7 things probably didn’t know about Corona Extra

in Blog
Yes, this Mexican classic is one of the most famous beers in the world, and now you can have a six-litre keg of it, cooled to a perfect 3ºC, ready to drink. Just don’t forget the limes!

Corona Extra is a pilsner-style beer, a clean-tasting lager weighing in at 4.5%. It was first brewed in 1927 at Grupo Modelo brewery in Mexico City. It’s popularity soon spread over the border, and by 1933 Corona Extra was being exported to the US. Today, it’s the most sold imported beer in the States. Its fame also shot around the rest of the world and it’s now exported to more than 150 countries. With such a long history, it's loaded with myth and legend. Here are some things you may not have known about Corona Extra. 

“Don’t be surprised when you go to Mexico that your Corona doesn’t have a lime in it!.”

DID YOU KNOW...

1/ Corona Extra was first brewed in 1927
Grupo Modelo, the brewery that makes Corona Extra, was founded in 1925 in Mexico City. The first Corona Extra was brewed in 1927. In 1933, the brewery started selling Corona Extra to the US. 

2/ Lime is rarely added in Mexico
No one really knows why lime began to be added in the neck of bottles of Corona Extra. Some stories suggest it was to keep flies out and some suggest it sanitises the bottle top, but most people suggest it just tastes even better with a hint of real lime. However, don’t be surprised when you go to Mexico that your Corona doesn’t have a lime in it! 

3/ Corona means ‘crown’
Corona means ‘crown’ in Spanish, but in Spain it’s known as Coronita or ‘little crown’ as there’s been a brand called Coronas in the country since 1907. According to the Oxford Companion to Beer: ‘The distinctive crown logo from which Corona takes its name is based on the crown that adorns the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the town of Puerto Vallarta.’

4/ The animals on the labels are Griffins
The crown or ‘corona’ sits on top of the Mexican sun, while the griffins (part lion, part eagle)’ on the Corona labels are there to ‘protect’ the beer. 

5/ Make it a Michelada...
Corona Extra is widely used in a Michelada, a kind of beery bloody mary. There are many ways of making it, but it is basically, half beer (we’d suggest Corona), half clamato juice (or just tomato juice), a dash of Worcestershire sauce, a touch of hot sauce, a drop of soy sauce, a pinch of freshly ground pepper, loads of ice, the juice of a lime and some salt for the rim. It sometimes comes with a cold shrimp balanced on the edge as a garnish. 

6/ … or put it in a margarita
Corona is widely used in beer cocktails. One of them called Coronarita, which is basically an upturned bottle of Corona in a margarita! 

7/ A best seller
Corona is one of the best selling beers in the world, and the biggest selling beer imported to the US.