Costco-Beer.

[malnutriton]

I also broke down and bought a case of this beer reciently. They all tasted good to me, I gave about half the case to my dad and he really enjoyed them. Here in Nebraska the beer is made out at the FX Matts brewery in Utica NY...unless of course there is another big brewery in Utica...

 

[ChshreCat]

Yeah, it's not fantastic stuff, but certainly good for the money.

 

[commandercool724]

I was in costco and saw they had the case that contained 4 6ers for only 18 bucks so I bought it instead of going with somethign else. it was medicore. however what I noticed was the labels were near impossible to removie I was soaking them with some bells and new belgium bottles and after soaking for 15 mins the bells and new belgium practically fell off. the kirkland bottles soaked for near 2 hours and still resulted in my scrapping off the bulk with a putty knife. wasnt worth my effort i will never try that again.

 

[Brewkowski]

The Costco in Lake Zurich,il carries Two Brothers Brewery mixed case and never having had the beer, $23 for a case was a steal in my opinion. It was next to the Kirkland and I'd heard of 2 Bros. but next time I'll take the plunge just to try the Kirk.

 

[MrInternet]

The Costco in Lake Zurich,il carries Two Brothers Brewery mixed case and never having had the beer, $23 for a case was a steal in my opinion. It was next to the Kirkland and I'd heard of 2 Bros. but next time I'll take the plunge just to try the Kirk.

Don't bother... for a few extra dollars, the TB case is FAR superior. The Kirkland stuff, while not bad, is contract-brewed, and not award-winning quality like the TB stuff. A fantastic value as well... one example, 1/4 of the case is a 6'er of "Cane & Ebel", which is one of their artisan brews usually costing ~$10.99 A 4-PACK. When you figure you're getting $15 worth of that beer alone, plus 18 bottles of three other great beers for a grand total of $23, there's no contest. BTW, TB labels are a RIDICULOUS pain in the butt to remove.

 

[llazy_llama]

Man, this thread has been brought back from the dead like 4 times now. It's like the Super-Highlander.

Still, kinda makes me wish I had a Costco nearby so I could score a 30-rack of "halfway decent, almost-craft beer," on the cheap.

 

[JUSTINTIMEBREWING]

I just bought a case of this and eh they r nothing special.

 

[Revvy]

Man, this thread has been brought back from the dead like 4 times now. It's like the Super-Highlander.

 

[Brewkowski]

BTW, TB labels are a RIDICULOUS pain in the butt to remove.

Great, I just bottled a sixer of 3 kinds to enter into some comp's. I bottled before removing the labels because I thought a quick little soak would take them off before I fill out the paperwork. Any ideas to make the process smoother?

 

[commandercool724]

there are already threads on removing the labels I am sure.... i would recommend soaking them in warm water soapy for a little while than scrapping off the labels. use vegetable oil to remove excess gum just rub it on and let it chill for a few minutes the oil will break down the glue. I would however recommend removing labels prior to bottling.

 

[TipsyDragon]

its ok. little over a buck a bottle. i've made better.

 

[Ceg]

Kirkland brand is the new cheap beer I buy.

Great reusable bottles and case too for my home brew.

 

[MrInternet]

Great, I just bottled a sixer of 3 kinds to enter into some comp's. I bottled before removing the labels because I thought a quick little soak would take them off before I fill out the paperwork. Any ideas to make the process smoother?

You're not going to like hearing this, but regular OxyClean does NOT take these labels off. They are basically a heavy-duty sticker, not an "adhesive-backed" piece of paper like Sam Adams or New Belgium. I've soaked these bottles for 48 hours in Oxy, and the most that would happen is the edges would get a little squishy. You have two options: 1) get something sharp and peel as much of the label off as you can before soaking, or 2) just scrape them off dry. Trust me, there's not much less work involved in scraping these off dry as wet. They are literally a mylar-backed heavy duty decal of some kind, and I usually just end up scraping them off dry.

You could also tell your SWMBO next time she goes to a Pampered Chef party to grab a few of these: Nylon Pan Scrapers, those are what I use. They come off a bit easier if you soak for a long time AND use one of these. Easier, but still not "easy", by any means...

 

[Revvy]

You could also tell your SWMBO next time she goes to a Pampered Chef party to grab a few of these: Nylon Pan Scrapers, those are what I use. They come off a bit easier if you soak for a long time AND use one of these. Easier, but still not "easy", by any means...

So what are they, just bits of hard nylon with a scraping edge on it? I have some plastic putty knifes I got at the dollar store that I use for scraping pans clean, I wonder if they would work on bottles as well.

Great tip!

 

[commandercool724]

a metal putty knife will work even better than a plastic one. or if you wanted to invest in a razor blade the kind that is used to clean paint off windows... that will actually work best as far as methods of scraping...

 

[MrInternet]

So what are they, just bits of hard nylon with a scraping edge on it? I have some plastic putty knifes I got at the dollar store that I use for scraping pans clean, I wonder if they would work on bottles as well.

Great tip!

Thanks. It happened to be the closest thing handy one night, as we keep one on the sink for scraping baking sheets, etc. They are sold mainly to help clean off their stoneware cooking pans to avoid using too much soap.

