Corona Just Crushed Every Beer Brand You've Ever Heard Of (And I'm Still Processing This)

By HOAR Team 6 June, 2025 5 mins read 104 Views

Look, I've been covering beverage industry rankings for about six years now, and this one caught me completely off guard.

Corona – yes, that Mexican beer your college roommate used to drink with lime wedges – just got crowned the world's best beer for 2025. We're talking about beating Budweiser, Heineken, AND Guinness. I had to double-check the data three times because honestly? I didn't see this coming.

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The Numbers Don't Lie (Even When They Surprise the Hell Out of You)

According to Kantar's BrandZ 2025 Most Valuable Global Brands report – and these guys know their stuff when it comes to market research – Corona absolutely demolished the competition. Double-digit growth outside Mexico. Their Corona Cero (the non-alcoholic version) became the first beer to sponsor the Olympics in Paris last year, which was a genius move that apparently paid off big time.

This is the second year running they've taken the top spot.

The brand is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, which feels like perfect timing for this kind of recognition. Marcel Marcondes from AB InBev (Corona's parent company) said something about "building brands for the long-term," and you know what? Fair point.

Where Everyone Else Landed

Here's how the top 10 shook out, and some of these placements are genuinely surprising:

Budweiser grabbed second place – not shocking, considering their massive global presence. Heineken came in third, which makes sense given their European dominance. But then things get interesting.

Modelo (another Mexican brew) landed fourth, followed by Michelob Ultra in fifth. Good luck finding Michelob Ultra in most UK pubs, by the way – I've been looking for months. Brahma, Bud Light, and Skol rounded out spots six through eight.

Stella Artois managed ninth place, which feels low for such a pub staple here in Britain.

And Guinness? Dead last at number ten.

The Guinness Thing Makes Zero Sense

This is where I'm genuinely confused. Guinness has been having a moment – and I mean a serious cultural moment. Diageo had to ration supplies to pubs before Christmas because demand was so insane. You couldn't get a proper pint of the black stuff anywhere in London for weeks.

Yet somehow they're sitting at the bottom of this list? Either this ranking is measuring something very specific that doesn't align with what I'm seeing on the ground, or there's a massive disconnect between UK trends and global market value.

My guess? It's about scale and international reach rather than cultural buzz.

What This Actually Means for Your Wallet

Speaking of reality checks – none of this changes the fact that beer prices are absolutely brutal right now. London pubs are charging an average of £6.10 per pint, with some specialty brews hitting over £7. A pint of Guinness will cost you £6.45 in the capital, which is frankly ridiculous.

The Midlands saw a 5.15% price increase between January and April alone. That's not sustainable for most people's budgets.

Chris Jansen from Kantar mentioned that brands with "the right level of investment and strategic focus" can drive serious growth. Translation: expect more marketing spend, which usually means higher prices for consumers.

Corona's success story is impressive from a business perspective, but I'm not holding my breath for any price relief at the pub.

Still can't believe Guinness came in tenth though. That one's going to bug me for weeks.

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