up in conversation. We headed over to the store to check things out. Not open yet but you could sign up for the membership and also apply for a job.

If you spring for the $110 membership, they send you a 2% rebate check at the end of the year based on what you spent. We usually get ~120-150 check so that covers the next years membership.

This is what I was wondering... I listened to his pitch but was unsure if it truly was a good deal or i should go with the $55 one.
 
The costco in Fullerton California has Alesmith, ballast point, the bruery, stone, firestone, among others. Pretty good prices on the bombers too.
 
Here in Michigian, I've seen Sierra Nevada, Bell's, Hacker-Pschorr's Oktoberfest, Stone, Sam Adams, and maybe one or two others at various times. The Kirkland brand beers aren't terrible, but they aren't as good as other 'store' brands (like Trader Joe's various brands). I'd be curious who brews it for them.

The thing about Costco is that they don't always have a ton of variety (and I'm not just referring to beer), but what they have is usually high quality and at a good price. Like, they may have 4 or 5 varieties of sliced cheese, and only one of them is cheddar. But it'll be an amazing Vermont sharp cheddar for $5.99 for 2 lbs. or something.
 
Here around Indianapolis they usually only have Sierra Nevada (always PA, have seen Celebration and Ruthless Rye in their seasons) and Sam Adams.

The $110 membership is definitely worth it, we only go once every month or two and still spend enough to pay for the membership.
 
Pretty much everyone I know has a costco membership in WA. There are a lot of great deals and depending on your membership it may pay for itself based on how much you buy. If you get the costco Amex card you can get between 1-3% cash back which pays your annual fee. As for prices a case of corona at costco is $23 and 12 pack at the grocery store is $15-18. This is the only beer I buy because I wouldn't waste my time making it. The beer selection varies and many of the craft beers come from the region the store is in ie redhook. In WA you can not enter the store without a membership and they do sell liquor.
 
you don't need a membership to Costco to buy beer, wine, and hard alcohol. its against the law to require a "membership for the sale of alcohol" at least here in CA. also Fullerton, Yorba linda, Irvine Costco have a great CRAFT Beer guy who orders beer for those stores.

I am so glad to be back in SoCal... Az was alright and Texas just sucked big time. 2 months before I moved back half of Smith County went semi wet meaning only a handful of store and gas stations sold beer and wine only and Sams Club wasn't one of those locations.

-=Jason=-

-=Jason=-
 
This sounds like my costco too. Do you go to the Danville store?

Roseville.

I do want to say that the executive membership ($110) wasn't worth it for me. We will probably sign up again when the kids are grown up, but for the last two years we didn't spend nearly enough money to make it worthwhile.
 
Just got home had dinner with the GF and her little girl. I kind of brought costco up in conversation. We headed over to the store to check things out. Not open yet but you could sign up for the membership and also apply for a job.



This is what I was wondering... I listened to his pitch but was unsure if it truly was a good deal or i should go with the $55 one.

It really comes down to how much you will spend, and It is really easy to spend way too much there... But we try to keep the bill under $200 each trip and go about once a month, but its a great resource if you are throwing a party, or have a dedicated meat freezer. too bad all my freezers are fermentation chambers!
 
I will say this....almost everything at costco is of great qaulity. However I tried the "kirkland" craftbeer case. It was not very good. Comparing it to others...it was an epic fail. However, everyones beer tastes are different. It might be worth a purchase. Id rather spend a cpl xtra $.

I disagree. It's not the best beer in the world. I typically don't buy it for home consumption, as I've got a keezer full of homebrew and access to all sorts of GREAT craft beer.

But I'd put it in the "good enough beer" category. If I went to a party and the host had bought a couple cases of Kirkland, I'd be grateful and I'd happily drink it. If they bought a couple cases of Bud or Stella, I'd be annoyed. The Kirkland stuff is a lot more flavorful than any of those, and it's better than a lot of sub-par craft beer too.
 
But I'd put it in the "good enough beer" category. If I went to a party and the host had bought a couple cases of Kirkland, I'd be grateful and I'd happily drink it. If they bought a couple cases of Bud or Stella, I'd be annoyed. The Kirkland stuff is a lot more flavorful than any of those, and it's better than a lot of sub-par craft beer too.

Kirkland is great party beer and the labels come off easier than most.

Last time I was in our Costco they had Golden Road, Stone IPA, FW DBA, Chimay Blue, whichever Sam Adams seasonal pack, and then the typical major company stuff.
 
It used to be (and may still be) that you can only get the Two Brothers sampler case at Costco. I know they have it at the one in Bolingbrook IL.
 
at CostCo today & they had Magic Hat Night of the Living Dead variety pack, Sam Adams Octoberfest, Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen, Kirkland craft variety, Newcastle Werewolf Blood Red Ale

& Lost Rhino's Rhino Chasers Pacific Pilsner, a local brew.

IMG_9023.jpg
 
I disagree. It's not the best beer in the world. I typically don't buy it for home consumption, as I've got a keezer full of homebrew and access to all sorts of GREAT craft beer.

But I'd put it in the "good enough beer" category. If I went to a party and the host had bought a couple cases of Kirkland, I'd be grateful and I'd happily drink it. If they bought a couple cases of Bud or Stella, I'd be annoyed. The Kirkland stuff is a lot more flavorful than any of those, and it's better than a lot of sub-par craft beer too.

Kirkland brand beer is brewed under contract by Gordon Biersch for West Coast distribution and Matt Brewing for East Coast distribution.

I'd agree with your take... it's decent. Not fantastic, but very drinkable. Good value, and the labels come off the bottles easily - bonus for a homebrewer!
 
I have never seen an overly impressive selection of beers at Costco, even in the Pacific Northwest. Looks like some of you are very fortunate.
 
Just checked out the craft beer at Costco the other day. Pretty good! I picked up a bomber of Boulevard's Tank 7...which was fantastic.

I know thr one in the KC area have Tank 7 by the case for about $30 (12 oz).

At least that is what I saw in pictures.
 
DudeAbides said:
Here around Indianapolis they usually only have Sierra Nevada (always PA, have seen Celebration and Ruthless Rye in their seasons) and Sam Adams.

The $110 membership is definitely worth it, we only go once every month or two and still spend enough to pay for the membership.

Well, went the other day and they had Chimay blue, rogue dead guy, SN torpedo, and a two brothers variety pack. First time I've seen them change it up in a while around here.
 
I have my membership card and am ready to go!
They opened this past Thursday but its imposable to get close. The parking lot has been full to the road everyday!

I suppose in a few weeks time things will calm down to where I can just run in during my lunch break and check out the brews.
 
Was able to stop by during lunch. Much of the selection was the same stuff you find at the grocery.


Except this...
KIMG0106_zps05d6f80e.jpg


For $18 I thought i would take a chance.
Anyone else try Ommegang?
 
Was able to stop by during lunch. Much of the selection was the same stuff you find at the grocery.


For $18 I thought i would take a chance.
Anyone else try Ommegang?

$18 is a score for all 3.

I guess our grocery store sucks. Wegmans doesn't have a price for Rare Vos, but lists 3P at $10.99 and Hennepin at $7.99

at Total Wine, it's $11.99 for 3P, $9.49 for Hennepin & $8.99 for RV
 
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