With Cinco de Mayo nearly here, it’s time to get ready for a rush of tequila, burritos as big as your forearm, as many birria tacos as you can eat, and plenty of Mexican beer. While we’ve been helping you handle the food and the tequila, I’m going to turn my attention here exclusively to the beer.
Before we dive in, a little background. Frequently confused for Mexico’s Independence Day, which takes place September 16th, Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico’s underdog victory over the French empire at the Battle of Puebla, on May 5th, 1862. Remembered in Puebla ever since, Mexican-American civil rights activists began promoting the day as a source of cultural pride in the 1960s. By the 1980s, drinks importers were creating entire advertising campaigns based around the holiday, and as of 2013, Americans were buying more beer on Cinco De Mayo than for the Super Bowl or St. Patrick’s Day.
In honor of the biggest beer buying day of the year, I thought it was time for a tried-and-true blind taste test. For these latest rankings, I hand-selected 10 well-known Mexican beers from my local grocery store for this test, attempting to choose only pilsners and light-colored lagers so they were as similar in style as possible.
Today’s Lineup:
- Dos Equis Lager Especial
- Tecate Lager
- Modelo Especial
- Sol Cerveza
- Corona Extra
- Carta Blanca Original
- Estrella Jalisco
- Victoria
- Pacífico Clara
- Bohemia Pilsner
How will your beloved Tecate fare? Or Pacifco? Will a lesser-known brand take the top spot? Let’s find out!
Part 1: The Taste
Taste #1
Tasting Notes:
There isn’t much going on with this beer’s nose. It took a lot of sniffing to find anything. If you put this in front of me and told me it wasn’t a beer, I might believe you. There are some floral hops and maybe some corn sweetness, but really nothing else. The palate is really sweet and almost sugary with little to no other flavors noticeable. This is the epitome of fizzy, watery beer. Bland to the max.
Taste #2
Tasting Notes:
Wet grass, bread, caramel malts, and light sweet corn are abundant on this beer’s nose. The aromas are subtle, but they definitely draw you in. The palate doesn’t disappoint with more freshly cut grass, freshly baked bread, sweet grains, caramel malts, light corn, and floral, slightly bitter hops at the finish. It’s not overly exciting, but surprisingly well-rounded.
Taste #3
Tasting Notes:
The nose is slightly herbal with honey, sweet cereal, wet grass, and caramel malts. It’s sweet, refreshing, and has notes of fresh corn, grains, pilsner malts, caramel, clover honey, and just a hint of bitter, floral hops at the very end. By far the most refreshing, easy to drink, well-balanced beer in this blind taste test so far.
Taste #4
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, I found biscuit-like malts, sweet corn, slight ripe fruit, and caramel. Sipping it brought forth notes of sweet corn, floral hops, cracker malts, toffee, fresh hay, light grain, and a gentle, bitter hops presence to bring everything together nicely.
Taste #5
Tasting Notes:
Nosing this beer reveals aromas of sweet corn, some light floral hops, and bread-like malts. That’s really it. The palate is extremely sweet with corn notes as well as more floral hops, bread, and a slight caramel malts. Overall, this is a crushable, light beer that doesn’t have much substance at all besides corn sweetness.
Taste #6
Tasting Notes:
A nose of caramel malts, sweet corn, bread, and light floral hops greeted me before my first sip. The palate has notable flavors like freshly baked bread, floral hops, sweet grains, slight fruit flavors, corn, and a gentle bitterness that ties everything together nicely.
Taste #7
Tasting Notes:
There’s a ton of corn on this beer’s nose and that’s not necessarily a terrible thing. On top of the sweet corn aroma, there are also notes of sweet grains, fresh-cut grass, bread-like malts, and some slight floral hop aroma. On the palate, I found more sweet corn, grains, and caramel malts, with a slightly acidic, mildly bitter finish.
Taste #8
Tasting Notes:
A fairly muted nose of sugary corn, caramel malts, and faintly floral hops met nostrils. It didn’t really get me excited to sip it. Luckily, there was a little more going on with the palate. There were notes of freshly-baked bread, wet grass, more sweet corn, and caramel malts. While definitely not exciting to any degree, it was definitely easy to drink.
Taste #9
Tasting Notes:
Bread, corn, wet grass, malts, and light floral notes are prevalent on the nose. Taking a drink, I found more sweet corn, bread-like malts, caramel, and light, slightly bitter, floral hops. Still kind of watery, it goes down easy. All in all, it’s an easy-to-drink beer with little to no frills.
