Why This Non-American Beer Is the Number One Beer in America

For the first time in over two decades, the USA has a new favorite brew.

modelo beer being poured into a glass next to a basket of onion rings

Published July 10, 2024

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For more than two decades, Bud Light ruled the roost as the most popular beer in America. But in 2023, the king was dethroned.

Modelo Especial, a Mexican lager brewed by Grupo Modelo — which also produces Corona and Pacifico — has statistically been America’s favorite beer since last summer. For a four-week period ending on June 3, 2023, the south-of-the-border brew accounted for 8.4 percent of retail beer sales in the United States, which put it firmly ahead of second-place Bud Light, sales of which accounted for 7.3 percent, according to CNN.

Modelo Especial Lager Mexican Beer

$15 at Total Wine

That upheaval ended Bud Light’s reign atop the U.S. beer sales rankings after a staggering 22-year run. The ubiquitous cheap beer in the blue can took over the top spot from sister brand Budweiser back in 2001 and hadn’t relinquished it until last year. And, as of April 2024, the brand still lagged behind Modelo in U.S. sales, according to USA Today.

So what happened?

The Fall of Bud Light

The elephant in the room (so to speak) is the boycott of Bud Light last year undertaken by portion of the conservative American population that likely contributed to its sales decline.

Back on April 1, 2023, transgender activist and TikTok celebrity Dylan Mulvaney posted a Bud Light-sponsored video to her Instagram account featuring a personalized can showing her likeness that was given to her by the brand. For reasons that remain unclear to any reasonable person, the idea of a transgender woman drinking a beer was deemed offensive and unholy by many on the right wing.

bud light beer cans being passed around — A conservative-led boycott is at least partly to blame for Bud Light’s new second-place status.

Conservative politicians and celebrities such as Kid Rock — who cried while shooting a case of Bud Light with a machine gun in a display that probably should’ve warranted a wellness check by local authorities — encouraged a boycott of Bud Light and parent company Anheuser-Busch. And it appears to have worked, sort of.

The supposedly anti-cancel culture crowd gleefully engaged in a large-scale boycott of the beverage, causing Bud Light’s sales to drop by around 25 percent weekly in the weeks following the controversy. And while the controversy has long ago subsided (even Kid Rock is back to chugging Bud Lights), Bud Light’s sales continue to struggle. It remains the second best-selling beer in the country, but as of last month, sales had dipped 28 percent year-over-year.

But Bud Light’s struggles are only half of the story, as they do not account for the dramatic rise of Modelo. And that is the real story here.

The Rise of Modelo

modelo beer bottles next to some burgers — Modelo’s flagship lager is America’s favorite beer for the second summer in a row.

Having previously lived in Los Angeles, I knew that Modelo was popular — but I didn’t realize it had this kind of national reach. The brand has long been a big seller in the Hispanic market, and its success can at least partly be attributed to the nation’s changing demographics. (Hispanics made up 19 percent of the U.S. population in 2020, a 23 percent increase since 2010.)

But Modelo has also been on a hot streak the past several years thanks to a focus on bringing in non-Hispanic drinkers while maintaining its core audience, something it’s achieved through strong marketing campaigns like its partnership with UFC.

The brand also utilized organic marketing methods by having boots on the ground to petition supermarkets to ensure it was stocked, and it found a steady partner in Buffalo Wild Wings which discounted the beer for several years, helping to increase its popularity with sports-loving, wing-eating imbibers — i.e., the type of people who usually go for Bud Light.

Even before dethroning Bud Light, Modelo was making waves. Back in 2021, VinePair reported that Modelo was the only one out of the top five best-selling beers in the U.S. that wasn’t a light beer. It’s speculated that Modelo gets by with the overall impression that Mexican brews are lighter than their domestic counterparts, while also boasting more flavor on account of their actual non-lightness.

Whatever Modelo is doing, it’s working. The brand continues to grow in popularity and is up 12 percent this year compared to the same point last year.

The Inevitability of Anheuser-Busch

It’s worth noting that if the Bud Light boycott’s goal was to bring down not just that specific beer but its parent company too, then it ironically failed. Modelo is owned globally by Anheuser-Busch InBev — the same massive parent company of Bud Light.

Although AB InBev did have to sell the U.S. distribution rights to Modelo to rival Constellation Brands as the result of an anti-trust suit in 2013, one could still make the argument that Anheuser-Busch still technically retains its top ranking since it still owns the Modelo brand.

At the very least, the company can claim a moral victory as Modelo’s standing elsewhere around the world — where AB InBev completely owns it — is only helped by its American success.

Regardless, I would encourage you to just buy whatever beer you like to drink — whether that be Modelo, Bud Light, an NA beer or something else.