Op http://www.belgianbeerboard.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=503&Itemid=88888994 vind ik dit etiket. het intrigeert mij omdat Stella Artois toch eigenlijk een beetje een saai pils is.
Op The grocer, vind ik een fragmentje van een artikel achter hun paywall:
Oak-aged lager to join Artois family
18 Feb 2008
InBev is withdrawing its Artois Bock brand and replacing it with an oak-aged lager.The new beer, called Eiken Artois, will join Stella and Peeterman Artois in the La Famille Artois range in the off-trade in March, following an on-trade...(www.thegrocer.co.uk/oak-aged-lager-to-join-artois-family/124819.article)
Stella launches premium oak-aged lager Eiken Artois
14 February 2008
InBev UK is claiming to be taking leading beer brand Stella Artois to a “new dimension” with the off-trade launch of Eiken Artois, an oak-aged premium lager.
Eiken Artois is brewed in Belgium to an original Continental recipe that harnesses an oak-aged maturation technique to produce a “distinctively different style of lager”.
The 4.6% alcohol-by-volume brew is described as a “fruity, hoppy lager with subtle floral notes and hints of vanilla”.
It has been developed to help retailers “premiumise” beer sales and drive value growth by encouraging a broader range of consumers to trade up more regularly.
It will complement the Artois family of brands, lining up alongside Stella Artois, the number one take-home alcoholic drinks brand, and Peeterman Artois, a unique 4% ABV lager, and will be available in a four-pack of 330ml bottles from March.
InBev UK has developed special oak-ageing technology, with the beer being exposed to oak during the maturation process. This also gives the brand its unusual name because Eiken is Flemish for “from oak”.
Steve McAllister, managing director for take-home at InBev UK said: “Eiken Artois has been created to impact on the key levers of premium lager growth. It will drive the frequency of purchase by ensuring more occasions can be met by premium lager and will also drive shopper interest and penetration by encouraging more consumers from other categories to buy into it.
“The use of oak ageing – something that is relatively new for lager brewing but is well established in wine-making – brings complexity through its depth of flavours, rather than bitterness and that will attract both men and women to the brand.”
InBev UK will be supporting stockists with a range of point-of-sale material, including off-fixture displays. The company recommends that retailers merchandise the brand alongside Stella Artois.
Eiken Artois will be supported with heavyweight advertising and targeted activity in national press and magazines during the summer months to build awareness and stimulate trial.
The new product will be priced to reflect its premium positioning with a recommended retail price on a par with Stella Artois. It will be available to take-home retailers, following the on-trade launch of the draught version during February, and will replace Artois Bock in the Artois family (www.talkingretail.com/products-news/alcohol/stella-launches-premium-oak-aged-lager-eiken-artois/).
Eiken Artois | Stella Artois
Brewed by: Stella Artois
Belgium | website
Style: Euro Pale Lager
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 4.60%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time (www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/169/41289/).
I leapt at the chance to snap up a four-pack of Eiken Artois Oak Aged Lager from Tesco at the discounted price of £1.99. ... This is from the massive Artois family. Or as they call it on the cardboard, “La Famille Artois”. The same Artois behind the infamous Stella Artois lager. This then, is one of they’re attempts to distance the Artois brand from Stella’s bad reputation. All of which begs the question… what do the Belgians know about whisky or oak aged anything?
Whatever the case, they certainly know how to make a good looking product. The cardboard bottle holder looks very classy indeed. Probably because most of it is just blank space. About the only thing you’ll find besides the logos are a small picture of a glass and bottle, and description of this beer as “A Refreshing 4.6% ABV Oak Aged Beer”. They also say something about the Artois horn being the symbol of the Den Hoorn brewery in Leuven, Belgium. It’s so minimalistic and good looking, I had no idea it was related to Stella Artois until I got it home.
Sadly, things don’t continue that way after you’ve prized a bottle out from the cardboard holder. Things start to look familiar. It looks like a Stella again.... The front label doesn’t add much sophistication either. It looks like much the other Artois roundels. But I do like the oak tinged colour scheme. It hints at oaky-ness without being cheesy (https://hywelsbiglog.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/beer-review-eiken-artois-oak-aged-lager/).
