| Type | bitter |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Molson Coors |
| Country of origin | Sheffield, England |
| Introduced | 1948 |
| Alcohol by volume | 3.7% in can and keg, 4.1% in cask |
| Colour | straw/golden |
Stones Bitter is a bitter beer first brewed in 1948 by William Stones Ltd at the Cannon Brewery, Sheffield, England. It was designed for the steelworkers of Sheffield's Lower Don Valley. In 1968 it became a part of Bass Brewery, who extended distribution across the north of England in 1977, and nationwide in 1979. It was described at the time as "more of a religion [in South Yorkshire] than a beer." By 1992 Stones was the UK's highest selling bitter, with 240 million pints sold annually. That same year the ABV of Stones was reduced from 4.1 per cent to 3.9 per cent ABV, and then to 3.7 per cent in 1999. The cask conditioned Stones was restored to 4.1 per cent ABV in 2006. Since the closure of the Cannon Brewery in 1999, Stones has been brewed in Burton upon Trent and Tadcaster, with the cask conditioned variant brewed by Everards of Leicester.
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The head brewer Edward "Ted" Collins first produced Stones Bitter at the Cannon Brewery in 1948.[1] It was designed for the steelworkers of Sheffield's Lower Don Valley.[2][3] The beer was formulated as the working classes began to favour bitter over dark mild.[2] The beer's straw colour made it unique for the time, and its individuality helped it to become an immediate success.[2] It was quickly dubbed "Jungle Juice" or "Fighting Beer" by the locals, due to its high strength for a draught bitter at the time. By the 1960s its local reputation was "colossal", and it accounted for 80 per cent of William Stones' sales.[4] Stones Bitter on draught was rebranded as Stones Best Bitter from 1970 until 1975. By the 1970s Stones was one of Yorkshire's top four bitters, alongside Trophy Bitter, Tetley and John Smith's. In 1975, after the introduction of Bass' new national keg bitter brand Brew Ten, Bass refused to deliver Stones Bitter outside of a ten mile radius of Sheffield, causing outrage in old Stones heartlands such as Scunthorpe which fell outside of the catchment area.[5] From 1977, in the wake of the failure of Brew Ten and after a successful trial in Lancashire earlier that year, Stones Bitter took on the role of Bass' main bitter brand in the north of England.[6][7] Distribution was extended nationwide in 1979 along with a heavy marketing campaign, with the intention of making Stones a national brand and rationalising Bass' ale portfolio by replacing such local ales as Springfield Bitter.[8][9][10] The expansion was mainly of the keg variety, with cask sales largely confined to the Stones heartland.[11] Stones had such a strong local following that it was described as being "more of a religion [in South Yorkshire] than a beer."[12] Some Sheffield houses sold 30 hogsheads (over 12,500 pints) of Stones Bitter each week.
Stones Bitter was made available in Australia and Canada during the 1980s and 1990s.[13][14] The beer reverted to the name of Stones Best Bitter from 1985 until 1993, complete with a new logo designed to afford the brand a more "upmarket" image and to reflect the brand's northern origins.[15][16][17] By 1989 Stones was the ninth most popular beer in the UK, with 2 per cent of all beer sales.[18] Sales of the beer increased by 10 per cent in 1990, making the beer second only to Tetley in bitter sales, and sales increased still further in 1991.[19][20] Demand was such that the Cannon Brewery was paying up to £1.5 million per month in duty by 1991.[8] Cask conditioned Stones won silver in the Bitter category in the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain in 1991.[21] By 1992 Stones was the UK's highest selling bitter, with 240 million pints sold annually, and Bass described it as "a tremendously important brand with untapped potential".[22] That same year, Bass were criticised for reducing the ABV of Stones from 4.1 per cent to 3.9 per cent ABV in order to reduce the effect of beer duty.[23] The current packaging was introduced in 1994, and tweaked in 2007, and evokes Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and blacksmiths, and protector of craftsmen.[24][25] The logo has been said to evoke "visions of...dark satanic mills where steelmen once toiled over vats of molten metal in foundries."[2] 1994 also saw the launch of Stones Bitter Draught (4.1 per cent ABV) in cans, which was a slightly stronger version of Stones Bitter with the addition of a widget to give a creamy "draught" pour. Its packaging was predominantly black, in contrast to the traditional orange.[26]
