What Does Modelo Taste Like: Its Flavor and Drinking Style

Do you already know what does Modelo taste like? This beer has solidified itself in the buying list of many beer lovers, and for several good reasons.

One of them is its flavor that makes the beer very popular among beer lover. Read the article to find out everything about Mexico’s unique gift to the beer world.

What Does Modelo Taste Like?

Modelo is a sweet-tasting beer with a noticeable corn-like taste. While sweet-tasting, Modelo has enough hop bitterness to provide a clean, crisp, and balanced finish. Modelo is can be moderately or highly carbonated, and leave a refreshing and smooth feel after drinking.

The mild sweetness of Modelo is accompanied by an elegant malty note. These subtle malty notes are felt all through the drinking of the beer. The beer leaves a malt and hops bitter aftertaste, along with its crisp and dry finish that has a refreshing effect on the mouth.

Modelo is truly one of the sweetest beers available today, but it still retains that characteristic beer bitterness. The sweetness and bitterness of the beer are pleasantly balanced, making it a fan favorite among many.

– What Kind of Beer Is Modelo

The properties and features of a beer determine its classification. In turn, this impacts the taste of the beer. For this reason, it is vital to examine what kind of beer Modelo is.

There are multiple steps to classifying beer into a particular style or kind. The first is determining whether the beer is an ale or a lager.

The classification as an ale or lager is the broadest form of classification for beers. All beers belong to either of the two groups. The determining factor of the category the beer will fall into is the fermentation technique employed in brewing the beer.

Ales are brewed using the top fermentation technique, which employs top-fermenting yeast at warm temperatures (60˚–70˚F). On the other hand, lagers are beers that are brewed using the bottom fermentation technique, using bottom-fermenting yeast at cold temperatures (35˚–50˚F). Since Modelo is brewed using bottom-fermenting yeast at cold temperatures, it is classified as a lager.

After this, we move to the various categories of lagers. Unlike the classification as a lager or ale, sub-classifying beer is not straightforward. There are many properties and factors that have to be assessed before a beer drink can be rightly placed in a particular subcategory. These factors include the bitterness of the beer, alcohol content, color of the beer, specific gravity of the beer, and the beer ingredients.

Because Modelo is moderately bitter, has an alcohol content between 4% and 5.3%, is golden colored, and has the appropriate ingredients, it is classified as an international pale lager. In Mexico, it is simply known as Mexican lager.

– Modelo Ingredients

All beers have the same basic ingredients – water, malted barley, yeast, and hops. Modelo is no exception. However, some beers have certain ingredients called adjuncts.

When making beer, adjuncts are frequently added to improve the brew capacity. Typically, rice and corn are used for lagers, while ales use wheat.

Mexican light lagers usually have fewer adjuncts than their American counterparts, but they prefer to use corn rather than rice when present. The aim of using corn adjuncts is to lighten the overall body of the beer and make it more refreshing.

Taste Comparison of Modelo With Other Mexican Beers

Mexican beers are becoming a trend in the United States today. Modelo is proof of this, with its two main variants, Modelo Especial and Modelo Negra. Aside from Modelo, a few other great variations have broken into the American market.

We will overview them below, comparing their taste to Modelo’s.

– Modelo vs Corona Extra

Both these beers belong to the same manufacturing company – the Mexican brewing company, Cerveceria Modelo, now a part of Anheuser-Busch InBev. The beers have the same manufacturers, but do they have similar tastes?

Modelo is a balanced beer with corn-like sweetness and enough hop bitterness. It tilts more towards the sweet side, though. Corona beer has a similar taste but is lighter and crispier. While this is a slight difference in feature, it makes a significant difference in taste.

In terms of taste, Modelo seems to have the edge. But you have to try both out and decide for yourself which is sweeter.

– Modelo vs Pacifico

Pacifico is a Mexican-American Pilsner. It has a taste profile similar to Corona’s, meaning it has a clean and dry finish. The major difference between the tastes of Pacifico and Modelo is that the latter is richer and fuller. Another key difference is that Pacifico is more refreshing and thirst-quenching than Modelo.

– Modelo vs Carta Blanca

Carta has a crisp and clean finish to it. Add to that its sweet corn notes, and you have a solid beer. However, it is miles off Modelo in taste. Modelo is better tasting, more refreshing, more balanced, and just more flavorful all around.

