Happy Cinco de Drinko

Another Cinco De Mayo is upon us, and many will take the opportunity to indulge in Mexican food and beverage. While the tasty provisions vary, the choice of drink always seems to be the same, Corona. For the love of hops, respect yourself and your beer and drink a better brew.
If you are one of the many that still continues to drink one of the world’s worst beers, you are not alone. Corona Extra is one of the top-selling Mexican beers in the world and is also the largest selling import in this country and in Canada. Touted as a “tropical pilsner” the beer, served in clear glass bottles and usually with a lime wedge, checks in at 4.6 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). Considered substandard in its home country, Corona Extra was once a cheap, low-grade lager in the States before a clever campaign of palm trees and white sand beaches saw it attain vacation status.
It amazes me how many drink this awful beer; usually ice cold with lime and sometimes salt. I challenge any Corona drinker to let the beer warm for 10 minutes, and leave out any additions to the beer. When drinking this swill under these conditions, you will truly know the flavor of misery.
I put a Corona Extra to the taste test recently, as Corona Light is beyond palatable and should not be consumed by humans. One will first notice the clear bottle, a cardinal sin of quality beer, that allows the contents to degrade much too quickly, although with Corona, there isn’t far to go.
Taken from the fridge and poured into a glass, an action that will probably never happen again, Corona Extra pours up a completely clear light yellow, similar to urine, with a bright white foamy top that recedes quickly.
The smell of this beer is mineral and skunky, possibly like overly-cooked veggies, maybe old corn? It’s just not pleasant, which is probably the reason why it’s rarely let out of the bottle.
The taste doesn’t help the cause. Although very crisp with a ton of carbonation, the flavors are sour and harsh, with mostly grain and again, corn, but always watery. A flash of sweetness is in there somewhere, but does not seem to be born of malt and certainly not hop. The finish is slightly acidic, and still a bit sour.
Beer that was created as bottom-of-the-barrel fare in its home country, made cheaply with poor quality ingredients, and marketed and sold to the underprivileged and labor workers is now seen as an import and exotic by many clueless Americans. Adjunct-laden and nearly intolerable, Corona Extra is possibly one of the worst beers in the world. If you are on the verge of death due to heat and exhaustion, then an ice cold Corona might work.
If you must stick with the fizzy yellow stuff, do not drink anything from a clear bottle; although you won’t notice it when ice cold, the beer is likely skunky, and not worth your time and money. A few tolerable macro adjunct lager beers, big brewery yellows made with corn, rice, and other cereal grains, do exist. These will be crisp, may offer a hint of grain, bread and/or hops, and should be enjoyed quite cold. Carte Blanca, Pacifico and Modelo Especial are all pretty much the same, and a step or two up from your average Cinco de Mayo fare. Do yourself a favor and skip any Corona product this holiday … and every day! If you enjoy the taste of lime, drink limejuice. Enjoy the brews … Cheers.
Gene’s Haufbrau has at more than 200 beers in bottles or on tap. While they don’t have every beer the Beer Snob writes about, they probably have most. Gene’s is located at 817 Savannah Hwy. 225-GENE. E-mail the Beer Snob at publisher@westof.net.