In 1997 the Yorkshire Post described the beer as "one of Sheffield's most famous exports", and "a name which carries as much pride as the Made in Sheffield stamp."[27] In 1997, Bass decided to deprioritise Stones in order to concentrate on promoting Worthington as their national ale brand.[28] According to the Yorkshire Post: "Stones, like dozens of other regionally-brewed bitters, [had] fallen prey to a social shift in drinking habits that has turned Britain into a nation entranced with the trendy image of lager."[2] Stones' ABV was further reduced to 3.8 per cent in August 1998, and then to 3.7 per cent a few months later following the Cannon Brewery's closure which led the Yorkshire Evening Post to deride it as "like real beer, only weaker.".[29][30][31][32] Cask conditioned Stones was restored to 4.1 per cent ABV and its original recipe in August 2006, with Coors claiming that it would be "like [how] Stones used to taste."[33] That same year Off License News identified the canned variant as "continuing a slow but sure decline that has seen its status redefined from national brand to Yorkshire regional over the last decade."[34] In 2011 109,000 hectolitres of Stones Bitter were sold, which was less than half of the amount sold in 2004, although as of 2011 it remains among the top twenty highest selling ales in the United Kingdom.[35]
Brewery conditioned Stones is brewed with a blend of American hops (Columbus, Zeus and Tomahawk) and a blend of European hops (Magnum and Admiral). The barley variety used is Pearl. The beer comes in kegs and 440ml cans, and is described as having a "fragrant grapefruit-citrus hop aroma, [which] cuts through a characteristically sulphury background. The unusual salts balance ensures that the bitterness isn’t dry and lends to the moreishness of [the] bitter."[36] The cask conditioned version of Stones uses Challenger hops for bitterness, and is described as having an aroma of hops, sulphur and grapefruit, with a salty, moreish and zesty taste, and is dry hopped in the cask with 1 ounce of English Goldings.[37][38] Roger Protz gave the following tasting notes in 1997: "a fragrant dry hop aroma with light fruit notes, delicate malt in the mouth with mellow bitter finish, and summed up as a straw coloured beer with a delicate balance of hop, malt and light fruitiness."[39]
The slogan used from 1951 until 1966 was "Stones Ales – supreme for Strength". This was followed by "Stones: Brewed for YOU" which emphasised the beer's local provenance.[40] Still a local beer, in 1970 the slogan ran: "Stones: the Best Bitter we drink round here."[41] Stones Bitter was launched nationally with a series from the late 1970s until 1981 featuring puns on the Stones name (hearth stones, corner stones, stepping stones) and was voiced over by Sheffield born comedian Bobby Knutt. The advertisements featured the slogan: "Goes down great guns", a pun on the Cannon Brewery's name. A famous major television campaign ran nationally from 1983 until 1991 with the tagline: "(Wherever you may wander) there's no taste like Stones", (except in 1990 when it ran: "Take Home Stones").[42] The slogan was coined by playwright Peter Whelan.[43] The series initially starred Bernard Hill and Tony Barton, although Hill was replaced by Michael Angelis from 1984 onwards. The advertisements followed the characters of Jeff and Dave as they got into scrapes in various overseas locations, with humorous results. By 1987 it had become the UK's longest running bitter campaign of all time.[44] By 1991 however Campaign commented that the series had run its course:
A set of television commercials featuring a montage of Western cultural icons such as Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe ran in 1992 with the tagline: "There's only one Stones", insinuating that Stones was an icon of equal eminence.[46] "Nothing sinks like a Stones" was used as a tagline in 1993, and was accompanied by a £500,000 television advertisement featuring a pub lifted 15 feet into the air, although it was only shown in the north of England.[47][48] "Sheffield Gold – you know when you've earned it" was used from 1994 until 1996.[49] The accompanying award-winning £4.2 million television and cinema campaign premièred in 1994 and ran into 1995.[50][50] It was set in a steel foundry: a nod to Sheffield's heritage, although it was filmed in the Czech Republic because Sheffield's own foundries were considered to be too clean and automated for the desired gritty and industrial effect.[51] A spokesman for Bass explained: "We wanted sparks and goggles."[52] It was accompanied by print advertisements with the tagline: "The best thing about work is after work. Sheffield Gold."[53] It was to become the final major marketing push for Stones.[54] Following the Cannon Brewery closure the tagline of "Sheffield Gold" was changed to "Yorkshire Gold" until 2007 when it was changed to "Brewed for Yorkshire". In 2007 billboards appeared around the Stones heartland advertising the brand with the tagline: "Ere yer go, tha's earnt it!" as part of a Father's Day campaign.[55][56] The only marketing support for the brand as of 2011 is the provision of Stones branded glassware and bar merchandise for regular stockists of the beer.
Stones Bitter famously sponsored the Rugby Football League Championship from 1986 to 1995, to a total of £400,000 for the first three years, and then its successor the Rugby Super League from 1996–7, the latter at the cost of £600,000 a year.[57][58] A 1986–8 set of poster advertisements with the tagline: "Stones. Sheer poetry." supported the sponsorship. In 1995 and 1996 Stones sponsored the Doncaster Handicap and the Park Hill Stakes horse racing events.
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