Stella Artois (Stella Artois)

Member Name: cognition

Product:	Stella Artois
Date:	01/12/08 (432 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tastes fresh

Disadvantages: Not a lot of character compared to for instance Kronenbourg

Stella Artois is a 5.2% lager that was initially brewed in Leuven in Belgium in 1926 as a Christmas brew, but thanks to the commercial success of the Christmas beer it was commercialized and became an all year beer. The Stella Artois logo says 'Anno 1366', but this is a reference to the origin of the the brewery in the city of Leuven were Stella Artois was later made, not when the first bottle of Stella Artois was brewed. Stella Artois has become a highly respected international brand thanks to its brewer InBev. Although Stella Artois is a Belgian beer, it is now in addition to being brewed in Belgium, also brewed in the United Kingdom, Australia and Ukraine. Stella means 'star' and signifies the star of Christmas, and Artois is from Sebastian Artois, the founder of the brewery.

An interesting thing is, while Stella Artois was advertised with the slogan 'reassuringly expensive', giving the impression the beer was to be positioned up-market, it was and still is heavily discounted. Stella Artois has made it into all sorts of retailers, including off-licenses, and the price is not something to complain about (usually 6 cans for £5). Stella Artois has to some extent been struggling with image problems, being associated with violent crowds and adopting the nickname 'Wife beater'. It is being claimed that Stella Artois makes the drinker more aggressive and results in more fights. I have personally never experienced this while drinking Stella Artois with my friends, and I think maybe it just happens that Stella Artois is a very popular beer, and it's not fair to judge the brand of beer for the actions people carry out when drunk.

As for taste, Stella Artois is a typical pilsner lager beer, in the vein of Carlsberg, Carling, Fosters, Grolsch, etc. It's not as fruity as Kronenbourg, but has a much fresher bite to it than Carlsberg and Carling. Stella Artois is very easy to drink. It's not particularly bitter, yet not as bland as some lagers. It's simply a solid and good lager. However, it's not my favourite. It's simply not special enough to me to make it to that list. My favourite lager with an extensive UK distribution network is Kronenbourg. To me it just has more character than Stella Artois. If Kronenbourg isn't available, though, I'll happily drink a Stella Artois any day!

Summary: A plain good lager.