6 Beers You Should Be Picking Up At Costco And 2 To Skip

There's a reason Costco locations around the country are rife with long lines and aisles far too cramped for those oversized carts — they've got great stuff. From affordable yet highly rated alcohol options, baked goods that come in quantities large enough to feed the whole family and a party, to jackets, pants, and socks, it's no surprise that many leave the wholesaler with more than one cart piled high.

The beer selection is just as enticing; boxes on boxes of all your favorite beers and a few Kirkland Signature favorites piled high. But choosing a case in such large quantities can be a bit of a commitment if you're not totally confident in which beer will taste the best or be the best price.

I've gone through the selection to try eight of the beers Costco offers to tell you which you should buy and which you may as well skip, whether it's for the flavor or the price.

Modelo has a nice nutty smell, followed by a smooth taste with just enough beer flavor to not be watered down. There aren't any strong, bitter, or hoppy notes that might turn off the picky drinker.

In the past, I haven't loved the cans of Modelo I've tried. They always seemed to have an astringently bitter aftertaste that made drinking a whole tall boy feel like a chore more than a treat — perhaps those cans had been left in the sun too long on their way to my local corner store. This time, having it poured fresh from the bottle into a glass, I find it very enjoyable, which is odd considering that packaging beer in a clear bottle is a big no-no that allows the product to be affected by light exposure.

At $1.49 a bottle, it's in the same bracket as Heineken and Stella price-wise, and it stands up flavor-wise as well. Buy it if you want a more even flavor, but opt for Heineken if you're craving a bit of malt.

I don't typically drink Coors Light, but at $1.20 a can, the price is hard to beat. It's similarly watery to a Budweiser but lacks that pungent, bitter aroma that makes Bud so off-putting. Coors Light just tastes like a watered-down, average beer — and there's nothing wrong with that, if that's what you're looking for.

Coors Light has 102 calories and 5 carbohydrates, whereas Bud has 145 calories and 10.6 carbohydrates. It's light and crisp (albeit too light for my taste), but if you're going to drink a watery beer, it may as well be lighter on the calories, too.

Perhaps I wouldn't personally buy it, but I know a lot of people who love a Coors Light for its widely agreeable flavor and lower calorie content, so it's a great case to pick up for a party, potluck, or barbecue.

The Presidente case from Costco is super affordable — $1.07 a bottle, making it the cheapest beer on this list. It has 147 calories and 11 carbohydrates per bottle, pretty standard for a "light" tasting beer that isn't actually lighter in calories. It's not the best beer, but the affordable price really isn't noticeable by the flavor (I would certainly rank it above Coors and Bud). It doesn't have any off-putting bitterness, and it's not overly watery. Just a light, Pilsner-style cerveza that'll be easy on your wallet and a general crowd-pleaser.

This wouldn't be my first pick in terms of flavor — I love the malt in Heineken and the smooth flavor of the Kirkland Signature Lager — but if you're looking for the best flavor for the price, pick up a case of Presidente from Costco.

This single Kirkland Signature Vintage Ale comes in a 22-ounce bottle. It's aged for nine months in bourbon barrels — a fact you can certainly discern from its color and flavor. It's rich, chocolatey, and roasted, encompassing everything the dark-beer lover craves. The taste lingers on your tongue like a good cup of coffee, the color so dark that a flashlight shone on the other side is blocked like a blackout curtain. It's safe to say Costco really knows what it's doing when it comes to attaching the Kirkland Signature label to beers you can only find in-store.

If you're a fan of dark beers, or even if you're not quite sure what to expect but love rich, dark flavors, you should definitely give this one a shot. Given that it's only one 22 fluid ounce bottle, it's not nearly as much commitment as picking up a whole case of beer from Costco — and if you don't like it, you can always reduce the leftovers down into a sugary dark syrup to use in cocktails.

This beer really surprised me, although I shouldn't have been surprised considering that the can proudly shows the 2023 gold medal from the Great American Beer Festival. It's $1.16 a can, making it every so slightly cheaper than Coors and Bud, but exponentially more tasty.

The smell is yeasty and light. The taste: crisp, smooth, perfectly bubbly, leaving your tongue with a refreshing toasted-grain flavor. It's crushable. I'm blown away at the price, and believe that were this beer available in corner stores, it would be my go-to tall boy. But like many things at Costco, their great price and Costco-specific taste make the membership very worthwhile. It's a great beer to have on hand and an easy crowd pleaser when you have guests over to your house. You should definitely pick up a case next time you're at Costco.

Heineken has a hoppy, grassy smell that's inviting to the beer lover. The taste is even. It starts with that roasted malt flavor I love in beer and sticks the landing without falling into a watery abyss. Everyone has their biases when it comes to brand labeling (and I'm hardly innocent of this), but the flavor of Heineken is easy-going and would pair well with any sort of barbecue plate or casual burger.

The price at Costco is also super reasonable. At $1.40 a bottle, it's only a bit more than Coors Light or Bud, so if you're looking for a beer with a stronger malt to it, Heineken's a great pick. And although Costco doesn't sell it, Heineken's non-alcoholic beer is said to taste identical to the real deal if you're looking for flavor without the buzz.

Stella Artois' reputation is a bit amusing. I was talking to some Brits recently who asked me how the beer was perceived in the US, to which I replied that it's generally viewed as a more "upscale" cheap beer, one you might opt for when you're feeling a bit fancier than your usual Corona, Coors, or what have you. This was rather surprising to the Brits, who place a Stella Artois somewhere in the category that Americans might place a Keystone Light or Budweiser.

It's an easy-drinking beer, one that you don't have to think about to enjoy. It comes in an attractive bottle and has a beautiful pale golden color when poured into a glass. But, it is very light. There's little perceptible smell, which creates even more of a problem in the taste department. There's no malt, no hop, no ... beer taste. If you don't like beer or don't really care what you taste, it's not bad, bitter, or offensive in any way, and it comes at a solid price for $1.41 a bottle. Nonetheless, for that same price you could get a case of Heinekens that actually taste like something. I once loved this beer, back when I didn't know what good beer tasted like, but this time around, I'm going to have to label it a skip simply because better options are available at Costco.

It's no secret that I don't like Budweiser, and despite having tried it numerous times, it never grows on me. I love a cheap beer, and enthusiastically drink many a can of similarly priced, nowhere-near-craft brews. But this one I just can't do. It's repugnant. The smell is bitter and borderline rancid, while the beer itself tastes like foul tap water.

I have never met anyone who disagrees with me on this topic — most people would much rather drink anything but Bud, yet somehow the cans are still available in every bodega, deli, grocery, and liquor store. Someone must be drinking them, so if I've offended any of the Bud fans out there, I apologize. But this one you can keep for yourself. It is a great price at $1.20 a can, a bit cheaper than buying it at another store, but Coors Light is the same price and, in my opinion, has a much better taste.

Ranking anything inevitably carries some bias. Most people have personal tastes, especially when it comes to beer, and favorite brands that they stick to. I, for example, don't love light beers — if I'm going to have a beer, I want it to taste like beer. So, if you already have a favorite brand on this list and Costco carries it, have at it. You'll probably get a better price on a case than at any other grocery store. 

I tried my best to make these suggestions to focus on the overall flavor of the beer along with the price, and found myself pleasantly surprised with how good the Kirkland Signature beers taste. If you're going to go to Costco for beer, you won't be disappointed in the two choices you can get only there.