The Multiple Brands Behind Costco's Kirkland Craft Beer
Some of the white-labeled companies behind Costco's house brand, Kirkland Signature, are the worst-kept secrets around. Others, though, are still mysteries. In the case of Kirkland Signature craft beer, it's pretty easy to discern who likely makes the brews, even through some mild misdirection. Depending on where in the U.S. you are, you'll find one of three names written on the packaging declaring the beer's brew and bottle origin: Hopfen und Malz of San Jose, California, New Yorker Brewing Company of Utica, New York, and Bricks and Barley of Steven's Point, Wisconsin.
A little digging will bring you to the breweries bearing these DBAs. Put Hopfen und Malz into Google Maps, and the single search result in the U.S. is for Gordon Biersch Brewing Company in San Jose. According to The Takeout, F.X. Matt Brewing Company — the brand behind Saranac — is responsible for New Yorker Brewing, though as of publishing, no representative has responded to Daily Meal's request for confirmation. And if you follow the clues for Bricks and Barley, it brings you to 2617 Water Street: Stevens Point Brewery, which advertises contract brewing on its website.
A variety pack of Kirkland craft beer will contain brews such as American pale ale, IPA, session IPA, Czech-style pilsner, brown ale, and porter. You may also be able to find a double bock, a blonde ale, a stout, and a hefeweizen.
Gordon Biersch: Hopfen und Malz, probably
Gordon Biersch was started in 1997 by Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch. Gordon attended the Technical University of Munich, a famous brewing school. The two decided that their brewery would make beer in the traditional German style according to circa-1500s guidelines called the Reinheitsgebot: The German purity law mandating which ingredients can be used in brewing. Gordon Biersch brews its beer with Hallertauer hops, malted barley, and a special kind of yeast imported from Weihenstephan, Germany.
The brewpub expanded to 10 locations, including Seattle, Honolulu, Phoenix, and San Diego. Due to regulatory issues, according to history available via Biersch's 2008 project HopMonk Tavern, the restaurant side sold in 2000, but the brewery kept going strong. Now, 26 years later, the San Jose brewery has more than doubled its production, making over 3.1 million gallons of beer annually. Supposedly, some of those gallons are for Kirkland Signature under the brand name Hopfen und Malz.
Stevens Point Brewery: Bricks and Barley, maybe
The first Point Beer was brewed in 1857 when Frank Wahle and George Ruder established the Stevens Point Brewery. The brewery supplied suds to troops in the Civil War and survived Prohibition. In 1973, Point Special was declared the No. 1 beer in a taste test conducted by the Chicago Daily News; in 2003, it won gold at the Great American Beer Festival. But it wasn't until 1990 — 133 years after the first Point Beer was brewed — that Stevens Point Brewery started selling beer outside of Wisconsin.
It was then purchased by Barton Beers, which helped expansion (it grew by 40% in two years.) By 2004, it had expanded distribution throughout the Midwest. Another ownership change and further investment led to a capacity of 80,000 barrels annually and distribution in 25 states. By 2013, Stevens Point Brewery was producing 150,000 barrels of beer per year, and it hit 165,000 in 2021. Theoretically, some of those barrels are Kirkland, under Bricks and Barley.
F.X. Matt aka Saranac aka New Yorker?
F.X. Matt Brewing Company has been family owned — by the Matt family — for 135 years. It was founded in 1888 by FX Matt as the West End Brewing Company. It weathered Prohibition by producing non-alcoholic beverages like Utica Club soft drinks, among others. Once Prohibition was lifted, it was the first brewery in the nation to obtain a license and legally sell beer. Its first post-Prohibition beer was a pilsner, also called Utica Club. Years later, the company developed the "beer ball," a kind of home keg. By 1985, it started making craft beer (a lager) under the brand Saranac, and in 1996 released a variety pack called the Saranac Adirondack Trail Mix, which Northeasterners will recognize as one of the earlier variety packs of craft beer. It included a Black and Tan stout and lager mix, a pilsner, a pale ale, and an amber: Four different styles, and as Saranac brags, all heritage recipes.
F.X. Matt isn't the only brewery in Utica, but it is the biggest — by far — and likely the only one in town that can handle the quantities for Kirkland Signature craft beer brewed by the unknown "New Yorker Brewing Company." It's the third-largest brewery in New York. In 2023 it acquired Flying Dog and a contract to brew Guinness Blonde. It has long contracted for Brooklyn Brewing and others; Costco could certainly be among them.