Why Is UK Brewed Stella Artois Such An Inferior Beer? UK VS Belgium Brewed Stella Artois Review
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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.
Problem is most British have awful taste, but loudly disagree that they do. Companies, of course, know they can exploit this for profit.
I don't know mate. the last time Britain were left to make a "drastic" change hasn't seemed to work out all too well.
I should think we'd be better off not consulting the people on anything important. They are clearly not capable of making logical decisions
🤣
@@DAGATHire Intentionally scuppered, as you well know.
@@Rozmic scuppered by self harm, as you should well know.
Its about selling cheaply brewed beer at a rip off price.
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'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!
It’s probably the shitty water being used or not very good ingredient’s.
Juplier in Belgium is better again brewed by inbev Belgium Stella is still very good can be hard on the stomach though! The UK stuff is really bad great vblog
I’m very surprised a company would accept an inferior product being produced under their brand name. I doubt it’s the water, as with chemicals and filters you can reproduce the same water purity. Perhaps it’s just what the public want?
@@fanfeck2844 or the English brewers don’t know what they’re doing. I bought 4 cans of the unfiltered Stella yesterday and can’t see what’s wrong with it. Maybe I’m use to shit lager idk or maybe I have bad taste. Probably the latter 😅
@@IamBATMAN2024 doubt it’s the brewers. Englands been making beers longer than Belgium has existed. It’s more likely something to do with cost and protecting their margins.
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.
Try getting Brooklyn lager made in USA now in the UK. I wouldn't mind if there were a choice.
@@heiltd1286exactly. I’m sure the proper stuff would sell well.
@@MrJamessmith90 These brewers don't want a choice available. Now I firmly believe that we have the best beers in the world brewed in England. One only has to check out independent and craft beer breweries throughout England to taste phenomenal beers. If I want foreign beer I want the best foreign beers, not degraded imitations. I understand Stella Artois in Belgium is a good beer and so is Staropramen in Czechia. They're brewed here to an inferior standard and why do people tolerate it. I'm wondering if the same degradation of standards is happening with Brooklyn Lager. I always drank this beer going back years. Since its being brewed here I don't trust the quality. I need to try out US brewed Brooklyn Lager and compare to UK brewed version. You know even such dismal beers as Budweiser, Coors and Corona piss poor as they are in their home countries are brewed here in the UK and made even worse. That's hard to believe, but it's true.
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 was in Brussel 3 weeks ago and found a nice little bottled Pilsner, Manneken Pis by name but actually rather moreish
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.
Yeah I used to buy slabs of 24 in London. 500ml. £20 cash. This was the early 00's though.
Man you're lucky, nothing like that where I live sadly lol
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
I only found out there was an inferior British Fosters a couple of weeks ago. When I was younger in the 80s I'm sure it was always Aussie Fosters here.
@@simonh6371 I remember back in the mid-to-late 1980s that there was a debate, possibly involving Camra, on the UK brewing foreign beers under licence. Perhaps that was the time it all started.
I would get bottles of Guinness original and Irish brewed foreign extra
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.
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.
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.
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?
Definitely.
Ok Einstein !
@@AllyRobson Ha ha. I'm not sure that Simon mentioned that did he??
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.
Agreed. It’s surprising just how strong your cognitive biases really are. I’ve done it myself, and totally surprised myself with a blind tasting.
I will never forget the time I tasted beer for first time. I was in the Munich oktober fest.
That was a reason I didn't really like beer before.
I am British but live in France I drink French / Belgium beer bought from supermarkets the normal beers are about 6 t0 6.7 % but you can buy triple brewed beers that are between 9 to 9.9 %and the taste is fantastic and lasts on you palate
Read into the work of Ron Pattinson as to why Irish and British beers got to the low strength of today
In the Netherlands, way back in the days, Stella was considered inferior to Heineken. Nice comparison. Thanks for the video.
Correction. They never lowered the ABV by 0.6%. That's 0.6 PERCENTAGE POINTS. 4.6% is actually 11.5% less alcohol than 5.2%, if the overall volume of liquid is the same.
I was "forced" to drink Stella Artois on a recent weekend break. I don't know if they've changed the recipe in the year this video was published but I find UK brewed Stella Artois to be quite drinkable these days. The can now has the text "Brewed with Saaz hops & high quality malt" around the top. I think this is more than just words. The Saaz hops are definitely coming through in the aroma and taste now.
