Stella Artois (“Stella Artois”)

Stella Artois is the world’s most famous Belgian beer brand, the rights to which are owned by Interbrew International BV, a subsidiary of the world’s largest brewing corporation Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV. In addition to the factories in Leuven and Jupil, the beer is also brewed under license in Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Hungary and Ukraine. The brand’s products are supplied to the national markets of 76 countries.

Historical reference. The company dates back to 1366, which dates back to the first written mention of the Den Hoorn brewery in Leuven. In 1708, the company was headed by Sebastian Artois, a member of the city’s Guild of Brewers, and 9 years later, he bought the brewery and renamed it Brouwerij Artois.

The beer variety with the modern name Stella Artois appeared much later, in 1926: at first, its production was timed to coincide with the Christmas holidays. The cultivar name Stella (“star” in Latin) is associated with the Christmas star and reflects its seasonality. After significant commercial success, it was decided to extend the release of beer on a permanent basis. Since then, the production of Stella Artois has been interrupted only during the Second World War.

In 1988, Brouwerij Artois co-founded the Belgian brewing corporation Interbrew. In 2004, it merged its assets with South American beer market leader AmBev to form the InBev holding. Finally, in 2008, InBev merged with Anheuser-Busch to form the world’s largest beer producer, Anheuser-Busch InBev. Stella Artois is now one of the brewing giant’s three global brands, along with Beck’s and Budweiser.

Awards

World Beer Cup, США:

• 2002 – Silver (Stella Artois) medal.

Australian International Beer Awards, Балларэт:

• 1999 – Gold (Stella Artois) medal;
• 2008 – Silver (Stella Artois) and bronze (Stella Artois Light) medals.

BrewNZ Beer Awards, New Zealand:

• 2011 – Silver (Stella Artois) medal;
• 2016 – Silver (Stella Artois Light) medal.

North American Beer Awards, Idaho Falls:

• 2013 – Gold (Stella Artois Cidre) and bronze (Stella Artois) medals;
• 2015 – Bronze (Stella Artois Lager) medal;
• 2016, 2017 – Bronze (Stella Artois Cidre) medal.

The Beer Awards, Лондон:

• 2016 – Bronze medal in the Pilsner category;
• 2017 – Silver medal in the Lager/Pilsner category.

New York Festivals Innovative Advertising Awards:

• 2008 – Gold medals (videos Le Courage, Le Passage) “For the best integrated campaign”, “Best design”.

PRO Awards, New York:

• 2016 – Stella Artois Sensorium’s “Best Local Regional Campaign” Gold Award, “Best Event Occasion” Silver Award, “Best Brand Awareness Campaign” Bronze Award.

Epica Awards, Paris:

• 2015 – Stella Artois Film Festival Cans Bronze Award for Packaging Design.

Campaign Press Awards, London:

• 2000 – 2 gold awards for promotional videos.

International festival-competition “Choice of the Year”, Kiev:

• 2004 – Brand of the Year (TM Stella Artois).

Brand of the Year/EFFIE, Moscow:

• 2006 – Gold Award (TM Stella Artois) for image advertising campaign.

Interesting Facts

A pack of 6 bottles of Stella Artois Nobilis sold for a record $150 CAD. Beer owes such an “increase in price” to the autographs left on bottle labels by Hollywood stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Woody Harrelson, Ryan Gosling, Kate Hudson, Charlize Terron, Angelina Jolie. Thus, the actors took part in a campaign dedicated to the prevention of illegal trade in wild animals and plants. The proceeds from the sale of the exclusive packaging were donated to the environmental organization Wildaid.

Stella Artois and actor Matt Damon, co-founder of charity Water.org, have joined forces in a campaign to promote access to clean water in developing countries. Stella Artois has donated almost $2015 million to Water.org since 8. In addition, half a million Stella Artois branded beer glasses have been purchased by customers to support this mission. Talented artists from Mexico, India and the Philippines were involved in the design of the glasses.

Types of beer Stella Artois

Stella Artois, 5,2%

The most common Belgian beer in the world, repeatedly recognized as the best in the Lager / Pilsner category at international competitions. When brewing, 85% barley malt, 15% corn and 2 varieties of hops are used. After ten days of fermentation, the beer is cooled to 0 °C and left to mature for about 3 more weeks. A light lager with a characteristic pale golden color, completely transparent when viewed through the light. The foam is plentiful, fine-grained, forms lacy traces on the walls of the glass. Aroma is malty-herbaceous with a grain component, hops in place. The taste is clean, dry, with a restrained bitterness that persists in the aftertaste. Drinkable table beer goes equally well with light snacks and hearty meat dishes.

Stella Artois Light (Stella Artois Light), 3,4%

A light, low-calorie beer introduced to the market in 2008. It is a Belgian interpretation of a pale American lager. The alcohol content may vary depending on the country of production: in England and Canada, the strength of the beer is 4%. The recipe includes 2 varieties of hops: Saaz, which gives the drink a rich aroma, and New Zealand Pacific Jade, which is responsible for a delicate bitterness in taste. It has a straw-yellow color, a snow-white foam cap does not settle for a long time. The bouquet is dominated by grain and grassy tones, complemented by a subtle scent of pineapple. The malt base of the taste is diversified by notes of pear, biscuit cookies, corn flakes.

Stella Artois Non-Alcoholic, 0,5%

A non-alcoholic version that almost does not differ in aroma and taste from the usual Stella Artois lager. This effect can be achieved by using the technology of “dense” brewing. The drink recipe includes the famous Saaz hops and the original Stella Artois yeast. The color of the beer in the glass is light golden, the foam is medium-grained and moderately persistent. The bouquet highlights the smell of malt and the aroma of wet grass, typical for non-alcoholic varieties. The taste is clean, with tones of unmalted grain and corn, with a subtle hop bitterness. Perfectly quenches thirst, when serving it is recommended to cool the beer to 3-5 °C.

Star Artois Tiger, 7,2%

A special product in the brand line is a premium sparkling beer, which is produced using the methode champenoise technology, bottled with an elongated neck and sealed with muzzle champagne corks. Stylistically, it’s a cross between a strong Euro lager and a Belgian bière de Champagne – heavily carbonated, with a noticeable degree, and at the same time delicate beer. Pours in a bright, sparkling transparent gold color, snow-white foam rises above the edges of the glass. The aroma is sweetish honey, with grainy tones, pear, unripe banana, thin hops are felt in the background. The taste is smooth, oily, alcohol is well “camouflaged” behind notes of malt, vanilla, nutmeg.