Hi all,

I have a number of friends who claim that Stella Artois effects them in an
adverse manner. Basically, they reckon they get a lot more drunk on Stella
than on the same amount of any other lager/beer of the same alcohol content.
Not sure where most of you come from, but Stella has the nickname
"wifebeater" here in England, due to it's supposed propensity to incite
violence in it's drinkers. Personally, I don't find it effects me any
differently to beers of the same strength. Does anyone know if there really
is anything about it that would make it more potent than other beers? Or is
it, as I suspect, all in their minds?!

Cheers,
Dan

<a> wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
>
> I have a number of friends who claim that Stella Artois effects them in an
> adverse manner. Basically, they reckon they get a lot more drunk on Stella
> than on the same amount of any other lager/beer of the same alcohol
content.
> Not sure where most of you come from, but Stella has the nickname
> "wifebeater" here in England, due to it's supposed propensity to incite
> violence in it's drinkers. Personally, I don't find it effects me any
> differently to beers of the same strength. Does anyone know if there
really
> is anything about it that would make it more potent than other beers? Or
is
> it, as I suspect, all in their minds?!

You're right. This is local wazooism. Most places on the globe, there is one
beer that is mysteriously supposed to do...something; get you drunker, make
you an asshole, give you ferocious headaches, give you a whopping boner,
whatever. It's all superstition. As an old fart I know once told me, "Beer's
beer, Lew. There ain't no difference." On one level, of course, he was
completely talking out his ass. But on another level, he was more right than
I realized for some years. Calling Stella "wifebeater" is more a reflection
on the type of guy who drinks Stella than it is on Stella.

--
Lew Bryson

"As for talking shit in this NG, Lew, you're the undisputed king, and
that's no SHITE." -- Bob Skilnik, 1/31/02

www.lewbryson.com

On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 03:35:53 GMT, "Lew Bryson"
> wrote:

>Calling Stella "wifebeater" is more a reflection
>on the type of guy who drinks Stella than it is on Stella.

That's exactly what I was going to post Lew. It's a 5% beer, so if you
drink 10 pints of it you're going to get drunk, and if you're the sort
of person that gets violent when they're drunk...

BTW, I've never heard Stella called 'wifebeater' here - crap,
expensive etc. are more common terms. It's marketed as a premium beer,
unlike in Belgium where it is an everyday session pilsner.

Best regards, Paul
--
Paul Sherwin Consulting http://paulsherwin.co.uk

Paul Sherwin wrote:

> BTW, I've never heard Stella called 'wifebeater' here - crap,
> expensive etc. are more common terms. It's marketed as a premium beer,
> unlike in Belgium where it is an everyday session pilsner.

Well, the name does translate to English as Lone Star.

Cheers,

Steve

<a> wrote in :

> Hi all,
>
> I have a number of friends who claim that Stella Artois effects them
> in an adverse manner.

I suppose forcing your taste buds to interact with Stella counts as an
"adverse manner" in my book.
--
************************************************** ***************
Dan Iwerks thinks that the beer you're drinking probably sucks.
The fundamental problem with Solipsism is it makes me
responsible for the fact that you're a complete idiot.
************************************************** ***************

> Well, the name does translate to English as Lone Star.
>
??
"Stella" translates into "star", in Latin (Stella started life as a
Christmas pilsner).
"Artois" is a family name, related to a region in North France-Flanders.

Whence the "lone"?
Joris

<a> wrote in message
...

> Not sure where most of you come from, but Stella has the nickname
> "wifebeater" here in England, due to it's supposed propensity to incite
> violence in it's drinkers. Personally, I don't find it effects me any
> differently to beers of the same strength.

So, you beat your wife no matter what you drink?

Brian

Joris Pattyn wrote:

>>Well, the name does translate to English as Lone Star.
>>
>
> ??
> "Stella" translates into "star", in Latin (Stella started life as a
> Christmas pilsner).
> "Artois" is a family name, related to a region in North France-Flanders.
>
> Whence the "lone"?

It's a joke. "Lone Star" refers to beer from Texas, legendary home
of "Bubba the wife-beater." Bubba gets a little mean and nasty when
he's drunk enough Lone Star beer. He's sort of a notorious Texas
stereotype.
--
dgs

"st" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 00:18:01 +0100, <a> wrote:
>
> >Hi all,
> >
> >I have a number of friends who claim that Stella Artois effects them in
an
> >adverse manner. Basically, they reckon they get a lot more drunk on
Stella
> >than on the same amount of any other lager/beer of the same alcohol
content.
> >Not sure where most of you come from, but Stella has the nickname
> >"wifebeater" here in England, due to it's supposed propensity to incite
> >violence in it's drinkers. Personally, I don't find it effects me any
> >differently to beers of the same strength. Does anyone know if there
really
> >is anything about it that would make it more potent than other beers? Or
is
> >it, as I suspect, all in their minds?!
>
> Here in Australia at least, compared to most other standard beers
> (local or imported), it has a slightly higher alcohol content. So if
> you go 1:1 with a mate or whatever, the bloke drinking Stella would be
> more ****ed.
>
> I get really monstrous hangovers after a night on Stella. That,
> coupled with the fact that is it horrendously expensive here, makes me
> drink it less than I'd like to.

