Modelo Especial

What finally ended the long American reign of domestic light lagers? A Mexican pilsner-style lager in a gold-trimmed bottle: Modelo Especial took the U.S. sales crown in 2023, and the momentum shows in Kantar's No. 4 world ranking and a Brand Finance valuation of $7.1 billion.

Grupo Modelo first brewed it in Mexico City in 1925, the fuller-flavored sibling in the family that also makes Corona. For decades it traveled north quietly, the beer of Mexican-American neighborhoods and taquerías, building loyalty case by case while bigger brands bought the airtime.

The ownership chart is the strangest part. AB InBev owns Modelo worldwide, but when it absorbed Grupo Modelo in 2013, U.S. antitrust regulators forced the American rights to be sold to Constellation Brands. The result is a beer run by rival companies depending on which side of the border you drink it — and the American side is the one setting sales records.

Deep gold under a dense white head, a shade richer than its lighter Mexican cousins. Bready malt sweetness with a soft corn note fills the middle, balanced by a modest herbal hop bite and a clean finish. It has enough body to stand up to carnitas and a squeeze of lime, and stays easy enough to order twice.