Costco/Kirkland brand craft beer

JONNYROTTEN · May 15, 2017

Walking through Costco today I saw Kirkland brand craft beer by the case. Talk about everyone hopping on the band wagon.For $19 a case I had to pick some up. Seems like a nice easy drinking variety. Haven't cracked one open yet but looking forward to it later today...

I'm not sure if this is new for Costco but I've never seen them before

Has anyone tried them out yet??

Special Hops · May 15, 2017

I have bought once or twice. Certainly not anything special as far as craft beer is concerned. But a very drinkable for the price. Way better then anything BMC puts out for a similar price.

Revvy · May 15, 2017

Man, you bring back memories...I did a thread on their beers back in 2008.... many of them then were by Gordon Birsch. Looks like on the side panel under each bottle might be the name of the breweries that brewed each one.

It's kind of like Aldi's, and Trader Joe's they have some decent contract breweries usually making their beers for them. And you actually can find hidden gems in there.

JONNYROTTEN · May 15, 2017

They're brewed at Bricks and Barley Brewery in Wisconsin.
Whoever they are [shrug]

bleme · May 15, 2017

It's a different variety pack than I tried from them 5 or 6 years ago. They didn't have the Kolsch or the Session IPA then. Most of their beers were decent, but the IPA was the worst I have ever had - rank armpit up front with a finish of dirty pennies. Hopefully they have improved.

Revvy · May 15, 2017

Looks like "Brick and Barley" is the contract brewing side of Steven's Point Brewery

JONNYROTTEN · May 15, 2017

Revvy said:
Looks like "Brick and Barley" is the contract brewing side of Steven's Point Brewery

Seems like a legit brewery. I would find it hard to believe they would "lessen" the beer recipe just for Costco. Might be a winner

shoengine · May 15, 2017

I didn't like them enough to buy it twice. Very unremarkable.

z-bob · May 15, 2017

Needs moar "craft brewed" on the label.

I've had it, and it's pretty good for the price

JONNYROTTEN · May 15, 2017

z-bob said:
I've had it, and it's pretty good for the price

That's what I'm thinking. A 12 pack of Corona is $18. For a dollar more I have a case of a variety pack craft brew...How bad could it possibly be

Newsman · May 15, 2017

JONNYROTTEN said:
That's what I'm thinking. A 12 pack of Corona is $18. For a dollar more I have a case of a variety pack craft brew...How bad could it possibly be

NEVER say that... It's like saying "What could possibly go wrong?" just as you're starting to brew your favorite beverage!

SGTSparty · May 15, 2017

JONNYROTTEN said:
That's what I'm thinking. A 12 pack of Corona is $18. For a dollar more I have a case of a variety pack craft brew...How bad could it possibly be

That scary question w/ private labeled beer. Ever try costco's private labeled BMC light? I think its called Kirkland's Signature Light? My FIL is one off the cheapest people on the planet and bought a case to try and keep guests from drinking his better stuff. Its awful. God Awful. IDK if its same brewery producing.

UndeadFred · May 15, 2017

Much better than the Wal-Mart attempt (or at least the ones I bought years ago) which is borderline nasty. I actually kind of liked their Amber Ale for the 75 cents a bottle I last bought it for. I suspect these are different contract brewers than that batch, however. The funny thing is that those bottles were among the thickest ones I ever got and were great when I was starting off in the hobby.

I should add that those were like 6% ABV too. Bang for the buck were definitely there.

JONNYROTTEN · May 15, 2017

The verdict is in:
Kolsch... Nasty back end bite but drinkable without thinking about it
IPA...not enjoyable
Session IPA....Flat out nasty and undrinkable
Pale Ae....Not bad....Kinda reminds me of a not so great but drinkable homebrew we've all made at some point.

I wont throw them away but would never buy them again

Props to myself. My beer taste like liquid gold next to these...I actually swished my own beer just to get rid of the Sesson IPA taste in my mouth....

Pass on these beers if you see them

brandonlovesbeer · May 15, 2017

The box says "Brewed by Bricks and barleys". But they contract the brewing out to Point Beer http://www.pointbeer.com.

The overwhelming concencus on beeradvocate and rate beer are that this is a very poorly brewed beer.

Good luck.

JONNYROTTEN · May 15, 2017

brandonlovesbeer said:
The box says "Brewed by Bricks and barleys". But they contract the brewing out to Point Beer http://www.pointbeer.com.

The overwhelming concencus on beeradvocate and rate beer are that this is a very poorly brewed beer.

Good luck.

Ya it was pretty crappy beer

martiniw2olives · May 15, 2017

The pressure to put product on the shelf at cost leads to short cuts and BMC brewing techniques. I wouldn't get too excited.

Revvy · May 16, 2017

So are they at least not twistoff bottles? Can you at least use the bottles or give them to a fellow homebrewer?

tmendick · May 16, 2017

martiniw2olives said:
The pressure to put product on the shelf at cost leads to short cuts and BMC brewing techniques. I wouldn't get too excited.

I'm no BMC fan, but you can't say their brewing techniques aren't top notch. This is the one thing that bugs be about the craft beer snobs(me included), I would be willing to bet that you can't make an American Light Lager as well as they do. I know I can't, lack of interest in drinking the style doesn't help though.

timdillon36 · May 16, 2017

The chain of liquor stores in my area, Big Red, has a store brand of beer. I tried it about a year back and continue to drink it now not because its great but its not bad and the price cant be beat.

