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Ten years ago, craft beer fans couldn\u2019t have imagined \u201c<\/span>line life<\/span><\/a>\u201d referring to anything other than the <\/span>hourslong queue<\/span><\/a> for a brewery\u2019s latest limited release. Today, however, it could very well describe the supermarket checkout line. As craft beer fades from shiny new toy into just another everyday beverage option, more beer drinkers are getting their IPA and stout fixes from the same place as their cereal and hummus. And in a growing number of supermarkets, that beer is from a store\u2019s own brand.<\/span><\/p>\n
The popularity of grocery stores\u2019 private-label beer brands\u2014that is, cans and bottles with store-brand labels, but brewed by a contract brewer\u2014is on the rise: Per <\/span>Brewbound<\/span><\/a>, sales of these grew by 122 percent from 2023 to 2024. Aldi, whose overall inventory is 90 percent private label, has doubled its beer portfolio to 16 SKUs\u2014plus seasonal additions\u2014in the last two years, and sales have grown over 100 percent. And, according to <\/span>speculative<\/span><\/a> reports<\/span><\/a>, Walmart, the country\u2019s largest grocery chain, is working on its own brews.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Aldi\u2019s lineup includes beers with names and label designs that could come from any local brewery: Wernesgr\u00fcner Pils, Wild Range Brewing Company IPA, White Tide Wheat Beer. At Trader Joe\u2019s, customers can get the store\u2019s own Drive Thru Red Dry Hopped Red Ale, Stockyard Oatmeal Stout or Boatswain IPA\u2014American, double or hazy\u2014under the store\u2019s brewery simulacrum, \u201cJosephsbrau.\u201d Costco has offered beers through its Kirkland Signature brand (which also sells spirits) off and on over the years, but seems to have finally struck gold in fall 2024 with a helles-style lager; it\u2019s been met with rave reviews thanks to the fact it\u2019s actually repackaged Prinz Crispy, a Great American Beer Festival gold medal winner from Oregon\u2019s <\/span>Deschutes Brewery<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>
<\/p>\n As for the beers themselves, overall, among craft beer drinkers, they\u2019re getting mixed feedback. \u201cThe Wernesgruner Pilsner is surprisingly good for the price point,\u201d <\/span>says one Reddit user<\/span><\/a>. On an <\/span>\u201cAldi Aisle of Shame\u201d Facebook post<\/span><\/a>, a commenter calls that very pilsner \u201cthe only beer worth buying,\u201d while another says all Aldi beers seem milder than those from other breweries. One Redditor <\/span>casts Trader Joe\u2019s entire lineup as a no-go<\/span><\/a>, while yet <\/span>another thread<\/span><\/a> is dedicated to mourning the discontinuation of the store\u2019s (vaguely <\/span>racist<\/span><\/a>?) Trader Jos\u00e9 Mexican-style lager. Meanwhile, Reddit threads <\/span>reveal<\/span><\/a> Costco\u2019s co-branded Deschutes lager has won <\/span>beer-fan cred<\/span><\/a> with shoppers excited about its <\/span>high quality<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n But why are grocery stores leaning into private-label beer in the first place? Part of it, it seems, is that consumers seem more receptive to it than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \u201cPrivate label is a proven strategy for grocers: high-margin, high-trust and increasingly consumer-preferred,\u201d says Theodore Schweitz, CEO of CPG networking company <\/span>Drive Wheel<\/span><\/a>. He says that beer, \u201ca category that\u2019s become bloated and bewildering to consumers,\u201d was prime for the private-label treatment. Retailers have an incredible amount of data on what their customers buy, Schweitz adds, so they can cut through the noise with what their shoppers want and how they want it. Case in point: Aldi has a team dedicated to tracking consumer preferences, according to Arlin Zajmi, the company\u2019s wine specialist and director of national buying for adult beverages. That team collaborates closely with Aldi\u2019s beer and wine suppliers to oversee recipes.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Private-label sales are the result of a perfect storm of consumers tightening their belts in the face of an inflation-burdened economy, grocery stores having the resources to zero in on exactly what shoppers want, and the fact that customers trust their go-to stores to deliver quality. Beverage reporter Kate Bernot cites similar private-label offerings in every category, from food and drink to beauty products. \u201cThere are dupes from grocery store and drugstore brands, and TikToks saying \u2018This drugstore-brand lip gloss is just as good as Fenty.\u2019\u201d It\u2019s become more socially accepted than ever to bargain-hunt\u2014why spend more if you don\u2019t have to?<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n At a New York Costco, a 12-pack of Kirkland Signature Helles-Style Lager is $15.69. Deschutes doesn\u2019t sell Prinz Crispy under its original label anymore, but its King Crispy Pilsner is $9.50 for a sixer, so $19 for 12 cans. The difference isn\u2019t earth-shattering, but it\u2019s not nothing. It represents a compromise for consumers who want the taste of craft beer, but wouldn\u2019t mind saving a few bucks.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201c<\/span>Young drinkers don\u2019t see craft as a different category, I don\u2019t think. To them, beer is beer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Stores, too, are becoming more transparent about who brews their private-label beers\u2014facts that used to be a (<\/span>poorly<\/span><\/a> kept<\/span><\/a>) <\/span>secret<\/span>;<\/span><\/a> Aldi is now open about its partnerships with contract brewers Octopi Brewing and Genesee Brewing Co. as Costco is with Deschutes, and that\u2019s part of the draw for devout craft beer fans.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \u201cWhat initially drew my eye to the Kirkland lager was that it was brewed by Deschutes,\u201d says Isaac Bell, a Washington, D.C.\u2013based pitmaster and beertender. \u201cAnd that it was a helles lager. One of my favorite styles, brewed by a craft brewery that is part of the Brewers Association… At less than $1.25 a can for the Kirkland lager, I\u2019ve got Crispys in the fridge all day long.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n For upstate New York beer writer Will Cleveland, these grocery store beers offer an opportunity for discovery that drives craft enthusiasts. In particular, he\u2019s a fan of Deschutes\u2019 Costco lager; Mountain Brew, a lager by Paradox Brewery for convenience store chain Stewart\u2019s; and Locken\u2019s Ruby Grapefruit k\u00f6lsch, brewed by Genesee for Aldi. He also shops at Wegmans, which sells store-exclusive beers, like Other Half\u2019s Astor Place hazy IPA; it\u2019s a dollar or two cheaper than the brewery\u2019s other hazies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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