Belgian lager Stella Artois, owned by Interbrew and famous for its "reassuringly expensive" slogan, has been Britain's best-selling lager brand since 1990, but according to figures by Nielsen, the Carlsberg family has now overtaken the Artois family to become the nation's favourite.
Like Stella, Carlsberg has a rich advertising heritage. Saatchi & Saatchi created Carlsberg's famous "Probably the best lager in the world" slogan for ads first appearing in 1973. The agency still holds the account.
Sales of all Stella brands in off licenses and supermarkets have fallen by almost 1% to 491m pints, while sales of all Carlsberg brands have risen by nearly 18% to 495m pints over the year to end of March 2008.
The Artois family includes Stella Artois, Artois Bock and Petermans Artois while the Carlsberg family includes Carlsberg, Carlsberg Export, Special Brew and Edge.
A pint of Stella in pubs costs up to £3.50 compared with £2.75 for a standard lager and in off licenses Stella costs £1.06 a pint on average while Carlsberg is just 85p a pint.
Stella remains on top for sales by value, netting £524m from off trade sales, compared with Carlsberg's £422m.
The issue of changing tastes appears to be reflected in the rise of Carlsberg. Stella at 5.2% proof is a famously strong lager and has acquired the nickname "wife beater" for the trouble people can get themselves in if drinking too much. Carlsberg on the other hand is a much weaker 3.8%.
A spokesperson for Stella said: "We feel value is a better indication of a brand's performance. In value terms we are actually 23% bigger than the Carlsberg family."
Stella dropped its "reassuringly expensive" tagline at the end of last year to focus on its heritage, with ads created by Lowe highlighting "generations of care handed down in every glass" and encouraging consumers to "pass on something good".
Carlsberg attributes part of its success to targeting women drinkers. Ged Lowry, Carlsberg's head of take-home marketing, said the brand was concentrating on variety, including trying to win over women drinkers with its Edge variety.
He said: "The Carlsberg portfolio has a wide range offering quality and choice to our drinkers. And, in 2007, we spent slightly less on advertising than the Artois family."