I’m so happy to see a video like this being made. I once bought a pack of Estrella that was brewed in the UK as I’d drank it in Barcelona and really enjoyed it. The UK version was more or less undrinkable. Complained directly and they sent me some from Spain. Why we have all these nasty beers brewed in the UK but badges up as something European is beyond me. It’s incredibly misleading and should be illegal, actually. You can’t distill Glenmorangie in Poland and badge it as Glenmorangie. And you’re totally correct, the UK accepts the most awful shit. Not just beer, everything. There needs to be a drastic change to the British mindset, but I fear that’ll never happen.

I remember Stella in the UK going downhill when they brought out Stella 4 to fleece the public into thinking they had a new brew rather than a watered down tax fiddle. Becks did the same at the same time. Pretty sure it was something to do with higher tax on 5% beer. As for your excellent summaries on the UK public acceptance of shite is spot on. We as a nation are convinced that paying less tax is good but in turn we get human shit released into our rivers. Could be an analogy for UK Stella

No contest, the UK brewed is a low abv tasteless atrocity and has never matched up to the imported 5.2% which I used to drink regularly for years before my corner shop stopped stocking it.

Hi Simon, back in the 80's all the pubs in my area were Brakspears ( when they were a proper brewery). The only draught lagers they had were Stella and Heineken. The Stella was the full monty, 5.2% and the original Belgian taste. Well, as you know Stella did not earn the title of "wife beater" by accident. We tried an experiment in our local, mixing 1/2 pint stella with 1/2 pint heineken in a pint glass. The heineken took the sting off the stella and the stella gave the heineken some flavour. It proved so popular that the landlord added it to his chalkboard behind the bar! It was there under the stella and heineken as 1/2 & 1/2. So many people asked what is 1/2 & 1/2, when they tried it they were hooked. If you tried it now you would end up with a pint of p***water. 1988, 1/2 & 1/2 94p per pint, oh how I wish I could turn the clock back.

Ab InBev have a lot to answer for. Budweiser abv 5.0 - 4.8 (2012) - 4.5 (2017) Stella abv 5.2 - 5.0 (2007) - 4.8 (2012) - 4.6 (2020) Becks abv 5.0 - 4.8 (2012) - 4.0 (2020) Introduced Bud Light to the UK market at abv 3.5 when in the USA it is 4.2. All to do with tax savings. They also bought the Rolling Rock brand around 2006 and then promptly withdrew it from the UK market.

A classic! I remember buying imported Stella near where I lived as a young man and refusing the UK stuff. I've not seen the import for so many years. This is a great vid. You just popped up on my feed, never seen a channel like this before!

I was a mid-late teen when we were based in Belgium. Stella was the local tipple and when I experienced a UK version several years later the difference was massive.

When it was 5.2 % in Britain....it really stood out from the crowd. At 4.6% it is a poor version of itself and now i rarely drink it. It's a shame because it was a legendary beer.

I totally agree with you. And everything you said goes double for European beers brewed here in the USA. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and started drinking beer at a far too young age. But with that said in the early 1970"s when Löwenbräu was imported from Germany it was my favorite beer. But after Miller Brewing company attained the rights to brew it in America it went totally to shit. Like you said the difference was day and night, and not a good night at that. It cuts into the profit margin when you brew a beer elsewhere like it's was originally brewed in its place of origin. This is why the companies do this in the first place. It's all about maximizing profits. And the quality of the beer (and the consumer) be damned. I really like the content on your channel. I especially liked your review of Fuller's ESB. I agree with you that it's a definite 10/10 beer. It's been near or at the top of my best of list for decades. Cheers!!

Spot on mate I feel the same, it's not been the same since they lowered it to the weaker version in UK, if its not broke don't try to fix it

I remember when Stella first came to the UK. It was so strong they only sold it half pints (that was the story anyway). It was light years better than the pond water they sell now.

I remember when they reduced the strength below 5% to avoid higher tax.. at the time I remember thinking that in reality, it cannot be Stella Artois because the recipe had been changed to produce a weaker beer. And should no longer be allowed to be called Stella Artois if it's made using a different recipe

Excellent review Simon was looking forward to hearing your opinion and knowledge on that. I really enjoyed the Belgium Stella its a taste of its own👌. Growing up Stella was the premier lager drink and was known as quality and the best it had an excellent brand. Then they started to mess with it.. 20 years later i seriously dont no any body who would dream of buying Stella in UK it might as well be carling.

