Has Stella been relaunched in the UK

[Kyral210]

Ok, my Dad bought me a pack of Stella the other day and I wasn't impressed. I remember it being this metallic tasting bad beer that was responsible for my hatred of lager up until last year when I discovered Krombacher in Germany.

Now, I chilled a few bottles, opened one and wow! This is not the Stella I remember! The back says it only uses water, malt barley, maize and hops. I was sure they put sugar in the brewing of Stella and I am sure this is not the taste I remember. So what is it?

Could this bottle (Stella Artois Leuven) is different to the kegs in pubs? Could my fridge be a kicking out a better temp for lager? Have my taste buds changed? WHAT IS GOING ON?

 

[jamesb]

clue: that bottle was brewed in belgium and not wales.

 

[Rparkera]

Mmmm - well it does have maize in it. Not an ingredient that you see too often on this forum! I don't like it myself now any more with the current recipe

Not exactly craft brewing either - at the scale that they make it in Leuven or in Llanwern (Wales)!

 

[Kyral210]

clue: that bottle was brewed in belgium and not wales.

Nope, had a check on my third bottle (yes, a third bottle of the stuff I used to hate until a few days ago) and it was brewed in the UK by Inbev Uk Ltd. The company has three breweries in the UK, one in Wales, one in Lancashire and one in London.

To give you an idea of how highly I rate these bottles of Stella, they are better than the load I bought from a small local brewery in North Germany!

 

[happyhoppytaff]

i should have read this before i posted the bud thread above.

very disapointed with the bud i had last night.

 

[oldbloke]

Saw a billboard advertising Stella cider (sorry, cidre) today
Think I'll stick with the TC.

 

[Kyral210]

I didn't know what you were on about until I just googled it. OH MY GOD!!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/12354139

What is up with that? On a random note the brewery was called Artois, Stella being a special beer brewed for Christmas in 1926 that took off and became a perminant drink (hens the other Artois beers that they tried to bring out before). So its Christmas Special Edition Beer CIDER!

Anyway, I have spent enough time in the West Country to know what REAL cider tastes like and I am pretty certain this new one wont taste ANYTHING like it (just like Magners, Bullmers, Strongbow etc).

 

[Crastney]

I bought four cans of Stella Cidre (oddly enough over Easter weekend, which I'm sure was before the royal wedding), and to be honest it's not any better than other mass manufactured alcoholic apple beverages. It was sweet, fizzy, and with a lot of work I could taste apples.

I still have two cans left, that's how little I thought of it.

It was also this colour, and looked not unlike Tizer, or Irn Bru!