Coronita vs. Corona Beer: The Simple Difference
The world knows about Corona Beer. It’s a staple drink in the United States for a reason! However, the drink comes in many names: Coronita, little crown, Coronarita.
What do all of these mean?
Is there even a difference?
Let’s settle the Coronita vs. Corona Beer debate once and for all!
What Is Corona Beer?
Well, it’s only the BEST SELLING IMPORTED BEER in the United States and other parts of the world!
Perhaps you would even know the drink better as its formal name: Corona Extra.
There isn’t much any difference, really: the Corona Extra IS the Corona Beer that you are probably thinking about.
Regardless, let’s dive deeper into what makes the beer extra special, shall we?
Corona Beer: What Makes It So Good?
By whatever name it’s more familiar to you, the Corona Beer is a type of pale lager with a light amber color packed in a clear bottle.
The Corona Beer contains a VERY SIMPLE cocktail list of ingredients that deeply enhance its flavor:
- Malted Barley
- Corn
- Hops
- Yeast
- Ascorbic acid
- Propylene glycol alginate
Like many beers on the market, the Corona Beer has a FRUITY AROMA with hints of MALT.
More importantly, its simple beer flavor makes the Corona Beer gain a REPUTATION among health buffs: it’s PERFECT for cheat days.
Corona Beer Variations: Which Ones Are Worth It?
The Corona Mexican Beer was first brewed in 1925 by Grupo Model.
Likewise, the beer brand itself comes from the multinational Belgian drink company Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Now, as Corona Beer’s popularity started to reach other countries, AB InBev started to CREATE FLAVOR VARIETIES from its traditional branding:
- Corona Extra
- Corona Light
- Corona Premier
- Corona Refresca
FUN FACT: AB InBev is the brewery behind Budweiser, Bud Light, Bud Zero, and many beers in the market right now.
In the United States, the Corona Beer brand is owned by Constellation Brands.
Corona Extra
This is the CLASSIC Corona Beer. You can even call it traditional if you want to!
It is known for two things:
- Taste for Beginners: crisp, clean, and balanced palate
- Alcohol Level: 4.6% by volume and 3.6% by weight
The Corona Extra, which is best served cold, is one of the main reasons the Beer brand is so famous now.
Corona Light and Corona Premier
These are options for people who can be real health buffs: they offer FEWER CALORIES AND CARBOHYDRATES for you.
- Corona Light is the market LITE VERSION of the Corona Beer — it’s the Corona standard.
- Corona Premier is an UPGRADED version as it offers even FEWER calories and carbohydrates.
Regardless, you’ll still be able to enjoy the same alcohol content. We have this beer calories calculator here too for experimenting with most types of light beer and their calories.
Drinkers usually PREFER the Corona Light if they want a sweeter fruity aroma of the SIGNATURE CORONA FLAVOR with less guilt of consuming alcohol.
Corona Refresca
The Refresca is a specific line of the famous Mexican beer, consisting of THREE FRUITY FLAVORS:
- Coconut Lime
- Passionfruit Lime
- Guava Lime
These cans are an AMPLIFIED TANG from the malty flavor of the original, world-famous beer.
Corona Beer and Lime: What Makes the Flavor Combination Popular?
The addition of LIMES when drinking Corona gives the added acidity to counteract the sugary flavor.
See, the Corona line of beers gives off a dry and sweet taste.
Now, as to why the combination remains to be popular, there is NO CONCRETE ANSWER. However, drinkers would like to attribute it to personal preference:
- Oxidized Taste: For others, the taste from the lime combats the beer’s oxidation after exposure to sunlight.
- Protective Barrier: Others would even say the lime wedge serves to keep flies out while there is still beer left to be drank in the bottle.
The lime wedge might be the marketing strategy of the Belgian company AB InBev. Think of the orange slices in a Blue Moon!
But no matter the reason, the general consensus is that lime helps give the beers even MORE flavor.
However, be aware that they do NOT serve limes with your Corona Beer in Mexico City, nor with your Coronitas.
What Is Coronita?
Basically, the Coronita is the SMALLER VERSION of the Corona Extra:
- Corona Extra regularly comes in a 330 mL bottle
- Coronita comes in a slightly smaller 210 mL bottle
According to the Corona Beer Mexican brewery, the Coronita also has the same refreshing taste as the Corona Extra.
Coronita: What Is Its History?
The name Coronita originated from the Spanish word meaning little crown.
In this sense, it’s meant to DISTINGUISH its size from the traditional Corona beers you probably know.
But Why Go Through the Hassle of Having a Separate Name for It?
There’s quite a simple way to answer this: Coronas is a trademarked brand of the famous wine company Bodegas Torres.
