The lightest member of the Mexican lager family — a straw-to-pale-gold beer brewed with pilsner malt and a generous portion of corn and/or rice to thin the body and lower the calorie count. Typically 3.2–4.2% ABV, very pale, crisp, and built to vanish over a hot afternoon. A leaner sibling to Mexican-Style Pale Lager, with even less malt presence and a drier finish.
In the glass
Origin
Mexican brewing grew out of the Central European tradition that German and Austrian immigrants brought to the country in the second half of the 19th century. Over the 20th century the industry consolidated into two dominant companies, Grupo Modelo and Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma (now Heineken Mexico), whose pale, adjunct-lightened lagers became Mexico’s most familiar beers. The light expression is the most recent development: a lower-calorie, lower-alcohol version of the standard pale lager, following the same path the American market took when light lager surged in the 1970s and 1980s. Grupo Modelo’s Corona — among the top imported beers in the United States — anchors the family, and its light counterpart extends the pale Mexican lager into the diet-conscious segment.
Notes
This is the diet-lager corner of the Mexican lineup, distinct from the darker, Vienna-descended Mexican amber and dark lagers (Negra Modelo, Dos Equis Ambar). It sits just below Mexican-Style Pale Lager (Pacifico, Corona Extra) in body and strength. Like its pale sibling, it takes a lime wedge gracefully — the citrus is doing some of the flavor work the beer deliberately leaves open.
Defining examples
Corona Light·Tecate Light·Sol Chelada (light expression)·Modelo Especial Light