Grupo Modelo: Corona Extra – Mexican Style

Corona is a pilsner brewed in Mexico by Grupo Modelo. If you’re a beer drinker there is a great chance you’ve heard of, or have had, a Corona beer.

Grupo Modelo is a very large brewery in Mexico famous for many beers exported to our country, including Corona Extra, Corona Light, Negra Modelo, Pacifico and a few others. Grupo Modelo makes a few drinks special to Mexico which will require a trip their to taste.

This large brewery holds a 56% market share in Mexico and 50% of Grupo Modelo is owned by a small company known as Anheuser-Bush (you may have heard of Budweiser, yes?) There is a good chance you’ve had a beer from one of these two companies even if you’re a microbrew fan.

Corona rivals Heineken for the distinction of being the top imported beer. Corona is often served with a wedge of lime or lemon, and a dash of salt inserted into the neck of the bottle. –wikipedia

Okay, so we’ve probably had Corona but what’s with the lime? Have you ever had Cornoa without a lime? It doesn’t taste the same… almost like it’s missing a flavor. Perhaps the flavor of Mexico is a tropical lime flavor? eurekalert.org suggests this:

“Hops help flavor beer, inhibit bacterial growth and are largely responsible for the stability of the foam in the head,” Forbes said. “Hops, however, are light-sensitive, and the three main compounds in them identified as being light-sensitive are called isohumulones. When attacked by either visible or ultraviolet light, these break down to make reactive intermediates known as free radicals that lead to the offensive taste and skunky odor.”

How do you solve the problem? A Lime! “Corona beer also is sold in clear bottles, but manufacturers do not used a modified hop product, he said. Instead, they usually keep their bottles boxed to exclude light and encourage drinkers to add a slice of lime to improve the odor.”

Over the years lime has just become a mandatory party of our Mexican styled beers. It’s not to make a bad beer taste good, but to make a good beer taste better. Some folks will tell you Corona is the bottom of the barrel while others live by it.

On a visit to Palm Springs this past week I’ve found that many places stock it as a replacement “Budweiser” and people love it. Substitution or not, you cannot put down a beer that has this much popularity. It is available in 150 countries and is the most exported beer from Mexico so it must have a flavor people love or we’d stick with something else, right?

Corona Extra (148 calories) and Corona Light (105 calories) are great summer time relaxation beverages but can be celebrated all year long. If you want a bit more hop flavor (although mild) stick with Extra and it’s 4.6% alcohol by volume, or go with the Light and sip a 3.7% alcohol by volume beverage.

In either case, you’re on corona time. Enjoy!