Taste #10
Tasting Notes:
This beer had a real “adjunct” smell to it. There were notes of corn, bread, and maybe some citrus. But it all smelled very generic. Sipping it didn’t reveal much more. It’s fairly muted with some corn sweetness, bready malts, and a more generic flavor. While fizzy and crisp, it tastes mass-produced and watery.
Part 2: The Rankings
10) Corona Extra (Taste 1)
ABV: 4.5%
Average Price: $8.50 for a six-pack
The Beer:
When many beer drinkers think of Mexican beer, one name stands out above the rest: Corona. Likely because of its advertising, there’s no Mexican beer more famous. Does that mean it’s the best? Probably not. The top-selling imported beer in the U.S., this pale lager is known for its refreshing, highly crushable flavor.
Blind Notes:
There isn’t much going on with this beer’s nose. It took a lot of sniffing to find anything. If you put this in front of me and told me it wasn’t a beer, I might believe you. There are some floral hops and maybe some corn sweetness, but really nothing else. The palate is really sweet and almost sugary with little to no other flavors noticeable. This is the epitome of fizzy, watery beer. Bland to the max.
Bottom Line:
Honestly, I couldn’t have been less surprised to see Corona Extra ranked as the worst of the bunch. I’ve very infrequently imbibed this beer without a slice of lime. Without that added citrus, it’s as flavorless as seltzer water.
9) Sol Cerveza (Taste 10)
ABV: 4.5%
Average Price: $8.50 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Created in 1899, Sol Cerveza is a light, refreshing lager that’s pretty much designed to be enjoyed on a hot day. Available in over 70 countries, it’s always cheap, light, refreshing, and easy to drink. It’s the kind of beer you crave on a humid summer day.
Blind Notes:
This beer had a real “adjunct” smell to it. There were notes of corn, bread, and maybe some citrus. But it all smelled very generic. Sipping it didn’t reveal much more. It’s fairly muted with some corn sweetness, bready malts, and a more generic flavor. While fizzy and crisp, it tastes mass-produced and watery.
Bottom Line:
I haven’t had many Sols in my life, so I didn’t know what to expect with this beer. It is a beer available almost anywhere and is super cheap. It’s still a fairly bad beer sans lime wedge.
8) Pacífico Clara (Taste 5)
ABV: 4.4%
Average Price: $9 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Owned by Grupo Modelo, Pacífico is a pilsner-style Mexican beer that gets its name because the brewery it’s produced at is in the Pacific Ocean port city of Mazatlán in Sinaloa, Mexico. Like many beers in this style, it’s known for its crisp, light, easy drinking flavor and little to no frills.
Blind Notes:
Nosing this beer reveals aromas of sweet corn, some light floral hops, and bread-like malts. That’s really it. The palate is extremely sweet with corn notes as well as more floral hops, bread, and a slight caramel malts. Overall, this is a crushable, light beer that doesn’t have much substance at all besides corn sweetness.
Bottom Line:
Pacífico is also not a beer I’ve had a ton of experience with so I didn’t have any expectations with this beer. While not an abrasively bad beer, it has very few redeeming qualities besides being easy to drink, making this beer is a snooze fest.
7) Estrella Jalisco (Taste 8)
ABV: 4.5%
Average Price: $9 for a six-pack
The Beer:
If you’re a fan of tequila, you know all about Jalisco. This Mexican state is where the town of Tequila and the heart of the spirit is. It’s also the state where Estrella Jalisco was created and gets its name. Because of that, this 4.5% ABV Czech-style pilsner just might be the best beer to pair with tequila.
Blind Notes:
A fairly muted nose of sugary corn, caramel malts, and faintly floral hops met nostrils. It didn’t really get me excited to sip it. Luckily, there was a little more going on with the palate. There were notes of freshly-baked bread, wet grass, more sweet corn, and caramel malts. While definitely not exciting to any degree, it was definitely easy to drink.
Bottom Line:
Estrella Jalisco isn’t a bad beer. It’s not a good beer either. It’s a fairly “meh” beer that’s sweet, light, and crushable. That’s about it.
6) Carta Blanca Original (Taste 9)
ABV: 4.5%
Average Price: $8 for a six-pack
The Beer:
First brewed in 1890, Carta Blanca is known as the beer that made Monterrey, Mexico famous. Brewed by Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, like many Mexican-style lagers it’s known for its light, crisp, easy-to-drink flavor profile.
Blind Notes:
Bread, corn, wet grass, malts, and light floral notes are prevalent on the nose. Taking a drink, I found more sweet corn, bread-like malts, caramel, and light, slightly bitter, floral hops. Still kind of watery, it goes down easy. All in all, it’s an easy-to-drink beer with little to no frills.