I was in Brussels about a week ago and I was flabbergasted how good the Stella was compared to back home. I was well happy sitting in the sunshine, drinking a few pints of it with a few mates. But to be honest I really shouldn't have been so surprised.

I've been saying this to my mates for years, the British brewed versions of a lot of lagers are rubbish! Corona used to be a decent drop on a hot day but the brewed in the UK version they sell nowadays is awful 🤢 Heineken is another good example!

Remember the ad slogan "Reassuringly expensive"? It was a lovely beer, although it made me fall off a bar stool in Antwerp.

Never get attached to an imported lager. It’s inevitable they start brewing it here and that’s the end of it. Brooklyn is the latest one.

Your review mirrors exactly what I’ve thought for ages. That horrible watery, astringent taste of the U.K. muck. My first taste of Belgian Stella was a revelation!

Cool idea! When I visited London, as a Belgian I got offered a lot of drinks with: "Oh you're Belgian, you must know this!" All kinds of Stella Artois I had never seen before and lager I didn't like at all :D

Back in 1975 when I was19, I went to Amsterdam for the first time, and remember drinking Heineken and thinking, why does this taste so much better than the Heineken piss water we get back home. Around the same time, you could get Australian brewed Fosters in cans only, and not everywhere. It tasted so much better than the British brewed lagers, although my favourite (Australian) canned lager was Swan Lager. Then Fosters started being brewed under licence in the UK. It was different and worse, even the cans, than the original.

I used to love Stella years back. It's been ruined by In-bev. Hope their execs watch this vid and go back to the original strength.

Bought 4 cans yesterday, haven't drank Stella for years. I could tell the difference immediately. It tastes like cheap, supermarket own brand lager now.

I'm so glad someone made this video. I've been saying this for the last 20 years now.

Right I’ve been working constantly the last week and got loads of reviews ti catch up on, just opened a beer and going to get through them all. As the old Grandfather used to say “A Pint of Beer is the working man’s Pat On The Back” this video I know is going to be glorious. Cheers Si!

Stella was 5.2% in the UK as well for many years. It changed to 5% relatively recently and has gone down since.

Simon, have been loving your videos. Keep up the great work. It would be fascinating to see a blindfolded version of the same beers, brewed in different countries, and ideally + one freshly drafted. I would love to see if you are able to tell the difference and which is what version of the beer.

Good review. Accountants know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Marketing think they can sell rubbish to the council tip. Put them together and you get Eurolager and it is ubiquitous.

You can find proper Stella in some ethnic corner shops and off licenses, in cans, usually around only £1 each. The can is different and has multiple languages and embossed lettering. Lorry drivers smuggle or bring it in without duty and sell it to the shops. There is no comparison between the UK version and the real article. I can find it in several places in south Birmingham, when I find some I telephone a few friends and usually buy the lot and get a decent discount.

As a Brit who lives in South America, the Stella here is brewed in Argentina. I must say, it's pleasantly surprising how good it is. It tastes more like the Stella of old. Plus they actively seem to add more beers to their arsenal, just last week I got a "Stella Noire" which was a decent'ish black lager.

Hello Simon, I am a new person to your website. I am so glad I subscribed. All your reviews are so professional. You have got it set just right for beer lovers. Keep it up and I hope this site grows and grows. Jon

I remember back in the late seventies we used to drink Stella before a gig in the same pub in St Albans, the beer was brewed in Belgium. One weekend we were there for a gig and it was brewed in Luton. Lots of rushing to the toilet to throw up including myself. Never drank Stella again.