Yes, this is another claim often made - "I get a worse hangover on Stella
than anything else". I can't think of any scientific reason for this so I
suspect it's another figment of their imagination. I asked a friend to
clarify why Stella effects them more today, the answer was along the lines
of "there's some chemical that it's got more of"! I have to agree with all
the posts saying it's a load of rubbish, was hoping someone might suprise me
with a strange fact or stat though...

Also, I didn't realise how unpopular Stella was - have to admit it's usually
my choice of lager in a UK pub (typical draught lager choice is Kronenbourg,
Carling, Grolsch, Stella). This is probably why I hear the evils of the
drink from other people so much!

Cheers,
Dan

"Paul Sherwin" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 03:35:53 GMT, "Lew Bryson"
> > wrote:
>
> >Calling Stella "wifebeater" is more a reflection
> >on the type of guy who drinks Stella than it is on Stella.
>
> That's exactly what I was going to post Lew. It's a 5% beer, so if you
> drink 10 pints of it you're going to get drunk, and if you're the sort
> of person that gets violent when they're drunk...
>
> BTW, I've never heard Stella called 'wifebeater' here - crap,
> expensive etc. are more common terms. It's marketed as a premium beer,

I think "wifebeater" is a northern expression, I say this despite being from
Southampton so am probably wrong! Certainly the majority of people in my age
group (20's) seem to know the 'affectionate' nickname.

Cheers,
Dan

<a> wrote in message
...
> "st" > wrote in message
> > I get really monstrous hangovers after a night on Stella. That,
> > coupled with the fact that is it horrendously expensive here, makes me
> > drink it less than I'd like to.
>
> Yes, this is another claim often made - "I get a worse hangover on Stella
> than anything else". I can't think of any scientific reason for this so I
> suspect it's another figment of their imagination. I asked a friend to
> clarify why Stella effects them more today, the answer was along the lines
> of "there's some chemical that it's got more of"! I have to agree with all
> the posts saying it's a load of rubbish, was hoping someone might suprise
me
> with a strange fact or stat though...

Singha often gets accused of having formaldehyde in it. I did a piece on
this (and a few other beer myths) for Beverage Business last year
(http://www.beveragebusiness.com/art98/bryson0603.html), and after talking
to a brewing chemist I know, and the Boon Rawd folks, pretty much figure
that 1)Singha is stronger than most beers in the area at 6%, and 2)Singha is
distinctly hoppier than most "international lagers" like Stella, for
instance. Strange taste from the hops, walloped by the higher alcohol, well,
it can't be the drinker...must be the fooking formaldehyde in the Singha!

Sheesh...

--
Lew Bryson

"As for talking shit in this NG, Lew, you're the undisputed king, and
that's no SHITE." -- Bob Skilnik, 1/31/02

www.lewbryson.com

<a> wrote in message
...

> Yes, this is another claim often made - "I get a worse hangover on Stella
> than anything else". I can't think of any scientific reason for this so I
> suspect it's another figment of their imagination.

Well, there's nothing I know of in Stella that would cause a worse hangover,
but it's not entirely baseless to say "Beer X gives me a worse hangover."

There are some fermentation by-products that affect some people in such a
fashion to make their hangovers worse. American Budweiser's yeast is
well-known as a prodigious producer of acetaldehyde, which some people react
to in such a way that it worsens their hangover (in fact, it's a chemical
that naturally occurs in hangovers, so more of it certainly isn't going to
help). Certain beers, such as some higher-alcohol Belgian beers (and I'm
talking like 8-12 percent), can have higher levels of fusel alcohols that
some people may also react poorly too.

But, yes, 9 times out of 10, the "I get a worse hangover" claim holds as
much water as the "I get drunker from" claim. And, as I mentioned, to my
knowledge Stella does not have unusual levels of either of those chemicals.

-Steve

On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 00:59:00 +0100, <a> wrote:

>Also, I didn't realise how unpopular Stella was - have to admit it's usually
>my choice of lager in a UK pub (typical draught lager choice is Kronenbourg,
>Carling, Grolsch, Stella).

A lot of it gets drunk, and I'd agree that it's probably the best
draught lager available in a typical UK pub. I used to quite like UK
brewed Kronenbourg (nothing to do with the French beers of the same
name) but it's become very nondescript over the last few years.

Most people using this NG tend to be interested in specialist beers
and won't be too sympathetic towards Interbrew industrial beers
whatever they taste like.

Best regards, Paul
--
Paul Sherwin Consulting http://paulsherwin.co.uk