Leuven's city council will soon meet with AB InBev to discuss what the consequences of the change could be for Leuven. Credit: Piqsels

The place-name “Leuven” on the label of the Stella Artois beer has been replaced by “Belgium” as brewery AB InBev wants the beer to become more international.

AB InBev, the American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing holdings company based in Leuven, has decided to replace the name of its home base on the green Stella Artois bottles with Belgium, to give the beer a more international image worldwide, reports De Standaard.

“I did not expect this. Leuven and Stella have always been one. Our city is the cradle of beer. We are known for Stella. This hurts my Leuven heart. And it’s not just me, the hotel and catering managers in Leuven are also shocked,” said Johan Geleyns, the Leuven alderman for the Catering Sector, on Radio 2 on Friday morning.

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Leuven’s city council will soon meet with AB InBev to discuss what the consequences of the change could be for Leuven. “We need to talk about the identity of Leuven, we think that is important for InBev as well. It is high time for us to have a proper talk about it,” Geleyns added.

Maïthé Chini

The Brussels Times