When you see a commercial for a tropical vacation to Mexico, it typically consists of a beautiful white sandy beach, rolling ocean waves, and some beautiful tanned person sipping a cold Corona.
Although Corona is the beer most associated with Mexico, there’s a wide variety of very reasonably priced beer to delight your taste buds while visiting the Riviera Maya. And trust me, my husband is doing his best to taste every 
one of those enticing beers so he can report back to you all 😉
Part of the fun of traveling is to eat the local food and drink the local beer. So if you wish to expand your horizons, here’s a list of beers commonly found in the Riviera Maya area!
Dos Equis. Advertised on billboards throughout the region, Dos Equis (XX) comes in lager (green bottle) and amber (tinted brown bottle). The lager is more common and goes better with lime, but if you like the darker, more full-bodied beer, Amber is becoming increasingly more popular.
Sol. Commonly found at beach bars, nightclubs and convenient stores. Sol is a blond, light and refreshing, golden coloured Pilsner-style lager with a fresh, malty, fruity-lemony flavour and a soft, quenching dry finish.
Corona Extra. A light lager pilsner beer with a very mild flavor coupled with a touch of hop bitterness.
Indio. This amber beer, only found in Mexico and on the Riviera Maya can be a hard one to find, has a mellow but not timid body and a very smooth finish. If you can find it try it!
Leon Negra. A bit of a microbrew, Leon is a Munich dark, full bodied and flavorful beer is locally brewed in Merida, the capital of the state of Yucatan. Sometimes hard to find but a definite favorite if you enjoy dark beer.
Noche Buena.
It took its name from the Mexican traditional Christmas flower, Nochebuena (known as the Poinsettia in US & Canada) is an exquisite bock beer (strong body, malty taste with some hints of caramel and chocolate). Usually found from mid-October to January.
Modelo. Sold by the single can in convenience stores, like most beers, this light-bodied beer is favored by many locals and goes nicely in a cooler at the beach.
Montejo. Made at the same Merida brewery as Leon Negra, this pilsner type beer is a regional brand of Southeast Mexico. Although from this region, it’s still sometimes hard to find.
Negra Modelo. Known as the “cream of beers”, Negra Modelo is one of Mexico’s highly lauded beers. A dark rich
beer with toasty notes of chocolate. The brown bottle keeps it fresher when boozing outdoors. Beer lovers often say it goes great with steak.
Pacifico. A light and crisp bright brew that begs for a lime. A refreshing pilsner is one of the top Mexican exported beers.
Bohemia. Comes in a dark bottle with gold foil on the neck (or silver foil if it’s the darker version called ‘Obscura’) is a golden lager. Bohemia is a bit more expensive than other beers, but it has a robust taste and is considered much like a European lager.
Akumal. English pale ale, locally brewed with a smooth light hop finish. (We enjoyed it at Yaxche Restaurant).
Superior. Meant to be a “superior” beer, is a favorite beer in Mexico for 50 years. A golden color lager with sweet notes.
Tecate. One of the most popular beers in Mexico and commonly served in cans, Tecate is best enjoyed with plenty of salt and lime. Though slightly sweet it pairs well with a hearty meal.
Victoria. Mexico’s oldest beer, this lager has a nice carbonation, a touch of bitterness and a golden brown color that’s much deeper than the other south-of-the-border beers you may be used to.
Barrilito. Barrilito is a lager beer made with a transparent and bright gold color, good body, clean aroma and refreshing flavor; an excellent pilsner beer.
Carta Blanca.The lightest and mildest of the bunch (think American-style lager), Carta Blanca is a pale corn-yellow light bodied ale with a sweet & heavy aroma.
So now we’ve covered beer in all its glorious wonder, it is readily available in most grocery and XOXO stores in 
Playa. AND relatively new to Playa is Club de Cerveza, a new beer bar which opened its doors in Playa on 5th Ave. between 34th & 38th. They offer over 70 national & international craft beer. A laid-back ambience, with knowledgeable servers who will guide you on your beer drinking journey. Be sure to check them out while visiting Playa.
Just like other parts of the world, micro-breweries are the newest trend and now so in Mexico as well. Mexico and its people have a natural sense of tradition and customs and this is shared in almost everything that they do including their beer.
So hopefully this beer list helped raise your Mexican beer I.Q.! If you find a beer that catches your taste buds while visiting Mexico, drop us a line & we’ll add it to our list!
Bottoms up! Salud!
Questions about our totally fabulous condos & villas? Email us today at: info@yourbestgetaway.com
“PLAYA” Gal (a very satisfied client now working to promote Playa Beach Getaways!)
Contact Sally Foran: salgal@playabeachcondo.com ~~ PS Catch us on Facebook & Pinterest
Sally Foran is a happily married mom of 3, residing in Canada and is a frequent traveler to the Riviera Maya MX. She is an aficionado on ‘everything Playa del Carmen’ and writes with joy and passion about the area. She is also a witty blog contributor to Work & Family Foundation Canada, and NAVUT (offering professionals new to Ottawa the inside scoop!) Sally has also been awarded Blogger of the Week on TravelBlog.Org which enjoys over 250,000 bloggers world-wide.