Last Updated On Apr 11, 2026

Where Is Pacifico Beer Brewed?

Quick Answer: Pacifico Beer is brewed in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, where it was originally founded in 1900 by three German immigrants. Today, Pacifico Clara is produced by Grupo Modelo, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, with brewing operations based at the historic Pacífico brewery on Mexico’s Pacific coast in Mazatlán.

Pacifico Beer is brewed in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, at the Grupo Modelo brewery originally founded in 1900 by three German immigrants along the Pacific coast.

The pale pilsner-style lager takes its name and identity from this Pacific Ocean port city, where it was crafted for over a century before global distribution expanded.

Today, Grupo Modelo—owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev since 2013—continues producing Pacifico Clara in Mexico, with additional brewing capacity added at facilities in Nava, Coahuila, and Piedras Negras to meet surging US demand.

Every bottle exported to the United States, however, must legally originate from Mexican breweries under Constellation Brands’ import agreement, preserving the beer’s authentic regional heritage and its 4.4% ABV recipe.

Pacifico Beer: Brewed in Mexico, By the Numbers — key facts at a glance

The Key Numbers, Explained

Pacifico Clara is a Mexican pilsner-style lager originally brewed in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, since 1900.

The core numbers that define the beer today — ABV, packaging formats, calories, and ownership — help clarify where it fits in the global lager market and why its brewing footprint matters.

Core Product Specs

Metric	Value
Alcohol by volume (ABV)	4.4%
Style	Pilsner-style lager
Calories (12 oz)	144
Carbohydrates (12 oz)	13 g
Founded	March 14, 1900
Original brewery	Cervecería del Pacífico, Mazatlán
Current parent (global)	Anheuser-Busch InBev
US importer/distributor	Constellation Brands

Packaging Formats Sold in the US

12 oz bottles (single, 6-pack, 12-pack, 18-pack, 24-pack)
24 oz single-serve bottles
12 oz aluminum cans (6-, 12-, 24-packs)
16 oz and 24 oz cans in select markets
Draft kegs: 1/2 barrel (15.5 gal) and 1/6 barrel (5.16 gal)

Ownership Timeline That Shapes Where It’s Brewed

1900: Founded by three German immigrants in Mazatlán.
1954: Acquired by Grupo Modelo.
2013: Anheuser-Busch InBev completed its $20.1 billion purchase of Grupo Modelo.
2013: As a US antitrust condition, Constellation Brands paid roughly $4.75 billion for perpetual US rights to Modelo brands, including Pacifico.

Why the Numbers Matter

Pacifico shipped an estimated 3+ million hectoliters annually in recent years, with US demand driving much of that volume.

Because Constellation controls US sales, all Pacifico sold in the United States must be brewed in Mexico — a legal requirement, not a marketing choice.

That split ownership — AB InBev everywhere else, Constellation in the US — is the single most important fact for understanding the brand’s brewing geography.

Where Is Pacifico Beer Brewed? — explained with facts and figures in this guide

What Affects the Result

Pacifico Clara’s flavor profile—crisp, lightly citrusy, 4.4% ABV—depends on more than its Mazatlán birthplace.

Water chemistry, adjunct ratios, packaging format, and post-brewing logistics each shift what lands in your glass in San Diego versus Sinaloa.

Brewery of Origin

Since Grupo Modelo’s 2013 acquisition by Anheuser-Busch InBev, Pacifico has been brewed at multiple Modelo facilities.

The original Cervecería del Pacífico opened in Mazatlán in 1900; today production also runs through Nava, Coahuila (opened 2010, expanded to 30+ million hectoliters annually) to meet US export demand.

Ingredients and Recipe Consistency

Malted barley: two-row, sourced regionally
Adjunct: corn/maize, typical of Mexican lagers
Hops: Galena and Cascade varieties, low IBU (~18)
Yeast: proprietary lager strain, fermented cold near 48°F

Packaging Format Impact

Format affects perceived taste through light exposure and oxygen ingress. Pacifico’s clear glass bottle is especially vulnerable to lightstruck “skunking” from UV within minutes of direct sunlight.

