I’m recently back to the US after many years abroad, and am armed with a CostCo membership. Picked up a case of the Kirkland Handcrafted beer at Costco - which means German Lager, Amber Ale, Hefeweizen, and Pale Ale for $18. I did a quick search and seems to be that Gordon Biersch brews at least the West Coast stock.
I think the price-performance is pretty good at about half the price I would pay in a supermarket for a beer I really like. As a benchmark, I favor Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. So I guess a CostCo to Costco comparison would put Sierra Nevada at IIRC $23.
None of these are killer beers, but they aren’t bad and I do like a little variety.
Anyone out there drink these regularly? Is it a case every 6 months, keep one around as door #2, never touch it, or just pay the extra $5 and get the real deal?
I’ve gotten it a couple times. I’m not a big pale ale fan, and I wish the amber was a bit more “amber.” Otherwise, it’s cheap and not bad, I fail to see a drawback. I think a few brands are cheaper at Costco, so I’ll usually get that, but the Kirkland is good. They had a Widmer pack last time that was similar (Hefeweizen, Amber, Pale, and IPA IIRC) for a similar price.
While Costco in Utah can only sell 3.2% beer, (so I havent tried Kirkland’s beers yet) I have always been very impressed with any Gordon Biersch brew that I have ever sampled…
Yeah, the Kirkland isn’t bad at all. Normally I’ll try to look for a regular microbrew brand I’m a fan of, but if there isn’t one in stock, I definitely wouldn’t think twice about putting it in the cart.
Nope. No alcohol at Maryland Costco stores. Or food stores. Or Target. Or anywhere else that would be far more convenient than a separate liquor store (sigh).
I’ve rarely had a Kirkland (that’s Costco’s house brand, for anyone who doesn’t know) product that was less than good quality, veering sometimes toward very good or excellent. I say this even trying not to take into account the price (but bang for buck almost always makes you think the Kirkland product is even a bit better than it is in absolute terms). For instance, I had some of their pistachios recently – salt and pepper flavored. Big, and with few if any bad/unopened nuts – as good as any pistachios I’ve had.
Seriously? You can only buy alcohol at liquor stores? Doesn’t that make it more expensive?
I’ve had Kirkland’s beer and it’s pretty good. Quite good, actually, and very reasonable price.
Well, liquor stores in MD need to be separate entities from other types of product, but at least they are private businesses. So they don’t have the troubles of price locking in State Store states like PA above us. The stores are still in competition with one another on the prices.
Well, since I moved to WV, we gave up our Costco membership (they don’t have any stores here) and bought a Sam’s Club membership instead.
But I agree with the poster who said that the Kirkland brand tends to range between ‘good’ and ‘excellent’.
When we lived in western Maryland, and the Costco in Altoona, PA, and the one in Winchester, VA, were both about an hour’s drive, we’d often go to the one in Winchester, because it had beer and wine!
BTW, after moving to WV, having lived in MD all my life, it took me a good while to get used to seeing beer and wine in places like K-Mart!
Actually here in Montgomery county they allow one store from each grocery chain to sell beer and wine. I know because the Magruters and Shoppers near me both sell beer. It’s the only place I shop for it.
I don’t know about that, but I would not be surprised if it were true. If heard rumors about the manufacturers of some of their products, and it seems they try to keep it under wraps. Their vodka is really expensive, top shelf stuff (or so I hear). It is in or possibly even above the Grey Goose price point.
Keeping it under wraps may be in their contract with the manufacturer. Why would anybody pay Widmer’s prices for beer when they can get the exact same beer at Costco for 30% less? It isn’t in Costco’s interest to hide who makes their stuff. It’s in the maker’s.
But I have heard the same thing, and my memory seems to tell me we once did a side-by-side, and determined that if the hefes weren’t the same, they were damn close.
Montgomery County, Maryland is a liquor control county. All alcoholic beverages that can’t legally be classified as beer or wine are controlled exclusively by the county government and must be purchased from a county owned store.
As far as prices go, they’re on par or in many cases cheaper than a private store, especially compared to private stores in neighboring counties or DC/Virginia.
I think Kirkland is one of the cheaper beers there, but I have bought Widmer too. If me of all people purchased it, then it was probably pretty cheap. I generally only buy <$0.90/bottle beers there.
hmmm, after almost finishing my first case, the conclusion is that I probably will spend the extra $5 and pick up cases of beers I really like such as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
Kirkland brand was not bad, but the IPA isn’t as good as Sierra Nevada, the Amber certainly ain’t Anchor Steam, Hefeweizen is ok but not in my normal beer rotation (and I prefer Paulaner Dark), and the German Lager is ok but not great. So, while price performance is decent, I tend to drink what I like to drink. CostCo has enough beer I like to drink at a good price that I don’t need to compromise on Kirkland brewskis.
The other problem is that I prefer beer with a lower octane, say 4% alcohol level. The Kirkland stuff is all 5%+
