The Good Kind of Corona

As ubiquitous as the summer sun, Corona is the beer you think of when you think of the beach. You can thank the brand’s marketing department for that one. Since 1926, the company has been associating those iconic clear bottles with palm trees and sand, some top images that pop in your head when you think of vacations and relaxation. But there are probably a lot of things you don’t know about America’s #1 import beer. In light of this horrible pandemic, I thought it would be timely to dive in and learn a little bit more about the beer that has survived this unfortunate misnomer.

Like most Mexican beers, the recipe for Corona Extra came from German immigrants. The pale lager was first produced in 1925 by the Cerveceria Modelo brewery in Mexico City, and named for the corona of the sun, not after a crown, though the crown symbol does appear on the label. A year after it was brewed, the company decided to ditch the brown bottles (which are best for preserving beer) and go with clear bottles to highlight the beer’s sun-like golden color.

In fact, the logo design is supposed to represent the sun setting over a blue ocean. The circle in the middle with the phrase “La Cerveza Mas Fina” (The finest beer) is supposed to represent the sun. The two griffins on either side of the circle are, according to the Modelo website, “sacred creatures and guardians of the sun.” Another cool fact is that in 1940, Corona was the first beer with the label printed directly on the bottle. It makes sense: The label won’t fall off in your cooler on the way to the beach!

As the company grew within Mexico and started acquiring other regional breweries and brands, Corona overtook pulque, a native Mexican drink, as the country’s favorite malt beverage. In the 1970s, a black market for Corona beer formed in the United States before the company eventually started exporting across the border in 1979.

In the 1980s, Heineken started rumors that circulated far and wide that human urine was used in the production of Corona. This of course, was completely false, but Corona had the last laugh and surpassed Heineken as the No. 1 import beer in the U.S. in 1997. At some point in the early 2000s, Corona Light arrived in the states and today is the best-selling import light beer in America.

Corona is owned by Constellation brands, a global conglomerate that also owns wine like Robert Mondavi, Meiomi, Clos du Bois, and Franciscan Estates; as well as liquor brands Svedka Vodka and Casa Noble Tequila; and other beer brands like Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo, Pacifico and Funky Buddha.

Corona is sold in 180 countries around the world (I think there are only about 193 total). Clear bottles are the worst kind for preserving beer because it lets the light in, which can skunk the beer. But over the years, the brewery developed amazing preservation techniques including adding antioxidants and propylene glycol alginate to the beer as stabilizers (same chemical class as alcohol; no odor flavor, etc.).

In 2008, the company made headlines by selling 50% ownership of its American business to AB INBev (Budweiser), to which there was some anti-monopoly pushback, but eventually the deal went through.

Besides Corona Extra and Corona Light, the Corona family of beers has been expanding as of late. Corona Premier hit the shelves in 2018, marketed as a premium light beer offering for the calorie-conscious consumer. The beer sheds a whole nine calories off of Corona Light, which only has 99, and was meant to compete with brands like Michelob Ultra. If you wanted to reduce your calories, you could also go with the Coronitas, which are the 7-ounce mini bottles. Coronitas are often used in a Coronarita, which is a margarita with an upside-down Coronita in the glass.

The company also makes also make a beer called Familiar, which is a full-flavored lager that originally came only in 32-ounce bottles, and was meant for family gatherings where people would pour the beer out among the group. As of 2017, the beer also comes in 12-ounce bottles, but is not as big a seller.

In 2019, Corona made its first non-beer with its Refresca Series, fruity malt beverages in Passionfruit Lime, Guava Lime, and Coconut Lime.

In 2020, Corona hopped on the seltzer bandwagon and released four flavors of hard seltzer including lime, cherry, mango, and blackberry lime. I have yet to try the seltzers; hey, I’m a beer guy.

Grupo Modelo is also known for other big brands including Modelo, Negra Modelo, Pacifico and Victoria. Any and all of these are typically served with a lime. How this became a thing is up for debate. Some say it was a bartender in New York who attempted to make it a popular trend. Others believe it was to help disinfect the rim of the bottle. I choose to believe the traditional idea that the lime was placed in the bottle to keep the flies out, and some people liked the flavor. Whatever the reason, you can’t think of Corona without the lime. The company even made moves to start their own brand of limes, but I still have yet to see a Corona-branded lime.

When the coronavirus became the only thing that people talked about for three months, CNN published the results of a shotty survey at the end of February claiming that 38% of Americans would refuse to buy Corona beer because of the pandemic. This blossomed into rumors that people were scared to drink it because they thought it caused the virus. This was utterly preposterous. I do not believe people actually thought that, and in fact sales actually went up 5% during quarantine! The virus did, however, postpone promotional ads for the new seltzers as the company thought they could be taken distastefully.

Corona Light has been the best-selling beer for me at The Whitebrier for many years running. Over the years, I have gone from despising its corny, skunky flavor to actually appreciating it as a refreshing beach beer. So get out there and grab some Coronas. Think some happy thoughts. And whenever a bar can open after a quarantine, “a Corona gets its lime.”