You'll Probably Recognize The Brand Behind Costco's Kirkland Lager

Costco is a known destination for great deals on great products, and this includes beer. While not all of Costco's forays into selling beer have been smash hits, consumers are excited about the new Kirkland lager, brewed by a domestic brewer with a track record of award-winning success. Much of Costco's Kirkland-brand beer is brewed under contract by larger brewers, including Gordon Biersch. That list now includes Deschutes Brewery from Bend, Oregon.

If you don't know, Deschutes is a craft brewery founded in 1988 and named after Oregon's Deschutes River. It sells over 225,000 barrels of beer annually across all 50 U.S. states and several other countries. Deschutes is known for several award-winning recipes, including its Prinz Crispy, a Helles-style lager that may well be the inspiration for the Helles-style lager it brews for Costco.

One Reddit user who tried the new Kirkland lager described it as crisp with a gentle bite to the flavor profile, matching the light and easy-drinking profile of most Helles-style German lagers.

Costco fans hope the new Kirkland lager marks a redemption from its failed attempt to bring a light beer to market. The beer was removed from shelves in 2018 after a torrent of negative customer reviews claimed the horrible taste was not worth the low price, and it remains a memorable misstep years later.

Costco often partners with recognized alcohol brands to produce Kirkland items. One well-known example is Gimli, the company that distills Crown Royal, which also distills the remarkably similar Kirkland Signature Canadian Whisky. The allure of substantial variety at reasonable prices makes Costco one of the biggest alcohol retailers in the world, and part of the appeal is its Kirkland-brand beers and other alcohols that maximize the value of the customer's money. Involving a renowned craft brewery like Deschutes should bode well for the future of Kirkland-brand beer.