It’s all very straightforward. The familiar Artois horn logo and “Anno 1366” are present. As are the descriptions that it’s an “Oak Aged Lager” and “Premium Lager”, from “Leuven” The alcoholic volume is perfectly clear too. This one is a reasonably 4.6%. Strong enough to be worthwhile. Mild enough to distance it from Stella.
Just like the neck label, the back label is hardly a masterpiece. From such a big name, you expect a little more presentational polish. This is just a plain white label with some writing on it.
...
The bulk of what’s on there is the Eiken Artois story. A story that manages to connect their “six centuries of brewing” to their very recently “crafted Eiken Artois”. They then expand on their description of the beer as being “a deliciously refreshing yet full flavoured lager”. I really hope they’ve pulled that feat off. Not least because coming from a four-pack, I have three other bottles of the stuff now waiting to be drank.
They’re rather keen on you serving it cold. Hence the “Serve Cold” in capital letters. The next detail is their web address which is www.artois.co.uk. Yet again, it’s a totally Flash dominated experience. Why can’t brewers create proper web sites for us? Slow loading sound and animation may sound like a good idea in marketing brainstorming sessions, but it stops the rest of us finding information quickly and easily.
After the responsibility and www.drinkaware.co.uk messages, we’re get down to the small print. This 4.6% drink is in the standard 33 centilitre bottle. That makes it a modest 1.5 UK units of alcohol.
On the other side of the best before date is a very welcome little detail. And one I didn’t expect. That this was “Brewed in Belgium”. I must be getting cynical. Without the word “Imported” anywhere, I full expected this to be another Bedfordshire beer putting on an imitation accent. Instead it was only distributed by InBev UK of Luton. The last two details that could be remotely of interest are the UK “Consumer Helpline” and the list of ingredients. Which isn’t a list at all as it only mentions “Malted Barley”.
If you like a good read from your bottle while you drink, you won’t find one here. And, with nothing else to describe, we’ve reached the fun part of the review. It’s time to see what Eiken Artois Oak Aged Lager is like.
Try to pour it, and you’re rewarded by a big head. Which promptly disappears into a thin and disappointing patchwork of bubbles. The colour isn’t bad though. It’s a darker shade of amber than the usual lagery colour. Which is exactly what I was hoping for. I think it looks a bit like ginger beer.
It smells better than most lagers do, too. Not as oaky as I had hoped for. More like a richer version of the smell you usually get from a lager. In other words, it smells of a blend of malted barley and hops and things, only richer and more interesting than with most other lagers.
It’s much the same story with the taste. It does have a mild, oaky flavour. Which briskly blends into a tangy, oak tasting but ultimately ordinary lagery aftertaste. As usual with lager, you’ll struggle to find much flavour. It’s the tangy, mildly oaky and lagery aftertaste that you notice most. And, to its credit, isn’t bad. Nothing about it is strong, and it doesn’t linger anything like as badly as some lagers.
What is there to enjoy about Eiken Artois Oak Aged Lager? If you’re main complaint about lagers is that they’re all the same and have a boring taste, this could be the answer. It’s got a bit of flavour. It’s got some taste. And that taste happens to be a little unusual. The whole thing is very easy to drink and refreshing, too. As well as the rich taste, for a lager, it’s also quite smooth. And as I haven’t burped yet, not too gassy either.
What won’t you like about Eiken Artois Oak Aged Lager? It’s got some nice taste, and its drinkable, but that comes at a price. There’s not nearly enough flavour and taste because it’s so light and watery. A few gulps of this, and you’ll forget what you’ve been drinking. I’m nearly at the end of the bottle, and I’m having trouble remembering if I’ve been writing a post about beer, or drinking diet ginger beer. But then, it is a lager, so all of that could be by design (https://hywelsbiglog.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/beer-review-eiken-artois-oak-aged-lager/).
Blijkbaar heeft AB/InBev een eikenhout-barrel-aged bier van Stella Artois al sinds 2008 en ik wist er niets van...