Kirkland's Beer Named Top 10 Hottest Product of the Year

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December 21, 2010

ShopSmart, from the publisher of Consumer Reports, named Costco’s Kirkland Signature Handcrafted Lagers and Ales, as the only private label product among the 10 hottest products of 2010.

Retailing for $18.99, the variety pack of 24 bottles of handcrafted lagers and ales “is cheap, but it doesn't taste that way,” ShopSmart reported. “Our testers are always on the lookout for great new store brand products that can save [consumers] money, but even we were surprised when beer made the list. In blind tests, untrained tasters liked the brews about as much as pricier name-brand beers of the same styles.”

The 10 hottest products of 2010 were selected from thousands of home, food, beauty and other items that were tested throughout the year and are featured in the January 2011 issue of ShopSmart.

"ShopSmart seeks to celebrate excellence by picking out the best-performing products from the thousands that pass through our labs every year," said Lisa Lee Freeman, editor-in-chief of ShopSmart. "In addition to innovative products that tested well, we included items with great designs (Dyson's bladeless fan and Levi's slimming jeans) and ones that were simply outstanding in their class (Kirkland Signature Handcrafted Lager and Ales, for instance). And because we don't have to answer to advertisers, we can bring you the year's biggest clunkers too."

In addition to the top 10 products, ShopSmart chose 54 items in nine categories including home, green, food, store brands, beauty, fashion, fitness, electronics and cars. Items were chosen after testers, including engineers, scientists, technicians and statisticians, worked months in the labs evaluating more than 3,000 products.

ShopSmart magazine was launched in 2006 by Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, and, like Consumer Reports, accepts no advertising and provides unbiased product reviews. The magazine also provides tips on how to get the most out of products and "best of the best" lists.

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