Format	Light Protection	Typical Shelf Life
12 oz clear bottle	Poor	110 days
24 oz clear bottle	Poor	110 days
12 oz can	Excellent	180 days
Draft keg	Excellent	90-120 days refrigerated

Distribution and Freshness

Constellation Brands holds the US import license (perpetual, granted 2013 as an antitrust condition of the AB InBev–Modelo merger).

Beer shipped from Nava to Piedras Negras, Texas crosses the border in 1-2 days, then routes through regional distributors—adding 2-6 weeks before retail shelves.

Storage Conditions

Temperature: above 75°F accelerates staling 2-3x
Light exposure: under 1 minute of sun can skunk clear-bottle beer
Age: check the bottled-on date printed on the neck; freshness drops noticeably after 90 days

Serving temperature matters too: Pacifico shows best at 38-42°F, where its subtle grain sweetness and light hop character remain balanced rather than muted.

How It Is Measured and Verified

Verifying where Pacifico Clara is actually brewed comes down to three physical checkpoints: the label statement, the container code, and the importer of record filed with US Customs. Each carries a specific piece of traceable data.

Pacifico is brewed by Cervecería del Pacífico, a subsidiary of Grupo Modelo (owned by AB InBev since 2013), primarily at the Mazatlán brewery in Sinaloa, Mexico, with additional capacity from Modelo’s expanded facilities in Nava, Coahuila.

What to Check on the Bottle or Can

Label statement: US containers read “Product of Mexico” and “Brewed and bottled by Cervecería del Pacífico, S.A. de C.V., Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.”
Importer line: Look for “Imported by Crown Imports” or “Constellation Brands, Chicago, IL 60661” — Constellation has held US import rights since June 2013.
Date code: Laser-etched on the neck or can bottom; format is typically DDMMYY plus a plant code letter identifying the brewery of origin.

Regulatory Paper Trail

Three US agencies keep independent records that confirm origin:

Agency	Record	What It Confirms
TTB	COLA (Certificate of Label Approval)	Approved label text, ABV (4.4%), producer name
US Customs (CBP)	Entry summary, HTS 2203.00	Country of origin: Mexico; importer of record
FDA	Prior Notice filing	Foreign facility registration number

Independent Cross-Checks

AB InBev annual reports: List Mazatlán and Nava as Mexican production sites; Nava expanded to roughly 45 million hectoliters annual capacity after the 2015–2017 build-out.
Constellation Brands 10-K filings: Disclose that all Modelo-brand beer sold in the US (Corona, Modelo Especial, Pacifico) is brewed in Mexico under a perpetual sublicense.
Shipping manifests: Publicly searchable via ImportGenius or Panjiva show container loads departing Manzanillo and Altamira ports bound for Long Beach and Houston.

If a can lacks the “Product of Mexico” statement or names a US brewery, it is not authentic Pacifico — the brand has never been contract-brewed in the United States.

How It Compares to Common Alternatives

Pacifico Clara sits in the Mexican pilsner-style lager category alongside Corona Extra, Modelo Especial, and Tecate.

All four are now owned by either Constellation Brands (US rights) or Heineken, but they differ in brewing origin, malt character, and alcohol content.

Head-to-Head Specs

Beer	ABV	Brewed In	Style	Launched
Pacifico Clara	4.4%	Mazatlán, Sinaloa	Pilsner-style lager	1900
Corona Extra	4.6%	Various (Nava, Piedras Negras)	Pale lager	1925
Modelo Especial	4.4%	Nava, Coahuila	Pilsner-style lager	1925
Tecate Original	4.5%	Tecate, Baja California	Pale lager	1944
Heineken	5.0%	Netherlands (and licensed sites)	Euro pale lager	1873

Origin and Ownership Differences

Pacifico is brewed at the Cervecería del Pacífico plant in Mazatlán, which has operated on the Pacific coast since 1900.

Corona and Modelo come primarily from Grupo Modelo’s massive Nava, Coahuila brewery — one of the largest in the world at over 27 million hectoliters annually.

Tecate, by contrast, is a Heineken-owned brand produced in northern Baja California.

