Stella fan in a froth at Red Shed's beer advert

Incensed at being misled by an advertising flyer, a beer aficionado has forced The Warehouse to change an advert claiming to sell authentic "Belgian" beer.

The man travelled 25 kilometres to buy what he thought was going to be genuine, Belgian-brewed Stella Artois beer.

"Lo and behold, what a wasted trip," he said in his complaint to the Advertising Standards Complaints Board.

"It was brewed in Auckland!"

"I always bought the Belgian Stella Artois when available, but find the Auckland-brewed version to be much inferior and a poor imitation of the real thing," he said.

The board ruled that The Warehouse Ltd breached rule two of the advertising standards code of ethics, relating to truthful presentation.

The Warehouse said the company used Belgian ingredients and the beer was brewed under the supervision of a Belgian company, albeit at New Zealand Breweries.

However, the company told the board they would stop advertising the beer as "the world's premium beer from Belgium, a part of brewing history since 1366".

The company said it would change the copy in future adverts.

- NZPA