She spent summers there from the ages of 6 to 18. She is a first-generation American whose parents emigrated from San Luis Potosi, 250 miles north of Mexico City. Most major Mexican brands are currently in the hands of two dominant players: Grupo Modelo (owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, though its brands in the United States have been divested - more on that to come) and Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma (a subsidiary of Heineken International.)įor Davila, the appeal of Mexican beer lies in both personal history and the quality among the top tier. However, like its American neighbor, body- and taste-lightening adjuncts slowly worked their way into recipes, and consolidation pushed the industry toward a lowest common denominator. Mexico's brewing history dates to the arrival of German and Austrian immigrants in the mid-1800s, who made the Vienna lager - a clean lager with faint malt-forward heft (Samuel Adams Boston Lager is a modern example) - a common staple. And its impact on our culture is growing. Mexico is the sun-dappled place where we are from. The answer is a complex mix of demographics, marketing, history and nostalgia. (The result is a taste most often referred to as "skunky.") So what's going on with Mexican beer? Though the best Mexican imports are legitimately tasty, it's not just quality at work if it were, three of the biggest sellers - Corona Extra, Modelo Especial and Sol - wouldn't be packaged in clear glass, which allows light to degrade beer in literal seconds. The old faithful top four brands - Bud Light, Coors Light, Budweiser and Miller Lite - are all down or flat from a year ago while their Mexican competitors are up: Corona nearly 9 percent, Modelo Especial 24 percent and Modelo Negra (recently rechristened from Negra Modelo), Pacifico and Modelo Especial Chelada all in the neighborhood of 20 to 30 percent. Nine of the nation's top 54 brands are Mexican imports, including two of the top seven (Corona Extra and Modelo Especial). I spent the next couple of weeks drinking 15 imported Mexican beers, weighing what works, what doesn't and why the style has been a rocket in the American beer market for the past 20 years, since Corona overtook Heineken as the nation's biggest-selling import.Īccording to Chicago-based market research firm IRI, Mexican beer has accounted for nearly 70 percent of imported beer sales during the past year - and growing. Unlike Victoria, it was better with lime. Not the worst but a bit too much of that cloying grain flavor not present in Victoria.
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