Stella Artois - UK vs Belgian Brewed

[g3org3y]

Bit of an odd one but wonder if anyone else has noticed this. Down the road at the off licence they do 6 bottles of Stella for a fiver which is good enough for me.

After picking up my 6 bottles I noticed that a few of the bottles looked different in their labelling. On further examination it appeared that half were UK brewed and the other half labelled as 'imported', brewed in Belgium.

I thought nothing of it and started drinking.

Tried one of the imported bottles after drinking a couple of domestic bottles - massive difference. Tasted completely different, much more tasty, much more pleasurable to drink (tasted more like 1664 tbh). Suffice to say I was surprised.

So, if you ever get the opportunity to choose between the two, the imported proper stuff from Belgium knocks the domestic gear out the park.

[SplatSpeed]

the water in leuven is pretty good hence the good beer.

[paolow]

I noted this a while back with the belgian beer 'Duvel'
My dad and I conducted a number of taste tests with imported Duvel as opposed to 'Sainsburys' Duvel which ISTR was by interbrew under licence.
I would love to report some significant findings but I cannot remember more than that we could not decide immediately and more tests were necessary. For some reason there was no conclusion and indeed no record of the tests or what took place after. The tests and the aftermath arent talked about so I cannot advise further
I do however recall (dimly) that there was little difference between the two, hence the need for repeated testing. I dont think we could tell the difference even before stfaced....

[Drive Blind]

The UK brewed Stella is a poor imitation of the Belgian brewed stuff that built up Stella's reputation about 10-15 years ago.

I read somewhere that the original brewery in Lueven is now closed so it's impossible to get the stuff that tasted so good years ago.

[g3org3y]

It's certainly interesting. I don't doubt the same of other foreign beers also (Tiger, Cobra etc) which can also be brewed here under licence.

Of course Stella has a very bad rep in the UK (wife beater). Apparently in Belgium it isn't really considered 'premium'.

[Drive Blind]

Stella was considered premium years ago cos it did taste better and it was more expensive.

Now when the supermarkets put on their deals it's probably the cheapest lager in the shop and it tastes no better than the other crap lagers like Tennents, Carling, Carlsberg.

I bet you the next 'premium' lager to go this way is Peroni. InBev will take them over and move production to Wales.

[ROB_GTR]

My 2p worth

Stella to me is a overly priced beer that is not all that good either. I think most people drink it because its "cool" and you look "hard" if under the age of 25 not because it tastes nice.
Its ok for a couple of pints but after that it becomes tasteless and dry to me. same with Bud and Becks.

The only really good imported beer i really do like is Bitburger, a German beer which a local Pub to me has on tap! Its within premium beer category and still tastes the same after half a dozen (if your still standing)

[Aydogflipper]

I have noticed this before also but thought it was just me lol.

[Mr Gearchange]

Ah - I can actually answer this with some authority as I asked the very same question when at the brewery in Leuven last week.

There is apparently no difference whatsoever. Exactly the same ingredients, exactly the same brewing process. I put it down the the water quality but was told that they take the water and effectively strip everything out of it - before adding in the necessary salts, minerals etc - this means that the water is exactly the same wherever they brew it in the world.

But I agree - the stuff from Leuven does taste better - must by psychosomatic

[Drive Blind]

^^^^^
In-Bev PR person answer

[slimtater]

g3org3y said:

It's certainly interesting. I don't doubt the same of other foreign beers also (Tiger, Cobra etc) which can also be brewed here under licence.

Of course Stella has a very bad rep in the UK (wife beater). Apparently in Belgium it isn't really considered 'premium'.

I am sure Cobra is of British origin!

[jas xjr]

I drink Stella all the time . I can tell the difference. Do not know what it is but the Belgian one tastes better.
Cobra is brewed under licence in the uk. Not seen it for sale in india

[Mr Gearchange]

Drive Blind said:

^^^^^
In-Bev PR person answer

No, not at all - I was in there trying to sell them software but asked the question. My theory is that the Belgian stuff is less gassy and therefore taste a little more 'sweet' -to my palate anyway.

My second question of "why does it turn otherwise reasonable people into s?" was less well received.

[g3org3y]

slimtater said:

g3org3y said:

It's certainly interesting. I don't doubt the same of other foreign beers also (Tiger, Cobra etc) which can also be brewed here under licence.

Of course Stella has a very bad rep in the UK (wife beater). Apparently in Belgium it isn't really considered 'premium'.

I am sure Cobra is of British origin!

I was under the impression it was Indian? (but also brewed here)

Mr Gearchange said:

But I agree - the stuff from Leuven does taste better - must by psychosomatic

I'm sure there was a difference in taste. I hadn't even looked at the bottle until after I had tasted it noticing the difference.

I also found the Carlsberg brewed in Cyprus tasted better than the stuff here in the UK.

[xr287]

Must be something wrong with my mouth because I quite like Stella. To me it tastes much better than Carlsberg/Carling etc.

[Sticks.]

I don't drink it because of the image, and I'm 48 not sub 25. I like the taste.

But I like the taste of the imported version better. Imported it's more savour-able rather than the UK brew which seems for necking.

Any lager with 'imported' on the label is preferable imho.

[james_gt3rs]

xr287 said:

Must be something wrong with my mouth because I quite like Stella. To me it tastes much better than Carlsberg/Carling etc.

+1

Although Carlsberg Export is quite nice, much better than the regular stuff.

[PF62]

slimtater said:

I am sure Cobra is of British origin!

Cobra was created in 1990 and imported to the UK from India until 1997, when it was brewed under contract by Charles Wells (they brew a few other 'imported' beers, Red Stripe, Kirin, etc).

In 2005 Cobra shifted production to Poland, and started using different recipe for the beer. However due to various economic reasons Cobra moved production back to the UK in 2008.

In the middle of 2010 Cobra went into liquidation and was sold to Molson Coors, who have now shifted production of Cobra to Burton.

Strangely the original contract brewing recipe for Cobra developed by Charles Wells in 1997 was never the property of Cobra, and Charles Wells have started brewing a beer using that recipe called Mongoose.

[simonej]

I found the same when drinking 1664 in France over the summer. I have no idea if the 1664 over here is brewed under license but the stuff in France had a completely different taste and texture. It was smooth and silky and very drinkable.

[johnnyreggae]

Always bring back real Stella when visiting Europe - its just better