Frequently Asked Questions

– Does the Drinking Style Affect Modelo’s Taste?

In Mexico, there is a special drinking style for beers called Michelada. This style involves mixing the beer with lime juice and some other flavors, like tomato juice, and soy sauce. The result is brilliant, and it’s served in salt-rimmed glasses.

Many Mexican light beers are served this way, including Modelo. Serving Modelo, and basically, any other Mexican beer, in this style greatly improves the taste.

Aside from making Michelada, serving Modelo in lime-rimmed bottles is not uncommon. Most bars even serve the beer with a wedge of lime. No one knows when or why exactly this practice started, but we know for sure that it does not significantly impact the taste of the beer. If anything, it confers a lime hue when drinking the beer, and that’s not a bad thing at all.

– What Is the Alcohol Content of Modelo?

The alcohol content of a beer is the amount of beer that is pure alcohol. It is measured in a percentage called alcohol by volume (ABV).

The higher its ABV is, the more alcohol it has. Modelo ABV is between 3.5 percent and 5.4 percent.

– What Does Modelo Taste Like Compared to Sol?

Sol is one of the best tasting Mexican beers, which means it is a worthy opponent for Modelo. Sol has a very similar taste profile to Corona, meaning it is dry and crisp, with a more stable balance between its sweetness and hop bitterness. Modelo is richer and fuller than Sol, with a brilliant corn sweetness balanced by enough hop bitterness.

Both of these beers taste very nice, but Modelo just seems to be a step ahead.

– Are Corona and Modelo the Same?

They have the same manufacturer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, but that’s about it. They have slightly different alcohol content, with Corona bottled at 4.6 percent compared to Modelo at 4.4 percent.

While the alcohol content difference is slight, the difference in their taste is unmistakable. Modelo has a richer and fuller flavor than Corona. Additionally, Modelo has a stronger, more exerting aroma than Corona.

Both beers are undoubtedly the best-selling Mexican beers in the United States, but they are clearly different. Corona has carved out its own niche in the United States, growing from being virtually unknown 30 years ago to now being the most popular imported beer in the country.

Modelo is ideal for informal and easy-drinking beer for things like barbecues, game days, and tacos with friends. Modelo Especial was first brewed in Tacuba, a neighborhood in northwest Mexico City, in October 1925. By Halloween 2022, the company will have been around for 97 years.

– Can One Modelo Get You Drunk?

It is tricky to offer a definitive answer to this question because the factors that determine drunkenness affect people differently.

Typically, age, biological sex, weight, stomach content, drinking rate, and tolerance levels are the factors that affect drunkenness in individuals. For instance, females get drunk faster than men. Also, people with lesser body weight and stature get drunk faster.

However, under normal conditions in a healthy individual, one Modelo is not enough to get you drunk. In fact, the liver can process one standard bottle of 5% ABV beer in an hour. Modelo has an ABV of 4.4%, which is less than a standard beer. The implication is that one Modelo will not even get you tipsy; talk less of drunk.

To get drunk off Modelo, you would need to take about five beers in an hour. A word of caution, though, is that you can get drunk way faster if you drink Modelo at the same time or close to when you take other alcoholic drinks.

– Is Modelo Stronger than Corona?

The alcohol content of a beer determines its strength. The more alcohol by volume a beer contains, the stronger the beer is.

Modelo has an ABV of 4.4%, while Corona has 4.6% ABV. Judging from their respective ABVs, Corona is a stronger beer than Modelo. However, the difference between the two is a mere 0.2%.

Conclusion

This Modelo beer review has detailed how the beer tastes and also compared it to other Mexican beers. Below are some of the standout points:

• Modelo is a sweet-tasting beer with a corn-like taste. It has a balanced taste due to enough hop bitterness in the drink.
• Modelo is an International Pale lager and uses corn as an adjunct, which lightens the taste of the beer.
• Modelo is often consumed as a Michelada, which involves mixing the beer with lime juice and some other sauces.

Modelo is one of the best-selling Mexican beers in the United States, and this is not particularly surprising considering its brilliant taste. To get the most out of the beer, you can take it as a Michelada.