Stella Artois started as a holiday gift. More than 600 years ago, in the Belgian city of Leuven, the Den Hoorn brewery was founded. The reason why many people think Stella Artois is French is, first of all, because the brand name sounds French. The word “Artois” comes from the founder of the Artois brewery (Sebastian Artois).
You can read more about the Stella Artois story in this blog that I wrote earlier. Stella Artois was originally made in Leuven, Belgium, a small town east of Brussels. It is currently the best-selling beer in Belgium. It is also made around the world, including the United Kingdom.
Stella Artois is produced under contract in Australia and the United Kingdom, but it is originally from the Belgian city of Leuven, where, according to tax records, the brewery Den Horen (the horn) was already resident in 1366. For this reason, Stella Artois is now one of the best-selling beers in the United States, Canada, Europe and the Australian continent. Before that, Stella Artois was made in Leuven, Belgium, where it is still mainly made for other parts of the world. It's undeniable that Sebastian Artois most likely had French ancestors, so the name Artois sounds French. With this, Stella Artois decided that it was wise to expand its breweries around the world instead of relying on a single brewery.
This is strange, especially considering that Stella Artois was initially made in Leuven, Belgium, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. Then, we'll explain which is the biggest brewery right now and where and how Stella Artois is brewed in other parts of the world. However, due to the rapid growth of Stella Artois around the world, a new brewery was opened in Leuven that was fully automated. Despite this, Stella Artois remains one of the most popular lager brands in the world and a leading import brand in the United States.
Before that, the brewery had been active since 1466, and the beer culture in that region of Belgium dates back to 1366 (that's why the Stella Artois label says it was founded in 136). In 1976, Stella Artois (in the United Kingdom also known as a “handcuff mixer”) was launched on the UK market. Most recently, Stella Artois has been associated with the famous faces of Mindy Kaling, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, all for a good cause. In addition, not having to ship millions of bottles of Stella Artois across the Atlantic every year significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions.
For this reason, Stella Artois is brewed at the Magor brewery in Caldicot, Wales, which was a former Whitbread brewery. One of Stella Artois' most successful markets was in the United Kingdom during the 1980s and 1990s, when its “Reassuringly Expensive” advertising campaign and strong links with cinema made it the leading premium beer brand, selling 3 million barrels a year in 2001.