Of course it still tastes on the watery side and lacks body when compared to the Belgian version but it's a lot better than most of the UK brewed lager that my wife insists on buying (mostly 1664, Staropramen and Birra Moretti). There are still so many other beers I'd pick above Stella though so overall I'd say it's improved to the point of being drinkable but still has a long way to go to be classed as a great beer.
It's the exact same as Beck's. I would love to see a comparison. Can't even buy Beck's anymore in Ireland because it wasn't selling very well at all at 4% abv
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.
The newish Stella unfiltered in the UK is much better and closer to the Belgian one, also 5%...so there's hope for Stella!
Heineken and Kronenberg are 5% and their prices are still on par with Stella so that excuse doesn’t really work for Stella.
@@underneonloneliness2 The UK brewed Kronenbourg is atrocious since Carlsberg bought them out, they've ruined the recipe by adding glucose syrup and Heineken isn't much better.
@@andrewcarr5923 It is a shame these big Brewers are buying everyone out. It means certain lagers are losing their uniqueness. It’s like that everywhere though. From beer to motor vehicles. It would be nice if all companies were independent again.
UK brewed Lager is chemical soup and will have you feeling sick as a dog the next day
Just bought 18 x 440ml tins of it on line as it worked out as 78p a tin, of probably the Wrexham or Northampton brewed version at 4.6%. It's not the best or worst British brewed lager I've had but I have to drink it ice cold to make it palatable? Had a similar experience with 1664. Had it in Strasbourg, totally superior to here. Think I'll just stick to the safe Czech stuff in future. Obviously that doesn't include Staropramen as that's mostly all brewed here too, if you read the lable carefully enough?
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.
First time I went to Gent in Belgium 30 years ago, they would have Jupiler or Stella on tap and everything else in bottles. OMG it was beer heaven. The Jupiler/Stella was considered bog standard beer, while the shelves of amazing beers of every flavour, fruitiness and strength were astounding. Vague memories of lying on my back with 4 bottles of Duvel in my mouth while a crowd cheered me on to finish them all. Beyond that all gets kinda blurry hahaha
I live in midwest Indiana, USA. I agree with your Two Hearted IPA review, totally! I drank San Miguel ,from the Philippines, when I was stationed in Japan. It was a really good beer. This was in the 80's. There was "debris " in the bottom of the bottles.😮😂😂😂
I cant even recall seeing Stella in Belguim, It was all Juplier and Duvvel.
Beer tax has pushed breweries to lower ABV versions in the UK, at the same time ruining the taste
Stella replaced my favourite drink of all time ‘Tennants Extra’ which for me had it all , the transition though was not too bad and I got used to and enjoyed drinking it but when they reduced it from 5.2 to first 4.8 then 4.6 it became undrinkable and unrecognisable. There is not a premium lager I enjoy now and the Spanish and Italian beers are awful . I did visit the highlands of Scotland recently and in lochinver I found Tennants on tap which had the similar taste to Extra but at 4 it was effectively the old pilsner version and lacked the extra taste the 0.8 % gave it . I am at such a loss now because I cannot find a lager on tap or in bottles or cans that I enjoy . I have only just found your channel and have subbed and hope you can steer me to a new premium beer they haven’t ruined .
Amstel is rubbish, at least the stuff sold in UK is.
Kronenbourg 1664 is my best suggestion. I grieve the loss of the old style Stella and KB 1664 is the only substitute I’ve found with a remotely similar depth of flavour (still not a patch though)
Had the privilege of picking some up yesterday and the day before for 6 or 7 quid for 4 pints at 5% at the Romanian shop. Also stumbled upon a short date mystery box full of foreign beers including a 25cl 5.2% ABV Stella, 2 glasses and a bottle opener and some leffe chutney believe it or not.
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'm convinced UK brewed isn't actually brewed, it's a flavoured syrup, soda stream lager.
All the local corner shop offies around me in SE London used to sell cans of Belgian Stella. It was obviously being bought over the channel and sneaked back in by some shady entrepreneur. It was a lovely beer. There was no comparison between it and the vile UK version, even though that was 4.8% at the time. Sadly that was obviously put a stop to by customs so no longer available. "Brewed Under License in the UK" - the kiss of death for quite a few otherwise good beers.
