Costco sparks backlash after discontinuing ‘one of the best lagers’ fans have ever had
Costco shoppers are distraught to learn that the warehouse club may have dropped some of its award-winning beers for good, with one calling it ‘bad news for the craft industry’.
Less than two years after signing on the dotted line, Costco’s partnership with Oregon-based Deschutes Brewery is reportedly coming to a halt.
As a result, two beers currently sold under the Kingland Signature label are set to cease to exist, and fans have expressed their utter dismay online.
“Oh man. This stinks. Loved this beer. Know what I'm getting when I go there next,” said one grieving Redditor.
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A second replied: “One of the best lagers I've ever had. This is quite unfortunate.”
“I just fell to my knees in Costco,” another responded, while a fourth typed: “We were just enjoying them ice cold on a hot 4th of July afternoon while in the pool.
"Sad to hear we won't have them next summer. Guess I'll stock up while I can.”
“This seriously p***es me off, I grab two twelve packs every time I go to Costco. Guess I’m gonna have to grab like 10 next time. This stuff was seriously great for the price.”
They continued: “Guess my beer snob neighbour who refused to even try it because it said ‘Kirkland’ gets the last laugh.”
Craft Business Daily reported that on July 1, Costco and Deschutes Brewery would be bringing down the curtain on the Kirkland Signature Helles-Style Lager and Kirkland Signature Vintage Ale.
The items, priced at $13.99 for a 12-pack, have been described by American Craft Beer as ‘one of the best bargains in craft beer, winning over shoppers who might never have picked up a Deschutes six-pack at their local bottle shop.’
The Helles-Style Lager picked up a silver medal at the 2025 World Beer Cup and won bronze in 2026.
Despite their popularity, both beloved items are expected to disappear from warehouse shelves by September or October.
This means enthusiasts still have a bit of time to get their hands on the alcoholic drinks.
Neither Costco nor Deschutes has publicly explained why the agreement is ending. The former has also not yet indicated whether another independent brewery will step in to produce future Kirkland craft beers.
However, Deschutes CEO Peter Skrbek, who said production of the Kirkland beers will begin scaling back immediately, claimed he ‘wouldn’t be too surprised if the lager makes a return at some point’ under a different arrangement.
A Deschutes Brewery representative told FOODbible: "We’re so grateful for Costco’s trust in Deschutes to bring our award-winning beer to their members at such a great value. We’ve reached the end of our volume commitment and therefore the program is winding down.
"We’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for the beer from Costco members since the announcement. The feedback on the beer has been exceptional and it’s clear that the beer has built a fanbase across the U.S. and internationally."
They continued: "Our business overall is doing great, in recent Circana scan data, the Deschutes business is up in volume sales by 16% (latest 13 weeks TTL US MULO+C thru 6/28/26) while the craft category is down -6%. In fact, we are seeing healthy growth across our award-winning flagships, Fresh Squeezed IPA (+8% latest 13 weeks TTL US MULO+C thru 6/28/26) and Black Butte Porter (4% latest 13 weeks TTL US MULO+C thru 6/28/26), which is quite remarkable given the down trend across the craft category.
"Additionally, our non-alc beer portfolio is performing exceptionally well across the US and is up 21% in volume sales (latest 13 weeks TTL US MULO+C thru 6/28/26). Non-Alcoholic Fresh Squeezed IPA is the third fastest selling non-alc craft 6-pack in grocery, selling 30% faster than the average non-alc 6-pack! Finally, we have a new flavored-alc brand called PARTYBOMB that has had a tremendous start as a new brand and is already a top 10 distributed 12-pack within the FMB category in the West, and not only are shoppers trying it, the brand is bringing new shoppers into the flavored-alc category."
Ella Scott