Good video, Simon - you have another convert! An old story on my part: in 1988 I went to work on Cairo for the Foreign Office and, in setting up home, I used the embassy commissariat for beer. The only one I fancied was Fosters, so I bought a case. The guy managing the comm ( a great guy called Tom Rae) apologised, saying that the usual British supplies were late, and that he had had had to 'borrow' some from the Australian embassy to tide over. Knowing the uninspiring British reputation of Fosters, I wasn't expecting a brilliant beer, but was very pleasantly surprised by this one's excellence. A week or so later, the British resupply arrived and I happily bought more. I couldn't believe it was the same beer, it was so awful. That's where I learned that you had to look closely at the labels of foreign beers in the UK to check where it was brewed - the statement 'Brewed in the UK under licence' then became highly significant. And the only reason for the difference is: it saves money! However, even the British Fosters soon tasted excellent as, whenever I drunk beer in Cairo bars, the only one I could afford was the local Stella (no connection there!) - it was very much an acquired taste, in which my taste buds learned to appreciate the truly awful. But keep up the good work - I look forward to more of these comparisons.

It's all due to profiteering from the major breweries. They slowly swap out the ingredients for cheaper stuff, lowering the quality and quantity used, but doing it gradually so people don't notice while their margins improve. Eventually you have a terrible product but the brand is established so people keep buying it out of habbit. Same has happened with chocolate since Cadbury were bought out, it's horrible now but people keep buying because of the brand.

It's literally because of you I started paying attention to WHERE my beer was brewed. It's insane how much of a difference it makes. I live in America and I swear all the beers brewed here ate flat and watered down. Such a shame.

Great video, have always wanted to see this! Would love to see you do an irish brewed version versus their continental counterparts! Would be happy to send you the irish versions!

Sorry if you've already picked up on this, but Leffe have recently reduced the ABV of their Blonde from 6.6% to 6.0%. I can taste a difference. Would love to see you do a comparison between the two and hear your opinion... if you can still find a bottle of the 6.6%.

It's the drinking culture in the UK. "Lads" can drink way more pints of low strength tasteless lager.

Great video Simon. I really struggle to drink Stella these days.

It's not just UK, it's everywhere, producers switching to inferior ingredients to cut costs and transfer the profits to the owners/shareholders. The stealtflation is universal, the sad part is they get away with it because they can. :( I bet Stella tasted better in Belgium 10-20 years ago too but there they done it slower.

I've just stumbled upon this presentation, and am utterly amazed. Way, way back in the mid 1950s, I used to spend a weekend every month during the summer season, enjoying the delights of the Belgian coastal resorts (particularly Blankenbergh). I have never been much of a lager drinker, and I know now why that might be. I drank Stella Artois in Belgium and always enjoyed it: coming back home to London full of enthusiasm, I could never understand why the same brand had absolutely nothing to commen it. It seems that nearly 70 years has seen little or no improvent. Bloody hell!

I remember thinking they had screwed the flavour up when the strength of Stella dropped from 5.2 to 5 or less, I didn't realise that the weaker brew was made in the UK. This explains a lot! I used to like the occasional Stella but stopped drinking it once I couldn't get the 5.2% which is really nice. Still, I would rather have a decent real ale to be honest.

Brilliant comparison Simon 👏

Great analysis, many thanks! Good info. For a while, I've been amused at chaps drinking Stella as though it was a sophisticated, premium lager (which it might have been, once upon a time); and I've been thinking "geez mate, might as well be drinking Fosters". But from my naive, uninformed position I couldn't quite put me finger on the exact problem; you've explained it very clearly, here. Great work!

The problem you are describing when comparing the Belgian and the British brewed Stellas is partly due to international ownership of what used to be local brewers and partly due to legislation. C&C group plc now owns Tennent Caledonian Breweries, having purchased it from Belgian brewing company Anheuser-Busch InBev, who owned the Stella Artois Brand. The Stella sold in Scotland (and possibly the rest of the UK) is brewed at the Tennent's brewery in Glasgow and used to be 5.2% until the introduction of a Scotland wide law that set a minimum price for alcoholic drinks, based on alcohol content. (50 pence per unit). Following introduction of this law most brewers reduced the alcohol content of their brews to try to off-set the price increases the law created, hence the lower alcohol content of the British brewed version. If the Stella brand had been retained by the original Belgian owners, I am certain that they would have insisted that products using their brand elsewhere in the world should have maintained the same characteristics of the original in order to not undermine their reputation for a quality product. Now that the brand is owned by an international conglomerate they can do with it as they wish and use the brand name for inferior products to trade on the reputation of the original product that they bought out. This includes varying the alcohol content, which is a major part of the flavour profile of any beer. A friend of mine, who is a Chemistry graduate, used to work for Tennents back in the 1970s in their quality control labs. I remember him telling me that while different flavours can result from slight variations in the brewing process these were anathema to the production of lager where they wanted a consistent product that tasted no different from batch to batch. Alas, it seems to me that we are now seeing that mind-set applied across brands as well.