Years ago my local shop sold Imported Stella and it was lovely but the UK brewed stuff is absolutely vile, same with Estrella and San Miguel and a few others. In fact someone recommended Estrella to me as it was so good so I bought some from asda and managed about a quarter of a bottle, the rest went in the sink. You brought up a good point though, why do us Brits always seem to settle for 'It'll do'
We are neither discerning nor demanding enough. In almost every sector we want the stuff more than they want to sell it , and companies know it.
Totally agree with you l used to love a Stella back in the 90s it was totally different, when you mentioned Cadbury's at the end it got me thinking l just thought everything tasting crap these days was down to my age but it isn't nothing is made they way it used to be in "the good old days" l thought that was a cliché but it's not it's just true.
A major frustration of mine is why UK Stella is weaker and tastes much worse than Belgian Stella....the UK one is like a mouthful of sugar! The brewery insists the UK one doesn't taste worse and has the same ingredients as the Belgian one, but I don't agree.
Maybe after possibly vast amounts of complaints and falling sales, they have introduced Stella unfiltered, which is much closer to continental Stella and 5% ABV
Beer here in the UK is dire compared to that in continental Europe. It's shocking how bad it is but of course, so many people are used to it. It's the norm for them. If they tasted beer as it should be from the source, they'd realise that and wouldn't tolerate it. I mean when I go to Europe I can drink what they consider their 'bog-standard' largers even at room temperature as very often then tend to have fuller flavours. Here in the UK it has to be chilled because if you don't it tastes like p*ss water.
Ale is good lager not so much
Try American beer. Has to be served ice-cold and it freezer chilled glasses. If you want real beer, you have to do to Belgium, the Czech Republic and Germany.
@@patrickmccutcheon9361 I don’t buy into that
They done the same with Becks Bier, never bought it since the change.
Anything brewed in Burton on Trent is to be avoided like the plague.
I have found this with most, if not all, continental bears brewed under licence in the UK. Have you ever tasted Czechoslovakian Budweiser, I remember it back in the 80s, it was great?
Budvar?
Well said . I’m having a continental Stella now 😊
It would be the same result with Guinness brewed in England vs the stuff from Ireland.
For some reason two or three years back my local corner shop started selling Stella bottles imported full strength for a decent price i snapped up a few boxes some months later no more i asked the shopkeeper if he was getting more he just shrugs his shoulders but he did get cans of colt 45 an other favourite of mine
I once drank Stella in Egypt, brewed in Egypt and it was infinitely superior to the Crap they brew in this benighted country.
It Egyptian beer it’s called Stella not the Belgian name
Like almost every Lager sold in the UK, it's brewed by the accountants. Every effort is made to cut costs by fractions of a penny, and provided people can still stomach the taste, it's a success. Better tasting Lager won't actually sell much more in the UK - people are happy to to take the word of the awesome advertising on that. The small number of people that appreciate a good Lager won't make a big overall difference to sales, so there's little point in trying to keep them happy.
The only time you will find a good Lager brewed in the UK is by a small company without a board of directors and shareholders, it's why we have so many excellent Ales - small businesses.
That English muck is for 'label drinkers' only. A grotesque parody of a brew I used to love. The question is, why does the parent company allow such crap to be concocted here in Britain under its name? 🤔 I would recommend Heverlee ( 4.8%, brewed under licence in Scotland) if you liked this style of lager in days of yore.
And don't forget Stella is brewed in the Flanders region (aka kind of Dutch speaking). When I told my Belgian friends it was advertised with people speaking French in the UK there was almost a riot. BTW worked in Antwerp in the late 90s and my route home would take me past the De Koninck brewery as it was at the time. Used to enjoy a Bolleke or two. Only time I saw that in the UK was at spoons once, poured it out completely flat like a dead beer. shocking.
I always drank the imported in cans which had a nice embossed logo and it tasted great whereas the Uk version is just over carbonated piss.
Now Singha beer is UK brewed rather than Thailand. The results are predictably poor. I don't buy it anymore, well done corporate types.
