Beer Blogging - Corona Familiar

Holy damn it's been a long time since I did this. Tonight's beer is a huge (940 mL) bottle of Corona Familiar that I bought in a supermarket in the north end of Rosarito Beach during a camping trip to Baja California.



The pour: it actually looks a fair amount like Corona, but a little darker. It poured into the mug with a lot of carbonation and a pretty sizable head. The head decreased over the course of about a minute, leaving a thin layer of foam on top of the mug. The aroma reminds me of one of the more flavorful American lager, like maybe MGD.

The taste: It also kind of tastes similar to MGD. If I had to reference it to Mexican beers, I'd place it somewhere between Corona and Negra Modelo (more towards the Negra Modelo side). It's more flavorful than regular Corona, for sure. Upon doing some Googling just now, though, it looks like it's exactly the same thing, just served in a much larger (family-size) bottle. Importantly, the bottle is made of amber glass. I think that's what makes this beer taste different from (better than, really) all the other Coronas I've had (those in the clear bottles). This one doesn't need a lime to taste good. UPDATE: It occurs to me that people might not know what Corona tastes like without the lime and the skunkiness. Well, Corona in a brown bottle is malty with just about no trace of hops. It pretty much tastes like a standard lager, without any of the sourness you sometimes get in American lagers. It's a decent style when done right (even if I personally prefer more hops).

The rating: 7/10. Corona would actually be a pretty damn good beer if it didn't come in the clear bottles; this beer is a good example of what Mexican lagers can achieve. Recommended for people who like American lagers, or for people who like Corona but wish it had a little more flavor.