I like stella more now 🤣 i was drinking San Miguel all the time but i honestly don't mind the Stella UK brewed stuff. I find myself buying it more, maybe because its cheaper, but to me it still tastes fine.

Thank youuuuuuu!!!! Somebody finally made a video!!!! Now I don't have to 😂😂😂 Immediately stop doing it to Staropramen too

Interesting video. Have just discovered your channel and subscribed! Just a suggestion, when you’re showing stuff to the camera, maybe insert still images. Quite difficult to see the detail otherwise.

same as real mexican corona compared to what we get or in eu. spain etc. also noticed the red peroni compared to the uk blue one is lovely . italian made red peroni.

There seemed to be a time in the 00s when they tied turned and we started getting decent Continental lager. Heineken went export only for a while, we had decent grolsch, decent Stella and carlsberg export was genuinely export. Then the breweries realised they could save a few pennies on tax by slowly dropping the abv to the mess we have now. Even brewdog doing the same by dropping punk ipa from 5.6 to 5.2

FINALLY! You've shone a light on my long-time stella torment. Only the original 5.2's for me! 🤤🤤🤤!

Great channel mate. Subscribed 👍🏼

I'm normally a Guinness drinker, but a few weeks back a visitor came over with a few different beers to share - Morretti lager and Cobra were among them. I swear, if you drink them side by side there's no difference what so ever. I wouldn't have believed it unless I tried it.

Before Guinness became popular in pubs.Long before it became available on pulls Dad enjoyed a bottle,not sold in cans at that time so you can tell how long ago.He would only buy if the bottle had a Irish label on not London label.

Thank you so much for your comparison. You are right. Sella in the 90's was a great taste, I really enjoyed it. Same with 1664 Kronenberg, loved it in the 1990's. Things changed. Now those are my last choices. Sam Miguel, I had it in Madrid in 2023. Tried it in 2023 London and it was different. Perhaps it's UK brewers trying to cut costs with concentrates. The upset is now I focus local craft beers and ales.

It's very interesting what we put up with isn't it? I'll never forget my first trip to Ghent in my early days of 'beer hunting' and being astounded at the level of respect the Belgians had when it came to serving different beer styles and matching with food, just oozed quality. Then I come back to Aus and am not even offered a glass. For the average Joe brought up on crap, it's all they expect and the big beer cartels sell to this apathy.

Definitely cool these comparisons lately.

The imported stella in the green bottle with the white paper import label that goes over the top of the bottle top!? That was the best Stella! I haven’t seen it for many many years. It came in a 660ml bottle. Don’t think it made it through the tax duties those years ago and so they stopped.

All the british brewed lagers taste exactly the same to me, doesn't matter if it's bud, stella, moretti, heineken etc, anything brewed in this country just tastes really foul and utter rubbish in comparison with the stuff brewed at the actual brewery on the continent. Must be the water, or cheaper production, storage conditions, or a little bit of all of that.

Really knowledgeable on your subject good on ya 👏

Brilliant review

This has been going on for years since we've gone from Original Gravity to ABV, as the strength has been lowered because of the UK tax scheme on alcohol the taste has been affected, try finding British beers that have a nose where you can smell the hops (like Flower's bitter) virtually nonexistent these days!

I'd genuinely choose the new Unfiltered Stella over the Belgian brewed Stella

Funny thing...I'm not really a beer drinker. However, I've always enjoyed beer more over seas than in the UK. Now I know why! Great video - thanks.

I remember in the early 80s the brewing of Stella by Whitbread was stopped for retraining because it had deviated so much from the Belgian version. The managed houses were supplied with Stella draught from Belgium and it was a totally different experience , the head was dense and creamy and stayed to the bottom of the glass similar to a good Guinness. Nowadays the accountants rule in the big breweries so cheap and nasty wins. I notice Leffe has taken a dive from 6.6 to 6.0 so that’s another step down a slippery slope.