Beer brewed on the continent usually time is approx 6 to 7 weeks here in england its 3 weeks pumped full of chemicals to speed up the process,any wonder why some people go daft drinking. Anyway these are the names of chemical induced beer. Carling , Budweiser, newcastle brown ale , corona, stella, skol. Heineken closed its processing plant in england now all there beer is brewed on the continent in Amsterdam .Thatsa damn fine beer
I was buying the imported bottles of Stella years ago with paper top much smoother taste then they started putting paper on British sterlla 😂
*YES!!! FINALLY!!! British brewed beers of commercial names ALL taste the same* like they are produced using the same recipes and production plant. Budweiser tastes like Stella etc. They have their base recipes but they are overshadowed by whatever gets put in the British produced beers.
The reason I only noticed was when Budweiser stopped being imported and got produced over here. Awful stuff.
I think the worst Stella I ever had was in Fiji - brewed in New Zealand.
I used to drink Stella but when they lowered the ABV it tasted like crap. It's a cheek they call it a premium lager.
I look for continental larger don't know what they do here but brit brew makes me feel sick and the taste inferior
You have concentrated on the UK beer having a lower ABV for which you can blame the UK tax laws. However, I strongly suspect the biggest difference is down to the use of cheaper ingredients and possibly adjuncts in the UK version. The yeast may have been the same (but has probably mutated a bit over time) and the beers have been colour matched, but they should not be marketed as being the same beer - this goes for most or all the ‘brewed under licence in the UK’ beers. What a waste of what was once a quite highly respected beer, but typical of InBev indifference to quality.
surely you have to use the same glass for both?
A blind taste test by a few volunteers would be more interesting.
I was wondering why it had gone down from 5.2 to 4.6%
Every time a good imported lager/ beer transfers to brewed in the u.k. it is always inferior. I was really enjoying imported Brooklyn Lager until they transferred to the u.k. So infuriating, its enough to make you turn to drink.
As a British man I have to admit I'm shocked. I had no idea beers varied from nation to nation in such a way, I just assumed Stella always tasted like piss. Now I know better, gotta go abroad and enjoy some real beer sometime.
stella is a perfect spring beer
Stella Artois used to taste great, but it definitely has gone down in quality and taste. Same as Heineken brewed in the UK, which tastes nowhere as good as the Holland beer.
Staropramen brewed in the UK is the exception. Tastes even better than the brewed in Prague beer and the new Staropramen Unfiltered is available in Asda and that tastes great.
Inbev dial down the ABV on Stella brewed here so as to avoid paying additional Duty to HMRC. Methinks ?
Can Mr Jeremy Hunt confirm as I know he is a subsciber to the channel.
Sadly the UK mainstream brewing arm seems hell bent on destroying its-self for a short term quick buck. Lower ABV on nearly every shelf stacked lager, cider or traditional ale whilst maintaining - or even raising prices and has little to do with inflation or MUP. Expect corn sugar and hops 'extract' to be the next phase in the downward spiral.
Solution? Start buying the real stuff from dedicated beer import sites, or even better; learn how to make your own.
Currently bottle conditioning 40x500ml 7% floor malted golden promise Helles for Santa season, cheers!
But do they do Alcohol Free one
Is that why the perfect draft Stella taste so good I wouldn’t thank you for a can of it lol but love it on pd
15:44 because most people in uk drink for quantity and not quality... And companies take advantage! And make money of course!... I'm sure you recognise this... I'm sorry. And for my fellow people who focus on quality like you... Yes i feel all your frustration!
As a Belgian I always have a crate of Stella ready in my basement
Show off bstard 😂😂
A friend of mine is from Holland and when his brother came over to see him they went to a pub and the brother bought two pints of Stella. He was shocked at the price of the Stella, as in Holland (apparently) Stella is a cheap lager, like what Carling is here, and bought the two pints because he wanted to make his money last!
AB InBev tried to pull the wool over our eyes when they presented Dylan Mulvaney as a typical beer drinker.
Its the same in Australia
i Love the unfiltered Stella Artois 5% much nicer than the 4.6% crap
I am watching I a man talk about and drink beer 🍺 well the internet has definitely changed me 😂
That is weird!
It would have been interesting also to have comparision between Belgium bottle vs. can and same with English versions
We accept the bare minimum because we think we’re the best at brewing beer and everything else and clearly we aren’t.