The plastic putty knives from the hardware store is genius! Those would be much cheaper and accomplish the same thing... removing labels and not scratching the glass. The scrapers I references *are* a bit more ergonomic and comfortable, but why do that when you can have ugly junk?

 

[Revvy]

Thanks. It happened to be the closest thing handy one night, as we keep one on the sink for scraping baking sheets, etc. They are sold mainly to help clean off their stoneware cooking pans to avoid using too much soap.

The plastic putty knives from the hardware store is genius! Those would be much cheaper and accomplish the same thing... removing labels and not scratching the glass. The scrapers I references *are* a bit more ergonomic and comfortable, but why do that when you can have ugly junk?

I have 3 100+ year old cast iron pans/dutch ovens that I cook with on occasion, and they are perfectly seasoned. So all I really need to do to clean them is use one of those scrapers and hot water. The stuff just comes off beautifully, without affecting the seasoning on the pans.

 

[ChshreCat]

Just got done washing and delabeling a little over 100 bottles and I have to say that I love Costco beer now. The bottles are plain brown bottles perfect for entering beer in comps and the labels just float off with a long soak in hot water and oxyclean. I had a mix of bottles and after scrubbing and thumbnail scraping a few dozen Widmer bottles I learned to appreciate the Costco bottles. Soak, label falls off, any residue left behind just wipes off with no scrubbing necessary. I'm going to stop saving certain bottles and just pick up a case of Costco beer now and then to bolster my bottle supply. Widmer bottles are going to recycling from here on out!

 

[remilard]

Those nylon pan scrapers are < $1 at Bed Bath and Beyond.

 

[Tim27]

I found the beers "soulless". The German Lager was passable, however the pale ale was bland on my I guess jaded palette. Since I am not a fan of brown ales I will not give a biased opinion on that one. Now the hefe is a wheat beer...It is not a Hefeweizen! It is too bitter, it has no banana, I don't percieve a German Hefe. If you call it an American wheat, OK. In the end for the price not bad beer. IMAO the Lager was the best of the costco pack. For me it was like a watered down Optimator. If these beers can convert even a few away from BMC I would think they serve their purpose.

 

[Doog_Si_Reeb]

The bottles are plain brown bottles perfect for entering beer in comps and the labels just float off with a long soak in hot water and oxyclean. I had a mix of bottles and after scrubbing and thumbnail scraping a few dozen Widmer bottles I learned to appreciate the Costco bottles. Soak, label falls off, any residue left behind just wipes off with no scrubbing necessary. I'm going to stop saving certain bottles and just pick up a case of Costco beer now and then to bolster my bottle supply.

I found the same thing. Hot water and Oxyclean literally melt the labels off. Most bottles like Sam Adams, New Belgium, etc. take a little effort. The Costco labels came off so cleanly I would swear they were adhered with milk.

The beers themselves aren't great, but they aren't bad. At less than $1 a piece, they will be my default when I need a case of competition-worthy bottles.

 

[willtest]

Well I went to CostCo.com to see if they listed Beer. But I didn't find any. Interestingly enough I did find beer ingredient kits there. I didn't know they sold beer kits :rockin:

 

[McKBrew]

I put off buying this for a long time, but finally picked up a pack of the Kirkland beer. For the price, I am impressed. The amber is decent, the pale ale and lager definitely better than some BMC. Haven't tried the hefe yet.

For the price, it's a good "cheap" beer to have around.

 

[blaze379]

This stuff is really good....... brewed by a microbrewery in San Jose, CA.

 

[aberry]

I recently got a case of Kirkland from Costco. It has an Amber Ale, Pale Ale, Belgian White & an IPA. Upon opening the box this is what I found. One of the Belgian Whites top wrap around label was coming off so I pulled it out to look at it and etched on the bottle is Sam Adams. I spot checked the rest of the case and that is the only bottle in there. All 4 kinds say they were brewed and bottled by New Yorker Brewing Co, Utica, New York. Did I just buy a case of Sam Adams for 18.99?

 

[LeakyPolynesian]

Yes you bought a case of Sam Adams. Costco has deals with alot of breweries and distilleries. Their vodka is actually Belvedere vodka. I was really surprised the first time I tried a Kirkland beer. A friend brought a case to a bbq and we all laughed until we tried one. We were all surprised they were actually decent beers.

 

[Revvy]

Can folks please have the courtesy to check the pictures when you post them? And if their larger than 580 pixels wide, to please resize them. You end up making the thread unreadible when posting pics that big.

 

[aberry]

Can folks please have the courtesy to check the pictures when you post them? And if their larger than 580 pixels wide, to please resize them. You end up making the thread unreadible when posting pics that big.

Sorry!

 

[aberry]

Yes you bought a case of Sam Adams. Costco has deals with alot of breweries and distilleries. Their vodka is actually Belvedere vodka. I was really surprised the first time I tried a Kirkland beer. A friend brought a case to a bbq and we all laughed until we tried one. We were all surprised they were actually decent beers.

They are decent! I was thoroughly surprised. It's also helped me stay out of my ESB that is still a bit young.