The Discontinued Kirkland Beer Costco Customers Deem The Worst 'In The World'

Cracking open a cold one is meant to be refreshing. Yet, Customers reportedly found no such pleasure when sipping a Kirkland Light; the discontinued beverage will go down in Costco's history as it's been nicknamed the worst in the world. At less than $0.50 per can, it was arguably a risky purchase from the get-go. But while it gained a few pitiful brownie points for its low price tag, the beer's abysmal taste doomed it as a non-starter. Kirkland Signature finally pulled the plug in 2018 — adding the beverage to a long list of discontinued Costco products we may never eat (or drink) again. And with that, we waved goodbye to the notorious beer. In hindsight, $22 for a 48-pack really was too good to be true.

Oasis might have sung, "Don't look back in anger," but they probably hadn't tasted Kirkland Light Beer. It's safe to say that the drink still invokes strong reactions from previous customers. Nobody held back on one particular Reddit thread, which rapidly accrued almost 4k upvotes in two days. "Barf. I swear it tasted like pond water with Necco wafers dissolved in it," typed a disgusted commenter. Another revealed: "I am not a proud man. I will drink Coors light, natty light, warm beer, opened beer, someone else's beer. This might have been the only beer I have ever thrown away whatever was left." The verdict hasn't changed. Never had a chance to try it? You dodged a Kirkland-labeled bullet.

With flying accusations of pond-worthy flavors, you're justified in wondering what on earth brewers put in Kirkland Light Beer. The answer is extremely simple: The 4.2% ABV beer contained barley, water, hops, and rice. Sounds innocuous enough, doesn't it? The thing is, taste is often dictated by the production process. There are dozens of reasons why beer can taste bad. Poor quality or old ingredients are common faults, while over-carbonation and impurities introduced during brewing are equally damning.

In Costco's case, production details remain under close wraps, with Kirkland outsourcing its signature products to major brewing companies. However, that hasn't stopped internet sleuths. The general consensus is that Matt Brewing, Gordon Biersch, and Minhas Craft Brewery were the ones behind this particular product. Let's look forward, though. Forget about Kirkland Light Beer; research why Costco's new Kirkland Lager is exciting beer fans. Hopefully, it won't fall foul of the same mistakes. Nobody wants to drink "carbonated trash water," as one reviewer called it.