Even Belgian Stella isn't what it used to be...20 years ago (ok that's a long time ago) but continental lager on the continent is not half as good as it was. Kronenbourg 1664 used to be 6.4 percent in France and was almost a Trappist quality mass produced beer. Dutch Heineken on the continent was a totally different drink to anything we ever got in the UK. But these too have disappeared from Europe. The only answer is to leave these crappy lagers and enjoy craft ales.... But who are these people buying the rubbish? Sadly the majority of UK beer drinkers...what the hell is wrong with them? Are they mad?
They've now brought in Stella Green, which is 5.2%, i think.
It’s 5%
Better quality than regular stella and much tastier imo
@@edmundblackaddercoc8522 definitely 👌🏻
@@edmundblackaddercoc8522 good to know - will give it a try
I've not tried it,is it OK?
Have to agree . As a beer drinker I love to try different beers on my travels. Many times I have tried beers supposedly the same as brewed in the UK. No they are not. The UK brewery's have to step up there game. Also the UK tax system on alcohol content should be changed. As alcohol content also changes the initial taste.
I like the skunkiness smell and i dont do Splffs either !!
Peroni does the same lol
It’s the hops
Good video thankyou. Subscribed. I find that UK Stella is an acrid, headache-inducing, synthetic representation of the Belgian original, with the latter being perfectly drinkable albeit still in line with what you'd expect from a mass produced continental lager. Can't drink a lot of the UK mass produced stuff. Most is garbage, sadly.
The real San Miguel is brewed in the Philipines, not Spain😉
A 1L bottle of San Miguel in Spain costs the same as a 660ml bottle of "proper" San Miguel we buy in Britain. But it's gnats p**s . British San Miguel much, much better.
The last point it the big one for me. How/why does this obviously proud brand/brewer not inisist on consistancy? It's their beer and it's being utterly wrecked by UK brewers. Who's allowing this to happen? Who are there representatives over here allowing it to happen? Where is the pride of their product? If we don't have easy access to the true taste of their Belgium version we are at the whim of what we have and marketing. I still put the blame fairly and plainly at Stell'a feet. They're the brewery, their name/branding, their responsibility.
Stella that's brewed in the UK was forced to remove "Continental Lager" from its packaging years ago as it was misleading consumers.
I have not seen your bit on spainish beer yet, just about to.
I have been complaining for more years than I care to remember, about the so called pilsner beers or as we english say larger.
In my mind there are two main reasons, one, the people who brew it want a profit and not to worried about a few knowing the difference, of how it should taste. And let's face it they all tast the same, and very chemical tasting. Second is the great British public, believing they are drinking a premium beer, because their eyes tell them by the labels. And of course plain ignorance what it should be.
From a can of wife beater to a can of ,, its ok love, you are right....😮
Diferent water. Every foreign beer brewed in thr uk just tastes like English beer, for example Spanish San Miguel tastes nothing like uk stuff, Dutch Amstel tastes nothing like uk stuff.
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
its exactly what happened, they all just dropped their % content
The uk has managed to turn a great lager into piss!!!
We pay plenty of tax. The problem is the top few percent are creaming off more than they should.
Water companies should've been forced to re-invest a set amount of money into upgrades and maintenance. Instead the money goes elsewhere.
The worst people you can give your money to, are Governments.
We don’t pay less tax do we? Less tax than who? We are up there with one of the highest taxed nations on earth! We get taxed to breath!
@@IamBATMAN2024 any Scandinavian would think we were cheap skates who get what we pay for. We don't have a high living standard compared to many northern European countries.
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.
It was 5.2% when I last drank it 20 years ago
I basically just said the same thing. Would love to get some import
It went from 5.2% 5.0% 4.8% and now it's 4.5% in UK
@@leehenry57644.6
I personally think they BOTH taste like shit. It's basically just Corona from Belgium. Tastes like a skunk arse.
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.
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!!
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.
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.
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.
Was my fave beer but haven't bought it since it went to 4.6%
100% agree it used to have such depth and flavour and tasted like no other lager. The modern version is like any old tasteless fizz and is a shadow of its former glory. I stopped buying it.
Can't you get the proper one brewed in Leuven in the UK any more?
Many a good time on stella actatwat
Couldn't agree with you more, Stella now is awful and leaves a bitter taste in your mouth it lost its sweetness. It was my drink of choice in the 90s early 00s but when the design of the can changed that embossed logo was probably the same time it was brewed in the UK. Stella needs to get a grip, I'd pay the extra to have it as brewed in Belgium.
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 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.
It also has a poor image the nickname is wife beater