Costco Is Quietly Selling an Award-Winning Beer Under the Kirkland Signature Label

What the helles?

Published December 26, 2024

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Ah, Costco. Home of $1.50 hot dogs, epically large flat-screen TVs and — thanks to one of the country’s most revered breweries — a very delicious cheap beer.

It’s so delicious, in fact, that it won of the most prestigious honors in the drinks industry, a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival (commonly referred to as the “Oscars of beer.”)

The prince of cheap beer

The brew is none other than the Prinz Crispy from Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery. Only you wouldn’t know it unless you read the fine print, tucked away on the side of the red-and-white can that’s simply labeled “Lager.”

label for kirkland signature beer — Costco’s label for Lager, the rebranded Prinz Crispy from Deschutes Brewery.

That’s because the can itself carries Costco’s Kirkland Signature branding like any other product white-labeled by the giant manufacturer.

It also retails for as little as $7 a 6-pack, according to some Redditors, who have recently taken to the forum to applaud the beer.

“I’ve had a few now and it’s delicious!! 10/10 would recommend,” wrote one.

shopper at costco — Kirkland Signature is Costco’s in-house label for everything from fresh groceries to vodka.

The beer carries an ABV of 4.5 percent and bills itself is a helles-style lager, due to its light color, malty sweetness and delicate hop character.

The style, which originated in Germany, is known for its well-rounded profile and ease of drinking. That should make Lager a welcome departure from Costco’s last Kirkland Signature house beer.

That one was called Light, and it’s famous for having some of the worst reviews in the history of Untapped, a popular ratings site. “Even if I had a piss kink I would not drink this absolute piss of a beer,” one user wrote.

Back to form

So far, Lager looks to be a return to form for the Kirkland Signature label, which makes some highly rated wine and spirits across the drinks aisle. Its American Vodka, for example, currently tops Wirecutter‘s buying guide for the clear spirit.

The website doesn’t have a guide to beer, however, Lager might make the short list if it did.

hand opening Patagonia Provisions x Deschutes Brewery Kernza Golden Brew — Deschutes is no stranger to best-of lists. Its organic NA, brewed in collaboration with Patagonia Provisions, recently made *Gear Patrol*‘s roundup of the most important products of 2024.

After all, Deschutes is a mainstay on best-of lists across the web. Just this month, the brewery’s organic NA, brewed in collaboration with Patagonia Provisions, found its way onto the Gear Patrol “GP100” — a roundup of the year’s most important releases.

All to say, look for Lager next time you need a $1.50 hot dog or flat-screen TV. Unlike the sausage, beer pricing varies by state.