Corona
The main Corona brand is Corona Extra, a 4.6% alcohol by volume pale lager.[8] It is the top selling beer from Mexico and is one of the top five selling beers worldwide.[9] Available in over 150 countries, it is also Mexico's leading export brand. It was first brewed in 1925 by Cervecería Modelo on the tenth anniversary of the brewery. In 1926 the brewery decided to package the beer in clear glass quarter bottles. In 1997, Corona Extra became the top-selling imported beer in the United States, surpassing Heineken.[10]
Corona Extra is available in a variety of bottle sizes, ranging from the 250 ml ampolleta (labeled Coronita and referred to as the cuartito) up to the 940 ml Corona Familiar (known as the Familiar or Litro). Corona Mega is now available in a 1.2 liter bottle. A draught version also exists, as does canned Corona in some markets.
Unlike many beers, Corona is bottled in a clear bottle, increasing the opportunity for spoilage. Exposure to sunlight or light from fluorescent bulbs such as those used in refrigerated display cases significantly damages the taste of beer, yielding a taste that is often described as "skunky". This is the result of the essential hop oils spoiling due to UV exposure.[11][12]
The second Corona brand is Corona Light, the first light beer produced by this brewer. Corona Light has 3.4% alcohol by volume, 99 cal, per 355 ml bottle.[13]
Pacífico
Pacífico is a 4.5% abv pale lager originally brewed in Mazatlán, Sinaloa. The name means Pacific. The picture on the bottle is the city's lighthouse, for which it is famous, surrounded by a ring buoy. A light variety was launched in 2008.
Modelo Especial
First bottled in 1925,[14] Modelo Especial, a 4.4% abv pilsner-style lager, was the number two imported beer in the U.S. by case sales in 2014, selling 22.9 million annually.[15] In June 2023 the beer became the best-selling beer in the United States amid the 2023 Anheuser-Busch boycott.[16][17] Modelo Especial is most commonly served in 355 ml glass bottles although in some countries can be found in 12 USoz cans.
Modelo Light
Modelo Light is a light lager that was first produced in 1994.
Modelo Negra
Modelo Negra or Negra Modelo is a 5.4% abv Dunkel-style lager[18] first brewed in Mexico by Austrian immigrants, and was introduced as a draft beer in 1926.[19][20] Modelo Negra comes in an unusually shaped, wide brown bottle with a trademark gold label. Modelo Negra is most commonly served in 355ml glass bottles.
Modelo Reserva
Modelo Reserva ('Reserve') is Modelo Especial finished on aged wood from tequila barrels. It is a German Pilsner made in Mexico with a 5.5% ABV.[21]
Victoria
Victoria is a 4% abv Vienna lager first brewed in Toluca, México, in 1865 by Compañía Toluca y México. Grupo Modelo bought out Compañía Toluca y México in 1935.
It is sold in the United States in standard 12 U.S.oz bottles and 940 ml familiares; a smaller 150 ml bottle exists, but it is rare. The labels of all its presentations depict Gambrinus holding aloft a frothing mug.
Victoria beer is available in six, twelve, and twenty-four pack bottles in 39 states.[22]
Estrella Jalisco
Estrella ("star" in Spanish) is a pilsner beer produced in the Guadalajara Modelo plant. Estrella was first produced in the late 19th century by Cervecería Estrella (currently known as Cervecería Modelo de Guadalajara), that Grupo Modelo acquired in 1954. Estrella Jalisco is the only beer imported into the United States under ownership of Anheuser Busch.
León
León is a Munich-type dark amber-colored beer, that mixes a sweetness with light bitterness, and a white foam. The León brand was first launched into the market in the early 1900s, its origin is traced back to the southeast region of Mexico, over the years it has become popular throughout the country.
