The Costco Beer That Customers Hated So Much It Was Discontinued After Only 4 Years
Sometimes it can feel like the entire "light beer" market is a race to the bottom. Light beer usually means light on body, flavor, alcohol, and well, what's the damn point of drinking beer then if you're drinking what is essentially spoiled skunk water? That's what Costco customers were asking themselves when drinking Costco Light Beer. The Kirkland brand is the answer to Natty Light that literally no one on Earth asked for!
In fact, it was so unpopular that it only lasted about four years, from 2014 to 2018. It came in packs of 48, which pour one out, or I guess 48 out. When pursuing Untappd, a kind of crowd-sourced beer rating website, you'll find Kirkland Light still has a rating of 2 out of 5, which is incredibly low. The user comments are a delightful romp of NSFW musings about how this basically tasted like a terrible version of a certain bodily fluid.
Some users on BeerAdvocate noted that Costco contracted out Minhas Brewery in Monroe, Wisconsin, to brew their light beer. A step many folks think solely contributed to how awful it was. Minhas is known for being a contract brewery, meaning they don't really make many of their own in-house beers but contract out to brew private-label beers. The beer community does not think Minhas produces beers that are of quality or worth drinking.
What's with light beer anyway?
There are perhaps many lessons to be learned from Kirkland Light Beer. One less on the Kirkland side is that it might be best to consider private-label producers with a better reputation (which they've done with their Helles Lager, made by Deschutes!) The consumer lesson is that just because Kirkland makes it and it's cheap doesn't mean it's worth buying. Making light beer requires finesse, an understanding of the brewing process, and dedication.
In fact, most light beers are literally watered-down versions of a brewery's regular beer. They use less grain and alcohol, then often water it down. So when light beer is critiqued for being watery, it's actually supposed to be like that. Light beers are supposed to be a low-calorie, low-carb alternative to beer. The problem is that because it's lower in alcohol and doesn't feel or taste like beer, you can easily drink far more than you would if you had a normal lager or a full-bodied ale. This can mean the 50 or so calories you save drinking light beer don't matter because you've now had eight beers instead of four, hypothetically.
For lighter beer options, you're most likely better off grabbing a pilsner, helles lager, or session IPA from your local craft brewery. Those styles of beers are known for being crisp, refreshing, and usually under 6% ABV. Heck, you could even go for Trader Joe's cheapest beer, the Simpler Times lager. Yeah, they might be about 150 calories per 12 ounces, but you'll feel fuller after each beer. And at least you know you're drinking beer and not just water.