The 4 they offer, all in 12oz cans
Lite- well made for the style but not my go to style.
Lager- Ok but light on flavor reminds me of PBR.
IPA- Not bad but not always the same. I sense ever changing hop varieties.
Cream Ale- I didnt like this one but think it sells well in the area because of the popularity of sunking even though I don't think they make great beer.

The lite and lager is 3.99 for 6 or 10.99 for 24

The price of the IPA and CA is ever changing but right now its 4.99 for 6 or 20 for 24.

martiniw2olives · May 16, 2017

tmendick said:
I'm no BMC fan, but you can't say their brewing techniques aren't top notch. This is the one thing that bugs be about the craft beer snobs(me included), I would be willing to bet that you can't make an American Light Lager as well as they do. I know I can't, lack of interest in drinking the style doesn't help though.

Yes agree, I am sure they are very efficient in their processing for yielding large amounts of beer at a lower cost. Craft beer steps away from that model and focuses beer quality. I am no beer snob and enjoy a nice cold Bud on a hot summer day. Roger that on the American Light Lager.

tmendick · May 16, 2017

Definitely meant no disrespect, I've just seen people diss their skill at making a very boring beer with the precision and consistency they do.

bobeer · May 16, 2017

Costco used to sell "craft" beer about 4 or 5 years ago. We used to pick up a 24 pack for parties back before we had kids. I remember it had an amber, IPA, pale ale, and a lager. All the beers were just ok. I remember drinking them when I was already pretty banged up and thinking, "huh... not bad." but I've found when something is "not bad" when you're hammered it tastes like crap when you're not.
Thanks for the review on this new case. I'll pass if I see it!

beerguyfrmsd · May 18, 2017

JONNYROTTEN said:
Walking through Costco today I saw Kirkland brand craft beer by the case. Talk about everyone hopping on the band wagon.For $19 a case I had to pick some up. Seems like a nice easy drinking variety. Haven't cracked one open yet but looking forward to it later today...

I'm not sure if this is new for Costco but I've never seen them before

Has anyone tried them out yet??

I bought this for our camping trip because of the price. I thought it was okay, but I agree the IPA was my least favorite out of the pack, kept on handing those off first to someone else when beer was requested

Lefou · May 19, 2017

I'm glad more than one person was honest enough to reinforce my previous experience with this brand. A case of this made it into my house a couple years ago and I couldn't even tell one style from the other. In my opinion, they were all mediocre, thin, and badly hopped.
I consider my sniffer and taster skills to be unsophisticated, but if others on the forum come to the same conclusion, it might not be me.

Thanks for the thread. It let's me know things haven't improved and there are better buys out there.

Brownalemikie · May 20, 2017

Must be true.....you get what you pay for :mug:

kingmatt · May 20, 2017

Seems like a good option for hydrating a large summer party/bbq on the cheap without having to go the BMC route!

shoengine · May 20, 2017

bobeer said:
Costco used to sell "craft" beer about 4 or 5 years ago. We used to pick up a 24 pack for parties back before we had kids. I remember it had an amber, IPA, pale ale, and a lager. All the beers were just ok. I remember drinking them when I was already pretty banged up and thinking, "huh... not bad." but I've found when something is "not bad" when you're hammered it tastes like crap when you're not.
Thanks for the review on this new case. I'll pass if I see it!

What got me into beer in the first place was Costco's Henry Weinhard variety packs, which was world's better than this drek. Last time I checked, they had an all IPA variety pack, an all fruit beer variety pack, and their own. Slim pickins.

Bomber · Feb 1, 2018

JONNYROTTEN said:
The verdict is in:
Kolsch... Nasty back end bite but drinkable without thinking about it
IPA...not enjoyable
Session IPA....Flat out nasty and undrinkable
Pale Ae....Not bad....Kinda reminds me of a not so great but drinkable homebrew we've all made at some point.

I wont throw them away but would never buy them again

Props to myself. My beer taste like liquid gold next to these...I actually swished my own beer just to get rid of the Sesson IPA taste in my mouth....

Pass on these beers if you see them

Thanks for this post. I was looking into purchasing this since I read some good things about Kirkland liquor in general. Searched for their beer mix pack and it led me to this post. Granted, taste is subjective. However, it steers me away from dropping $20 on 24. Might have bit on a variety 12-pack if that is available.

There's a liquor store in town that creates mystery 12-packs for $9.99. I'll continue going that route. There are usually some throw-aways in them but for the most part it's a selection of at least quality beers.

LLBrewer · Feb 1, 2018

Bomber said:
Thanks for this post. I was looking into purchasing this since I read some good things about Kirkland liquor in general. Searched for their beer mix pack and it led me to this post. Granted, taste is subjective. However, it steers me away from dropping $20 on 24. Might have bit on a variety 12-pack if that is available.

There's a liquor store in town that creates mystery 12-packs for $9.99. I'll continue going that route. There are usually some throw-aways in them but for the most part it's a selection of at least quality beers.

I haven't had the beer but I can tell you that the 1.75l scotch or canadian whiskey for $20 can't be beat for value.

Costco/Kirkland brand craft beer

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