Summer is chaos. Grills, sweat, gossip about Andrea, and the desperate need for a cold drink.
Costco usually saves the day. I’ve hunted down tequila there, whiskey too. Beer? Surprisingly bare. Two locations visited. Six or eight choices between them both. My beer-nerd friend and I stared at the empty shelves, bewildered. Yet gems hide in the rubble. Here is what to grab before someone buys them all.
Зміст
Sapporo Premium
This one wins. Summer or not, Sapporo doesn’t miss. It is crisp. Dry. Rice lager precision that cuts through rich food like a knife through butter. Paired with saucy pulled pork or brisket drowning in mayo-based potato salad? Unstoppable. Floral notes, faint sweetness, malt underneath. A desert-island staple for a reason. Finding it here felt like winning a minor lottery.
Tecate
Party beer. Plain and simple. Slightly sweeter than Sapporo, carrying hints of corn, honey, citrus. Hoppy finish, but gentle. Floral. If you are grilling fajitas by the pound, this is the match. It even belongs in the marinade. Just don’t skip the lime wedges. They are mandatory.
Ballast Point Sculpin IPA
Bold. Bright. Bitter to the point of offense for some. West Coast style that loves itself. Pine. Grapefruit. Lemon zest. Orange peel. The bitterness hacks through heavy foods while caramel malt notes flirt with barbecue sauce. Coolers love it. Palates love it too, mostly.
Sierra Nevada Little Thing Variety Pack
Hazy IPAs? This mixed pack delivers. Mellow, Rad, Peachy, Tropical Little Things all bundled together. All four sing. Mellow Little Thing shocks with a mere 4.5% ABV. Still bitter, still hoppy, but easier to drink. Tropical Little Thing is a juice bomb—papaya, mango, pineapple. Think pit-roasted pork. Sweet-smoky carnitas. You need a drink that doesn’t fight the sweetness.
Kirkland Signature IPA
Only one branded option at these stores? I checked twice. Shocking, yes. But the beer itself? Respectable. Clean. Crisp. Mild sweetness, a kick of spice, herbaceous tail. Deschutes Brewery made it in Bend. It took gold at the 2025 Great American Beer Festival (wait, let me check that… actually the text said 2023, my bad, it won in 2023). Thirteen bucks for twelve cans. A little over a dollar apiece. Great value. Crucially, this might be gone soon. Discontinued? Possibly. See it? Take it.