That said:
- LESS CONFUSION. The Coronita Cerveza was originally made to not get it confused with other beers in the Spanish market.
- SAME FLAVOR. It is easily just the “Coronita Extra” in other parts of the world, too.
At this point, it would be better to dive deeper into what other differences the brand has to offer between these two.
Coronita vs. Corona Beer: It’s Time to Compare the Two
First things first: the two are MORE SIMILAR than they are different. They’re just the same ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE but in different bottles.
Let’s look at this side by side and FINALLY settle the Coronita vs. Corona Beer debate.
Similarities of Corona and Coronita
Corona’s ingredients are the same as that of Coronita.
That said, you’ll be able to expect the following from BOTH alcohol products:
- TYPE. Both of them are types of pale lager.
- FLAVOR. Both of them have the same dry, crisp, and malt flavor.
- INGREDIENTS. Both are largely based on BARLEY, with amounts of water, hops, and yeast.
- FOOD PAIRING. Both are perfect for typical bar snacks and surf & turf meals.
- ALCOHOL CONTENT. Both of them are at 4.6% by volume.
The Corona and Coronita drinks have a LIGHT FLAVOR that most beginners search for. The drinks are easy on the palate when served chilled.
And don’t worry about how much alcohol they contain because they both have the same amount, anyway.
Differences Between Corona and Coronita
Of course, the most notable and perhaps the ONLY difference is the bottles attributed to each drink:
- Corona Extra comes in a 330 mL bottle
- Coronita comes in a 210 mL bottle
To settle the Coronita vs. Corona debate would be to acknowledge that the CORONA EXTRA COMES WITH AN ADDITIONAL 120 mL of the drink.
However, we can also further differentiate them in terms of another factor…
The Lime Surprisingly Makes a Difference
The Corona Extra and Coronita may TASTE the same, but the way LIME is incorporated in both drinks is different:
- Corona Extra will almost ALWAYS be served with a lime wedge
- Coronitas will RARELY come with a lime wedge
People will only use limes in Coronas.
However, you should note that drinking Corona with limes is NOT traditionally done in Mexico. You’ll only see this practice OUTSIDE OF MEXICO or in tourist parts of the country.
Why exactly this is so, is a mystery left to personal preferences.
REMEMBER: The Coronita is just a SMALLER VERSION of the Beer. They have a similar taste.
Now What Is Coronarita?
Coronarita Margarita Cocktail from Coronausa.com
THIS is where the Coronita plays a bigger role than the Corona Extra.
A Coronarita is a COCKTAIL involving Coronita beer and a margarita. This will NOT work with the regular Corona bottle simply because of its LARGER SIZE.
To understand this better, allow us to tell you howto get your hands on a Coronarita.
Making a Coronarita
This will require you to TURN YOUR CORONITA BEER BOTTLE UPSIDE DOWN into a frozen margarita glass.
That said, you will NEED to prepare your FROZEN margarita beforehand.
Simply follow these SIX EASY STEPS after:
- Step 1: Choose a tequila that you would want to try the Coronarita out with.
- Step 2: Attach a margarita clip to the side of your margarita or tequila glass.
- Step 3: Tip your Coronita beer bottle upside down into the margarita clip.
- Step 4: Balance your bottle appropriately as it STICKS outside of the margarita cocktail’s glass.
- Step 5: Allow the beer to FLOW into your margarita.
- Step 6: Enjoy your Coronarita drink!
Remember that you are doing this to your frozen drink. Thus, the resulting Coronarita glass will also come to you frozen.
And don’t worry about it because your beer will flow GRADUALLY. Nothing will spill as long as your CLIP IS SECURED!
Again, do NOT use Corona Extra bottles for this. The smaller bottle of Coronita beer will work best.
Don’t have the time to make this on your own? This is too good to miss out on, so head to your nearest offering restaurant to try the drink out!
Conclusion
As it turns out, the debate of Coronita vs. Corona Beer has a simple answer.
Corona Beer and Coronita only have TWO MAIN DIFFERENCES:
- Bottle Size. The Corona Extra is larger than the Coronita bottles.
- Lime Service. The Corona Extra comes with limes, unlike the Coronita beer.
That said, they are MORE SIMILAR than what one may think: they are the SAME DRINK packaged in different bottle sizes.
In terms of differences, most people love Corona because it doesn’t leave a bitter aftertaste in the mouth.
On the other hand, the Coronita can be upgraded into a CORONARITA if you’re up for some adventure.
Regardless, the Corona Extra beer and Coronita are GREAT OPTIONS depending on your mood when you go out for a drink.
That is especially true if you need a light drink on the go.
Is the difference finally clear to you? Have you tried out the Coronarita? Let us know if you have any more questions about Corona Extra!