Stones Brewery

Stones Brewery

Stones Brewery (William Stones Ltd) was a regional brewery founded in 1868 by William Stones in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England and purchased by Bass Brewery in 1968. After its closure in 1999 its major brand, Stones Bitter, has continued to be produced by the Molson Coors Brewing Company.

William Stones had started brewing in 1847 in Sheffield with Joseph Watts. Following Watts' death in 1854 Stones continued brewing by himself. In 1868 he purchased the lease of the Neepsend Brewery, and renamed it the Cannon Brewery, and he continued to brew there until his death in 1894. Stones' success saw him die as one of the richest men in Sheffield, although he lived a modest life. The company was taken over by Bass in 1968, then in 2000 Bass sold its brewing operations to the Belgian brewer Interbrew who were ordered by the Competition Commission to sell the Stones brand. In 2002, the brand was purchased by the American Coors Brewing Company, who merged to become Molson Coors in 2005.

Stones Bitter was brewed at the Cannon Brewery from 1948 and was popular with Sheffield's steel workers. Stones Bitter was originally available across the south of Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, with distribution extended to the rest of the north of England in 1977, and nationwide from 1979, accompanied by a considerable marketing push. Increasing demand saw it also brewed at other Bass breweries from the 1970s onwards. The beer's popularity reached its apex in 1992 when it was the country's highest selling bitter, selling over a million barrels. The beer has been lauded in certain quarters as "one of Sheffield's most famous exports". After the Cannon's closure production was continued elsewhere. Brewery conditioned Stones Bitter (3.7 per cent alcohol by volume) is brewed by Molson Coors at their breweries in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire and Burton upon Trent, and cask conditioned Stones Bitter (4.1 per cent abv) is contract brewed by Everards of Leicester.

Stones notably sponsored the Rugby Football League Championship and its successor the Rugby Super League from 1986 until 1997. A well known series of television advertisements for the brand, starring Tony Barton and Michael Angelis, became the longest running bitter advertisements in the country, running from 1983 until 1991. Since the withdrawal of the majority of marketing support by Bass in 1997 in favour of the Worthington ale brand, the beer has experienced a marked decline in sales volumes, although it remains among the twenty highest selling ale brands in the United Kingdom.