Bottom Line:
Carta Blanca is a decent take on the Mexican lager style. It’s not very complex, but it has enough going on in the flavor department to make it a better choice over some of its more well-known rivals listed below it in this ranking.
5) Dos Equis Lager Especial (Taste 7)
ABV: 4.2%
Average Price: $8 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Unlike many of the other well-known Mexican lagers, Dos Equis actually lists the ingredients. They are water, malted barley, corn starch, corn syrup, hops, and ascorbic acid. A little more scientific sounding than most beers we’re used to, at least they’re being honest.
Blind Notes:
There’s a ton of corn on this beer’s nose and that’s not necessarily a terrible thing. On top of the sweet corn aroma, there are also notes of sweet grains, fresh-cut grass, bread-like malts, and some slight floral hop aroma. On the palate, I found more sweet corn, grains, and caramel malts, with a slightly acidic, mildly bitter finish.
Bottom Line:
While very sweet and corny, there’s something more drinkable about Dos Equis as compared to its counterparts. Maybe it’s because it’s slightly more complex than some of the others. Still, fairly muted though but just with just enough profile to make the middle of the list.
4) Victoria (Taste 6)
ABV: 4%
Average Price: $8.50 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Victory is one of the lowest alcohol content Mexican beers you’ll find at your local grocery store. This Vienna-style lager has been brewed for more than 100 years and, even with its low alcohol content, is known for its surprisingly complex flavor profile.
Blind Notes:
A nose of caramel malts, sweet corn, bread, and light floral hops greeted me before my first sip. The palate has notable flavors like freshly baked bread, floral hops, sweet grains, slight fruit flavors, corn, and a gentle bitterness that ties everything together nicely.
Bottom Line:
The only time I had Victoria before this blind taste test was in Mexico and I remember enjoying it then. It tasted just as good this time with a nice combination of sweet and bitter flavors. Still, there were a couple of beers that stood out that little bit more.
3) Bohemia Pilsner (Taste 2)
ABV: 4.9%
Average Price: $8 for a six-pack
The Beer:
The flagship of the Bohemia beer line, this pilsner gets its name because of its use of hops sourced from the Czech Republic. It’s well known for its complex, crisp flavor profile with nice herbal, floral, and slightly bitter hops.
Blind Notes:
Wet grass, bread, caramel malts, and light sweet corn are abundant on this beer’s nose. The aromas are subtle, but they definitely draw you in. The palate doesn’t disappoint with more freshly cut grass, freshly baked bread, sweet grains, caramel malts, light corn, and floral, slightly bitter hops at the finish. It’s not overly exciting, but surprisingly well rounded.
Bottom Line:
We’re getting into the better beers now. Bohemia Pilsner is the flagship beer from this brand for a reason. It’s a great take on the Czech style with a solid balance of sweet malts and floral, slightly bitter hops.
2) Tecate Lager (Taste 4)
ABV: 4.5%
Average Price: $8 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Also known as Tecate Cerveza Original, this classic, easy-drinking Mexican lager lists only three, simple ingredients: water, barley, and hops. Regardless of any other ingredients that might be present, this beer is known for its malt-forward, refreshing, highly crushable taste.
Blind Notes:
On the nose, I found biscuit-like malts, sweet corn, slight ripe fruit, and caramel. Sipping it brought forth notes of sweet corn, floral hops, cracker malts, toffee, fresh hay, light grain, and a gentle, bitter hops presence to bring everything together nicely.
Bottom Line:
Tecate is a surprisingly well-balanced and easy-drinking beer. If you prefer your Mexican lagers to be more malt-forward, this is the beer for you. And I do, so it’s ranked almost at the top.
1) Modelo Especial (Taste 3)
ABV: 4.4%
Average Price: $6 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Brewed since 1925, this classic, pilsner-style lager is brewed simply with water, barley malt, non-malted cereals, and hops. Made using the same traditional brewing techniques popularized in Europe, it’s crisp, delicious, and known for its light, easy-drinking, highly refreshing nature.
Blind Notes:
The nose is slightly herbal with honey, sweet cereal, wet grass, and caramel malts. It’s sweet, refreshing, and has notes of fresh corn, grains, pilsner malts, caramel, clover honey, and just a hint of bitter, floral hops at the very end. By far the most refreshing, easy-to-drink, well-balanced beer in this blind taste test so far.
Bottom Line:
I’m usually surprised when I see which beer takes the top spot. But, in this case, I wasn’t. Modelo Especial is surprisingly well-balanced, crisp, and effortlessly crushable. The best beer on this whole list by far.