Corona beer ruination

[Pinball]

The 'brewed in UK' plague has descended finally on Corona beer, turning it into yet another fizzy banal dishwater (former) 'foreign beer', thanks to corporate owner profiteering. This happened in the last couple of weeks by my reckoning, noticed when I went to my local Booker wholesaler. I went back to Booker today, and cleared the last remaining few boxes of brewed in Mexico Corona, for my own personal consumption. Going forward, only brewed in UK shite will be available :-(

I've seen this so many times in the past, starting with Fosters Ice, Bud Ice, Labatt Ice years ago, which were great then got locally brewed in UK and turned to headache-inducing shite. And where are they now? Don't see them. I wonder why? I get headaches easily from beer, and prefer the finely filtered, lighter stuff. So I can diagnose like a drug detecting dog when identikit 'brewed in UK' crap starts. I swear it's the same vat, re-labelled as necessary.

I am paranoid about checking for imported vs brewed in UK, and don't buy the latter for 'foreign' beers, because it's no longer the genuine article, with much reduced QA, different water, different brewing etc. But hey, it's got the label, right?

Stella Artois was similarly ruined, and Birra Moretti recently too. So sad to see, and an example of globalisation profiteering BS.

What formerly 'foreign beers' have other folks seen ruined by certain greedy global corporations in the UK? I've been dreading the day Corona got destroyed by them, but it sadly happened this week :-(

[Cuellar]

Not being rude, but Corona was always

fizzy banal dishwater

wasn't it?

[Pinball]

It's not a strong taste but has a following, and I like the subtle aroma and flavours, and the beer is finely filtered without headaches generally. Not many 5% beers can achieve that, and as I say I'm sensitive to post-beer headaches. And add lime and all that.

It's certainly not in the Budweiser bat's piss category IMO, or at least wasn't...

[Cuellar]

Fair enough

[mothman]

Always liked a Corona. Just a bit nicer than many of the other pish lagers out there.

I just wish I knew why I can't find Negra Modelo - my favourite - anywhere these days. Bugger Modelo Especial.

[Pinball]

Fair enough

I'm drinking Mythos Greek beer in the jacuzzi currently. Adapt to survive :-)

[canadagoose]

Whatever happened to ice lagers? Wish they'd bring them back. They're still successful in America but it's just "arsed mate" over here.

Also I read the title as "Corona Beer Nuneaton" and "Corona Beer urination" at once. Did anyone else or am I daft?

[Pinball]

Always liked a Corona. Just a bit nicer than many of the other pish lagers out there.

I just wish I knew why I can't find Negra Modelo - my favourite - anywhere these days. Bugger Modelo Especial.

Modelo is great too. Yes, it's disappeared from Booker. Hmmmm. Corona disappeared off the shelves for a while too (this year, not related to the March 2020 factory closure), followed by the 'brewed in UK' development recently, so I hope Modelo isn't another buyout victim. I appreciate local brewing vastly increases profits for the global corporates (e.g. no expensive shipping, which has trebled in cost during Covid), but it ruins the beer, and of course prices don't decrease! At least allow consumers to buy the original imported variety if they wish, you greedy corporate bastards. It will still be possible to buy 'the original', but only via expensive specialist sellers, sadly.

[Pinball]

Whatever happened to ice lagers? Wish they'd bring them back. They're still successful in America but it's just "arsed mate" over here.

Also I read the title as "Corona Beer Nuneaton" and "Corona Beer urination" at once. Did anyone else or am I daft?

My understanding is that the brewed in UK versions, that took over, were so terrible that no-one bought them. The original imported versions were lovely for me, being very finely filtered, because I never got a headache!

A bit like Dasani water was fucked when people realised the factory was using Sidcup tap water. I mean, even British consumers have some standards, right? The corporates seem to think we are very, very undiscerning in this country.

[jobotic]

Tyskie is much worse than it used to be and I think it's brewed here now.

Zywiec and Perla probably are too but I haven't noticed a decline.

[idunnosomename]

thought this was going to be the downturn from the virus thing. although i did see people buying massive packs of them from Aldi march/april 2020, possibly ironically

[canadagoose]

My understanding is that the brewed in UK versions, that took over, were so terrible that no-one bought them. The original imported versions were lovely for me, being very finely filtered, because I never got a headache!

A bit like Dasani water was fucked when people realised the factory was using Sidcup tap water. I mean, even British consumers have some standards, right? The corporates seem to think we are very, very undiscerning in this country.

Ugh, that figures. You'd have thought someone would import them, but apparently nobody is arsed enough.

[Pinball]

Tyskie is much worse than it used to be and I think it's brewed here now.

Zywiec and Perla probably are too but I haven't noticed a decline.

Do other countries have local versions like here, or is it because of very high UK taxes on alcohol? It's getting ridiculous. Wouldn't be so bad if UK versions were any good, but of course, as you'd expect with corporate greed and cost-cutting, they are all shit.

Why do we brew Eastern European beers here? Must be cheap as chips to source, and intra-European shipping costs not too high. So I'm guessing it's the appallingly high UK taxes driving this. Possibly post-Brexit bureaucratic complexity too. Whatever reason, 'foreign beers' in the UK are the shittiest they have ever been right now, IMO.

For me, 'brewed in the UK' (for foreign beers) = DON'T BUY!!!!

