https://www.beervanablog.com/beervana/2025/4/10/epilogue-constellation-sues-corona-mega Interesting read from Jeff Alworth's Beervana blog on falsely labeled faux-Corona. He questions, and I'm similarly interested, how there could possibly be profit here. In an era where beer margins are increasingly thin, what motive could there be to mislabeling what sounds like a superior Mexican lager as America's favorite light-struck summer crusher?
This story reminded me randomly enough of an ongoing saga I read in some coffee blogs some time about about a guy who contacted a series of high end roasters to say he received defective beans. I don’t remember the resolution in that case, although it really appeared to be less a scam and more a different sort of issue/call for help.
Interesting article, save for the last two paragraphs of pointless dribble. Too bad they couldn’t have just marketed this beer as their own instead of trying to create a counterfeit product.
Ain't the first time for Corona. Similar "imitation" brands of one sort or another have been marketed in the US over the decades. The Black Horse Ale brand (at one time a leading Canadian import in the US in the post-Repeal era into the '50s), once brewed by at least 4 US breweries - Koch, Diamond Spring, Champale and Genesee - existed simply because the Canadian owner/ brewer, Dawes, (eventually owned by Carling-O'Keefe) apparently didn't correctly maintain their US trademark and the US companies simply trademarked and began using the brand. There was briefly a "Korr's" brand during the big Coors bootlegging mania of the 1970s and when the Miller-brewed Lowenbrau (initially at their Ft. Worth, TX brewery) became a mini-scandal, a Swiss-brewed Lowenbrau was promoted as being "Imported" "closer to" and "the original". What is interesting about this imitation Corona is there is a loophole in the US labeling law, where only the name of the importer is required on labels, but not the actual brewer. .
lmao too many big words? maybe make it a tik tok dance while we're at it. modern (lack of) literacy scares me.
fascinating. I suppose brand recognition is incredibly valuable, especially in the case of a beer like Corona that is associated with a specific context (Mexican restaurants).
That's funny - I (still) prefer the written word. Easier to skim for important info, easier to quote or save facts or opinion, easier to re-read a complex paragraph and to ignore the nonsense. I don't need to see the ugly mug or be distracted by the attractiveness of the author. But, let me guess ...(hmmm... how can I say this politely....) we didn't go to high school at the same time, I bet.
A few excerpts from the article: “Whatever I bought that night was definitely not regular Corona. For one thing, it was a vastly superior beer.” Well, that is a dead giveaway right there! And: “The label listed Oz Trading Group of Hidalgo, Texas as the importer…” I think that is a great name: Cheers!
Margins aren't thin for Constellation. Their Modelo and Corona come from ultra-efficient breweries with extremely low labor costs and possibly reduced taxes to incentivize the investment. Import duties (under USMCA/newNAFTA) have been minimal. Their costs should be be similar to or lower than those of ABInbev and MolsonCoors, but sales prices much higher. The counterfeiter will pay higher prices for product, but won't have Constellation's significant promotion and advertising costs.
My mother developed macular degeneration in her 80s and 90s. She had always been an avid reader, and she tried to adapt to audio books. But she wasn't happy about it. She just enjoyed the process of reading. (She went to HS in the late 1920s, Normal School in the early 30s -- I suppose those whippersnappers will need to ask AI what Normal School was).
Plus, there's the benefit of not having someone else's annoying music in the background. I much rather have my own annoying music in the background.
A matter of preference, personally also enjoy more the article and words, paragraphs format for reasons others have stated and I am not pedantic about it one little bit.