Ruined under licence in the UK. A little story...many years ago, I would occasionally drink Stella (the company I worked for would do a Friday lunch fish and chips run, with an optional can of Stella). I started to get a taste for it. One day it tasted different, not as good. It took another couple of Fridays before I realised it was 4.9%ABV instead of the 5.2% of the Stella I had been drinking. On further examination, I realised it wasn't Belgium Stella. It then fell a further .1%. I ceased to work for that company so stopped drinking the Stella. Shocked to find it's now 4.6%. IT'S JUST NOT THE SAME BEER. Similar happened to Brugge Tripel. I first drank that in Bruges in the 2000s. 9.2% and utterly sublime. Beautiful deep caramel and baked apples. The company was bought out and first the % went down to 8.9 (I think) and then dropped further. IT'S NOT THE SAME BEER. It's getting increasingly difficult to get genuine continental beers "off the shelf". First it was Stella, then Backs, then Staropramen an probably many more I have missed. The only one I can now find is Warsteiner which is a decent beer and still brewed in Germany...at the moment. 🤦‍♂

Great review, would be great to see the following: UK Carlsberg vs Danish Carlsberg UK Kronenbourg vs French Kronenbourg UK Starapramen vs Czech Starapramen UK Heineken vs Dutch Heineken

Thanks for that honest appraisal.I thought that maybe I had lost some of My taste buds until this appeared. Agree 100% Now what about Moretti for another back to back ?

it is always the same. I remember back around 1980 when Fosters arrived in the UK. It was the real McCoy, brewed in Australia. It was really nice, a change from what we had on offer from UK breweries. After it got a foothold they switched to brewing in the UK .... it was crap. Castlemaine soon followed and it went the same way. So its no surprise the Stella is the same. Belgian Stella is superb btw

No idea why we tolerate this rubbish. But looking around my local Sainsbury's it is very difficult to find a quality, continental lager not brewed in the UK. Why can't they sell imported Stella / 1664? I would buy it! As others have said, uk government now incentivises brewers to produce lower strength beers hence that's what they sell us. But why do we put up with it!

Great video Simon . The uk version is awful and your knowledge and expertise really explains the reasons why . Looking forward to your other videos 👍🏻🍺😊

I like the pint cans 4.6%, nice and cold, good long drink for £1.50 a chug. When in Saigon in the 247 mini markets they sell becks export 5% in the green can 500ml, £0.70 a go, this is a really nice drink too.

Well said . I’m having a continental Stella now 😊

You need to pluck up the courage to do a blind tasting. Doesn't mean you have to be blindfolded, just means what you are drinking is unknown to you. I've done the same test with a group of three, blind. The British Stella came above the Belgian. Surprised the hell out of me. You have to make sure they're as fresh as each other and preferably bought from similar locations, how a beer is transported and stored makes a difference. Also good to throw in a ringer to mix things up. That said, I seem to remember the British Stella being 4.8% when we did the test. I wish they'd stop effin' about with it.

*This is my biggest beer pet peeve* I live in New Zealand, where we have an amazing amount of top quality breweries and brewing history. Yet we 'brew under license' and make SHIT versions of all the beers I want to drink. Can't get genuine Heineken or Stella or Sapporo here at all anymore, and the importers must be taking a bribe because we can't get ANY of the imported genuine versions anymore. It sucks!

You are the only person ive seen doing a review about stella.i stopped drinking uk stuff 3 years ago when i got the perfectdraft.100% agree with everything you said,its pisswasser😂the jupiler is a nice pint also lowenbrau

I'm an American who just got a six-pack of bottled STELLA ARTOIS, like it. But ours seems to be brewed here in ST. Louis, MO. The USA.and is 5% ABV. I LIKE YOUR REVIEW AND YOUR HONESTY, GOOD JOB.

I totally agree with you and I drink lots of UK Stella, when it was 5.2% in the UK it was sweeter and maybe deserved the nickname of Wife beater but the taste has totally changed with every drop in ABV they sucked out of it. I still drink it and find that it tastes better in the big 660ml bottles, the smaller bottles we get in the UK tastes different again, when it changed from 4.8 to 4.6 any flavour disappeared but I suppose I’ve gotten used to it now. The stuff they sell in bottles with the green label which is 5% is quite good though and you notice the difference in the alcohol increase but again they are crafty as it comes in a slightly smaller bottle to keep the price lower.