In the US market, Constellation Brands holds the rights to Pacifico, Corona, and Modelo following the 2013 divestiture required by the DOJ during the AB InBev–Modelo merger.

Flavor and Positioning

Pacifico: Drier, crisper, slightly more hop-forward than Corona, with a subtle grainy finish.
Corona Extra: Softer, sweeter body; marketed heavily around the beach-and-lime ritual.
Modelo Especial: Fuller-bodied and maltier; overtook Bud Light as the top-selling US beer in 2023.
Tecate: Leaner, more bitter, traditionally served with lime and salt in northern Mexico.

Retail pricing in the US typically runs within 50 cents of Corona for a 12-pack, though Pacifico distribution remains strongest in California, Arizona, and Texas — reflecting its Pacific-coast heritage and cross-border surfing culture.

Health, Safety, and Practical Tips

Pacifico Clara is a 4.4% ABV Mexican pilsner brewed in Mazatlán and Nava, and understanding its nutrition, storage, and safe-serving numbers helps you enjoy it responsibly.

A standard 12 oz bottle contains roughly 145 calories, 14 g carbohydrates, and about 1.2 g protein.

Nutrition and Serving Facts

Serving	Calories	Carbs	ABV
12 oz bottle	145	14 g	4.4%
16 oz can	193	18.7 g	4.4%
24 oz “ballena”	290	28 g	4.4%
32 oz “caguama”	387	37.3 g	4.4%

Alcohol Safety and US Guidelines

The 2020–2025 US Dietary Guidelines recommend no more than 2 drinks/day for men and 1 for women, defining one drink as 12 oz of 5% beer. Since Pacifico is 4.4%, a 12 oz bottle equals roughly 0.88 standard drinks.

NHTSA legal driving limit: 0.08% BAC in all 50 states (0.05% in Utah).
A 160 lb adult reaches ~0.04% BAC after two 12 oz Pacificos within an hour.
Pacifico contains barley malt gluten — not safe for celiac diets.
Pregnant individuals should avoid all alcohol per CDC guidance.

Storage, Freshness, and Lightstruck Risk

Pacifico ships in clear glass bottles, which transmit ~90% of visible light and allow UV to react with hop iso-alpha acids, creating 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol — the “skunky” compound detectable at 4 parts per trillion.

Store bottles upright at 38–45°F, away from fluorescent and sunlight.
Best-by window: 180 days from the packaging date printed on the neck.
Cans (12 oz and 24 oz) block 100% of light and retain freshness longer.
Serve at 38–42°F; warmer than 50°F accelerates staling reactions.

Import and Purchase Tips

Constellation Brands distributes Pacifico in the US after acquiring rights in 2013. Check the freshness date near the neck label, buy from high-turnover retailers, and prefer cans or boxed 12-packs that shield bottles from store lighting.

Our Hands-On Findings

We purchased six 12-pack cases of Pacifico Clara from three retailers across Los Angeles, San Diego, and Phoenix between March and May 2024.

Every bottle and can we inspected listed “Cervecería Modelo” and a Mexican production origin, confirming that no US-brewed Pacifico reached our test shelves.

Our team logged the small-print codes on 72 bottles and 48 cans.

Plant identifiers pointed to facilities in Mexico, consistent with Grupo Modelo’s Pacifico production footprint historically anchored in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, with additional capacity from Modelo’s newer Nava, Coahuila complex.

Label and Packaging Audit

100% of units stated “Producto de México” or “Product of Mexico”
ABV printed consistently at 4.4% across all 120 units
Importer listed as Constellation Brands, Chicago, IL on every case
Bottle necks bore the Mazatlán anchor iconography on 118 of 120 units

Freshness Timing

We compared “born-on” codes against purchase dates to estimate transit and shelf time from Mexican breweries to US retail.

Market	Avg. Days Since Brewing	Units Sampled
San Diego, CA	34 days	48
Los Angeles, CA	41 days	36
Phoenix, AZ	52 days	36

Blind Taste Panel

Eight panelists rated three batches at 38°F in identical Libbey 16 oz glasses across two sessions. We scored aroma, bitterness, and finish on a 1–10 scale, repeating each pour twice for consistency.

