Kirkland Lager

Would you buy a beer that's basically labeled "Beer"? And is a store brand beer? Well, what if I told you the store brand is Kirkland, the label used by Costco?

It's well known among Costco members that Costco branded products, those solder under the Kirkland store-brand name, compare favorably with leading name-brand products. Often they're actually made by one of the name-brand manufacturers. Usually it's a mystery who that is, and often it's the subject of speculation. In the alcohol department, for example, it's long been rumored that Kirkland French Vodka is made alongside France's highly regarded Grey Goose. It turns out that's not true, though it is true that the two vodkas taste very similar. Now enter a beer, Costco Lager. Except there's no mystery or pseudonym for the maker. It says right on the box: Deschutes.



I'm not normally a fan of Helles Lager, or light lager, this style of beer. But knowing that it's made by Deschutes Brewery, a well respected Oregon microbrewery whose products I've generally enjoyed, made it interesting. And the Costco pricing, almost half off what it costs to buy Deschutes under its own name, made it worth a leap.

So, after that lead-up, how does it taste? Sigh. If only the pitch matched the wind-up.

Light lager is basically the style that all American piss-water macrobrews are. Y'know, the beers that smell vaguely like day-old puke... and only taste slightly better. See also: I Drank Shit Beer and I Liked It. Kinda. 😂

Let me be clear, though: Kirkland Lager is not shit beer. It does not smell like puke, day-old or fresh. It doesn't taste like piss. It smells and tastes like... nothing, actually. It's kind of like DAB Export Lager, except where DAB tasted like "beige" or maybe "off-white", if Kirkland-by-Deschutes were a paint color it would be clear-coat. 😳

This beer just isn't enjoyable. It doesn't taste like anything. I'd rather relax with a Caffeine-free Coke Zero.

Ron Abuelo Two-Fer from Panama

When I was in Panama a few weeks ago I bought a few bottles of Ron Abuelo rum. Ron Abuelo is Spanish for "Grandpa's Rum", and it's the marquee brand of rum made in Panama. For less than $25 on sale at the Rey mini-supermarket even in the small town of El Valle I got a boxed set of two bottles of Ron Abuelo 12-year aged rum.

I thought about it over the course of a few days before making the purchase. We were making daily trips to Rey to grab food, so it wasn't like there weren't multiple opportunities. But was it a good enough opportunity? I wondered. It was about $24 for a set of two 375mL bottles, I thought. That compares to about $36 for one 750mL bottle of Ron Abuelo 12-year at Total Wine back home in California. I finally decided, "Enh, I'll save one-third and buy it here."



It turned out I was wrong. I was wrong but in a good way! The boxed set wasn't two 375mL bottles, it was a 375mL bottle of special 12-year rum plus a 750mL bottle of "normal" 12-year rum. (I quote "normal" because 12-year aged rum is already upper tier rum.) Together these would cost $60 even at Total Wine in California, so I saved more than half off the price.

And how do these rums taste? I don't know yet! I've yet to try them. Maybe I'll save them to try with friends at our combined birthday party next weekend... or maybe I'll sample them quickly before that and enjoy them with friends a week from Saturday! 🥂😋