What got me was when Staropramen used to be imported here back in the day it was incredible when compared to the other drivel you get on the supermaraket shelves, however they started brewing it here and it's absolutely disgusting now.

Going to Brussels in August and having 1 day to Bruges and 1 day to Leuven as part of the trip. Cannot wait.

My local off license used to stock the proper stuff, was 5.1% gold top can with a silver ring-pull.. Miss them days

Great idea and very interesting 👍 why can't we just have the good stuff. All this lowering the abv is bull. Was all good stuff back in my day. What went wrong?

Price? Maybe they found that they needed to offer Stella in the UK at a lower price so they brew it more cheaply (less ingredients) and hence does not taste as good?

I love a nice cold Stella. Obviously, the proper stuff from Belgium. I haven't had this drink in ages gonna pick some up soon, actually.

I love my ciders and I visit Ireland regularly. When I’m there i always love a pint of Orchard Thieves. I then discovered it’s also available in Britain and it tastes so different. It’s crazy how the same drink can taste different from country to country.

Wenn I studied in the UK many years ago, a Belgian classmate wondered why at the time, Stella was quite an upmarket beer in the UK as it wasn't considered anything special at all in his native Belgium. Probably everything in the recipe and marketing of Stella has morphed several times since then.

Simon please do the same thing with Japanese beer. Asahi , Kirin , Sapporo

Great video and totally agree. I remember when it had a nuttiness to it. Most Belgians love good beer and have plenty of choice so quality is important for maintaining sales.

I'm glad other people are finally talking about this. You can find the continental brewed stuff in UK super markets sometimes but it's in small packs (usually 4 bottles) and it costs considerably more. Like wise restaurants often serve things like Italian brewed Peroni not the UK brewed stuff (in bottles not keg of course). Honestly I don't think this should be allowed. They're completely different products but presented as the same thing!

The thing people are missing about Stella is that both the imported version and the locally brewed version are generic unremarkable beers. Same goes for all the pilsner style stuff.

Also the Perfect draft version is the Belgium brewed version it’s a lot better than the British one

very informative, good video

New Zealand brewed Stella is one of my favourite beers. I was appalled at how different it tasted in the UK when I went there in 2001. I don't know what they do differently, but it's literally a different beer.

I'm Welsh but I now live in Normandy, so your speaking to the converted, I drink Kronenbourg 1664 or Pelforth blonde, Kronenbourg is 5.5 abv over here and like the Stella in the UK it's below 5, in France it's got a floral smell unlike the UK which bears no resemblance, usaualy smells like sweaty socks, dont think you get Pelforth in the UK other than supermarkets. I agree Stella was the go to beer but since they've messed about with it it's had it

The IBU as well as the ABV has dropped dramatically over the years. I won't touch the UK Stella anymore

Many years ago, the Restaurant we used, had only bottled Poroni, then started serving Keg Poroni. On trying it we then asked for the bottle type - why they asked, answer: it taste better and the colour was more golden.

I still remember the nectar that was Stella on drought in a Brussels hotel about 30 years ago. Nothing like it sold here in UK.

I worked for Whitbread in the 80s and Stella packaged supply was often switched from Salmesbury to Belgium and vice versa, we could always tell the difference but customers didn’t notice. It seems like things have gotten much worse. Can’t say I’ve drunk it for 30 years now, it’s a damaged product and brand.

British Stella has a lower ABV than the Belgian Stella because the alcohol strength decides the amount of tax on the beer. Inbrew have cut the strength of British Stella several times over the years to keep the price down.... which as Simon has stated has made the beer undrinkable..... R.I P Stell Artois.

I used to be in a Belgian bike club back in the 90's and Belgian Stella was so much better than the Luton version. We could still get Belgian Stella from certain off-licences, but not any more. I lived on Stella and Jupiler.

I remember having Amstel in the Netherlands and it was amazing, when I had the first sip I actually thought my mate had given me his IPA at first as I was not expecting such flavours. I bought some back in the UK after thinking it would be the same and it was just generic lager without the such distinctive flavour I remembered.