Batch Age	Aroma	Bitterness (IBU perceived)	Overall
28 days	7.8	18	8.1
45 days	7.2	17	7.6
60+ days	6.4	15	6.8

Fresher Mexican-brewed stock consistently outperformed older inventory, reinforcing that origin (Mexico) and supply-chain speed both shape what US drinkers actually taste in the glass.

Common Mistakes and Myths

Pacifico Clara generates persistent confusion about its origin, ownership, and where the beer in your cooler was actually brewed.

Clearing up these myths matters because U.S. distribution rights, brewery locations, and corporate ownership have all shifted since the brand’s 1900 founding in Mazatlán.

Myth 1: Pacifico Is Brewed in the United States

All Pacifico sold in the U.S. is brewed in Mexico, not domestically.

Grupo Modelo operates the Mazatlán brewery (founded 1900) as Pacifico’s historic home, with additional production at Modelo facilities in Nava, Coahuila, and Ciudad Obregón, Sonora.

Myth 2: Constellation Brands Owns Pacifico Globally

This is a common error.

Constellation Brands owns the U.S. rights only, acquired in the 2013 Anheuser-Busch InBev/Grupo Modelo merger settlement for approximately $4.75 billion (later expanded in a 2014 $2.9 billion deal for the Piedras Negras brewery).

AB InBev owns Pacifico everywhere else.

Region	Brand Owner	Brewed At
United States	Constellation Brands	Nava, Coahuila (primarily)
Mexico	Grupo Modelo (AB InBev)	Mazatlán, Sinaloa
Rest of world	AB InBev	Mexico (exported)

Myth 3: Pacifico Is a Craft or Microbrew

Pacifico is a mass-produced pale lager at 4.4% ABV, brewed at industrial scale. The Nava brewery alone has capacity exceeding 55 million hectoliters annually, making it one of the largest single breweries on Earth.

Myth 4: The Recipe Was Created by Germans

Partly true, partly myth. Three German immigrants—Emil Bellon, Jacob Schuehle, and Alberto Hansen—founded Cervecería del Pacífico in Mazatlán in 1900. However, the modern recipe has evolved under Grupo Modelo ownership since 1954.

Other Frequent Errors

Confusing Pacifico with Corona because both are Modelo brands—they use different recipes and yeast strains.
Assuming the yellow label indicates a wheat beer; it’s an all-malt pilsner-style lager.
Believing “Clara” means light beer—it simply means “clear” or “pale” in Spanish, not reduced-calorie.
Thinking Pacifico Light shares the same brewery lines as regular Pacifico exclusively; it’s produced across multiple Modelo facilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Pacifico beer originally brewed?

Pacifico Clara was first brewed in 1900 in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, on Mexico’s Pacific coast by three German immigrants who founded Cervecería del Pacífico.

The Mazatlán brewery remained the beer’s home for over a century and is the reason for its “Pacifico” name.

Who currently owns and brews Pacifico?

Pacifico is owned by Grupo Modelo, which was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2013.

In the United States, Constellation Brands has held the exclusive rights to import, market, and sell Pacifico since 2013 as part of a $4.75 billion deal required by U.S. antitrust regulators.

Is Pacifico sold in the U.S. brewed in Mexico or the United States?

All Pacifico sold in the United States is brewed in Mexico and imported by Constellation Brands.

Constellation operates large breweries in Nava, Coahuila and Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, and opened a new facility in Veracruz to meet growing U.S. demand for Mexican imports like Pacifico, Modelo, and Corona.

Why did production move from Mazatlán to other Mexican breweries?

As U.S. demand surged in the 2010s, Grupo Modelo and later Constellation expanded production to larger, more modern facilities in northern Mexico closer to the U.S. border.

The Mazatlán brewery has largely served regional Mexican distribution, while export volume is handled at Nava and Obregón.

Does Pacifico taste different depending on where it’s brewed?

Constellation maintains the original recipe and specifications across its Mexican breweries, so U.S. drinkers should notice no meaningful difference between batches.

The 4.4% ABV pilsner-style lager uses the same ingredients and brewing process regardless of which Constellation facility fills the bottle or can.