Stella Artois upset drinkers after cutting down to 4.6% alcohol

STELLA Artois fans are all frothed up after its alcohol content was cut to 4.6 per cent.

Disgusted drinkers have accused bosses of watering down their favourite brew.

Drinkers have accused bosses of ruining their favourite alcoholCredit: Reuters

The ABV — alcohol by volume — was cut from 4.8 per cent to 4.6 for all canned and draught Stella, marketed as a premium lager, by Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I last September.

In 2012, the alcohol in Stella was reduced from five per cent.

That move is said to have saved the brewer, then known as AB InBev, up to £8.6million a year in alcohol duty.

And this latest reduction has sparked a huge backlash.

On Tesco’s website, a drinker reckoned: “I cracked open a can of Stella 4.6 per cent and thought I had Covid, since I could not taste anything. Stella is now bland, insipid and already described as dishwater.”

Another wrote: “A once great beer of the geezers. Now watered down to 4.6 per cent.

“Won’t be buying this anymore. Off to find another beer that is at least five per cent, or are the English not trusted.”

And a third raged: “Ruined now. Has a cheek to still describe itself as premium beer.”

Stella said the recipe change was in line with its commitment to responsible drinking.

Dorien Nijs, brewmaster at Stella’s Leuven plant in Belgium, said: “Taste and quality remain number one priority for Stella Artois drinkers, and we also recognise a health and wellness trend through moderation.

“We are proud we can now deliver the same taste with an ABV of 4.6 per cent.”