Corona fans might have a good reason to panic this summer—and it’s not because of a lime shortage like last year.
WSJ is reporting that Constellation Brands (which owns Corona, Modelo, and Pacifico) has seen such a huge increase in Corona sales, it’s worried that it can’t keep up with demand.
The reason: Corona has proven almost too popular for its own good. Constellation now ships 10 percent more Coronas in 2015 than it did in 2010. As we pointed out in March, it’s the fifth most popular beer in the U.S., and the top imported beer overall.
Constellation is currently undertaking a $1.5 billion expansion of the main Corona brewery along the Texas-Mexico border to help meet demand. Additionally, it’s trying to find a good home in California for an even larger brewery that could outpace the first one’s output by 2018.
Other Constellation brands are in some danger of shortages, too: Negra Modelo and Pacifico have both grown by 12 percent just in the past year alone, while Grub Street points out that AB InBev’s total shipments have gone down 10 percent since 2008 and MillerCoors’ are down 14 percent in the same time period.
So What Can Mexican Beer Fans Do?
Photo: Flickr
Never fear, Sol is here. And Tecate, and Bohemia, and Victoria. There’s no shortage of like-minded Mexican beers to drink through those hot summer months. If you’re leaning more toward a summer-appropriate craft beer, you can’t go wrong with Bell’s Oberon.
With analysts predicting that Corona’s growth will continue by at least six percent per year for the next decade, think of this as a time to expand your palate without hindering your summer beer intake.
[via WSJ, Grub Street]