Stella Artois Beer

Origin: Belgium · Brewer: AB InBev (Stella Artois Brewery, Leuven) · ABV 4.8-5.0%

Stella Artois is Belgium's biggest beer export and the premium-positioned international flagship of AB InBev. The brand traces its brewing line back further than almost any other lager on the planet - to a brewery first recorded in 1366 - and it leans hard on that heritage in everything from packaging to the famous nine-step chalice serving ritual.

From medieval Leuven to global premium lager

The Stella story begins with Den Hoorn ("The Horn"), a brewery first mentioned in the city records of Leuven, Belgium, in 1366. In 1717 master brewer Sebastian Artois bought the brewery, renamed it Brouwerij Artois, and added his family name. The Stella name was added in 1926, when Artois launched a special Christmas beer named "Stella" - Latin for "star" - which then became a year-round flagship and gradually replaced most of the older Artois portfolio.

Belgium's biggest export label

Brouwerij Artois merged with Piedboeuf in 1987 to form Interbrew, which became InBev in 2004 after merging with AmBev, and then AB InBev in 2008 after the Anheuser-Busch acquisition. Through all of that, Stella Artois has remained the group's premium-positioned global lager - the European mirror image of Budweiser - and is sold in around 95 countries.

Recipe and taste

Stella Artois is a 5.0 percent ABV (4.8 percent in some markets, including the UK and Ireland after a 2020 reformulation) Euro pale lager. The recipe uses pilsner malt, maize, Saaz hops, water and a single Stella yeast strain. Stella is a touch crisper and slightly more bitter than most international macro-lagers at around 24 IBU, with a noticeably floral Saaz note in the aroma. The brand promotes a "9-step pour" ritual that ends with the beer in its signature chalice glass, designed so the gold logo on the glass aligns with the fill line.

How big is Stella?

Stella Artois consistently ranks in the global volume top ten for beer brands, with annual sales in the mid tens of millions of hectolitres. Its strongest markets include the UK, Argentina, Brazil, Belgium and the United States, plus a growing footprint in Asia.

Sources: AB InBev annual reports and brand history materials; Brouwerij Artois corporate timeline; widely reported industry volume estimates.