[canadagoose]

Do other countries have local versions like here, or is it because of very high UK taxes on alcohol? It's getting ridiculous. Wouldn't be so bad if UK versions were any good, but of course, as you'd expect with corporate greed and cost-cutting, they are all shit.

Why do we brew Eastern European beers here? Must be cheap as chips to source, and intra-European shipping costs not too high. So I'm guessing it's the appallingly high UK taxes driving this. Possibly post-Brexit bureaucratic complexity too. Whatever reason, 'foreign beers' in the UK are the shittiest they have ever been right now, IMO.

For me, 'brewed in the UK' (for foreign beers) = DON'T BUY!!!!

I know for a fact Australia does that, and to an extent in the US.

[Shit Good Nose]

The fact that most of them now have the glorious taste of Trent water, and therefore so interchangeable, is the main reason I moved over to premium cider several years ago.  Completely agree about the headaches, although it was a long while before I connected the dots.  Was never a fan of Corona, though.

[Pinball]

Ugh, that figures. You'd have thought someone would import them, but apparently nobody is arsed enough.

It will always be possible to import, but expensive... That's why I loved buying these from Booker at wholesale prices. Indeed, I bought brewed in Mexico Corona today, but sadly probably for the last time from Booker... (I even cleared the upper shelf, and had to climb on my trolley and use a stick to pull the boxes towards me, heh. But fuck it, it was my last opportunity).

[touchingcloth]

Love Corona love how it comes with the lime in the neck yum nom om.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

You may detect a change in flavour but that will be to do with local water. For example, Manchester struggles to brew good pilsner locally as the water isn't right. Staropramen now brewed under license tastes different everywhere, Croatian Staropramen a particularly bad example.

Ultimately complaining about slight changes in mass produced macro lager is quite odd in my opinion when most of the reasons people give to defend macro/euro lager is the fact its low stress, low maintenance, git down yer, yet I often encountered these extensive arguments from people who would baulk at the idea of being seen as an epicurist about what are absolutely minute changes in flavour. If you care about flavour enough please allow me to lead you into a better world. I promise you'll enjoy it.

[Shit Good Nose]

You may detect a change in flavour but that will be to do with local water. For example, Manchester struggles to brew good pilsner locally as the water isn't right. Staropramen now brewed under license tastes different everywhere, Croatian Staropramen a particularly bad example.

Ultimately complaining about slight changes in mass produced macro lager is quite odd in my opinion when most of the reasons people give to defend macro/euro lager is the fact its low stress, low maintenance, git down yer, yet I often encountered these extensive arguments from people who would baulk at the idea of being seen as an epicurist about what are absolutely minute changes in flavour. If you care about flavour enough please allow me to lead you into a better world.

I dunno about "minute" changes - I had to check I'd bought/ordered what I thought I did several times without even being aware of any changes (I'm pretty sure at one point I returned at least one to the bar cos it tasted off to me).  Couldn't believe they were the same beers.  It was like the difference between Coca-Cola and supermarket own cheap cola.  And I don't claim to have a particularly sensitive palate.  They seemed to smell completely different as well, but that might've just been psychosomatic once I found out what was happening.

These days I'm much happier with cider.  Honestly don't think I could drink lager now.

[Ferris]

^Yeah what Shoulders said.

It's an AB InBev beer, it'll have been reduced into its simplest and cheapest components as part of their takeover. They could match the water chemistry if they wanted to (it's functionally quite simple - you distill the water then add a big block of chalk into the wort and call it a day) but that would cost money so fuck that who'll know the difference stack it high and sell it cheap.

They may have recently taken an additional cheapening step by brewing it with a cheaper grist or in a different location (for example, I think all the Canadian supply is brewed at that ugly Molson factory near Pearson airport and is about as Mexican as I am) but I suspect as a beer, it lost whatever defining characteristics it had a long time ago.

That said, possibly the latest step (whatever it was) is the most egregious one that turned it from a drinkable beer to something that's just too far gone? Definitely possible.

[Ferris]

(The last corona I had was on a patio and skunked to kingdom come so I'm not a good barometer here.)

[Mr Banlon]

Sol is pretty much identical to Corona.

[Sherman Krank]

I hope Modelo isn't another buyout victim.

Modelo and Corona have always been made by the same company (Groupo Modelo).
Originally Corona was the export version of Modelo.
Groupo Modelo was swallowed up several years ago by big bastard beer behemoths AB InBev.
AB InBev are the worlds largest brewers owning over 600 brands worldwide, nobody will be buying them out any time soon.

[poo]

Piss for cunts

[Dex Sawash]

mear para coños, morelike

[Pinball]

Piss for cunts

It is now.

[Cloud]

It's certainly not in the Budweiser bat's piss category IMO, or at least wasn't...

But I thought Corona pretty much came from bats?  Maybe not their piss, I'm not sure...

Was never that fond of it myself.  It needs that bit of lime in the neck to give it some flavour.  YMMV :)

[Cold Meat Platter]

Bringing mediocre lager all the way from Mexico seems like a huge faff. Plenty here.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

I find that all beer gives me a headache eventually.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Never seen the fuss with Corona, there's something about it that's unique, in that it's usually flatter, more golden and thicker than the other lager-beers but also just as awful and flavourless in its own way.