page_title: Stones Brewery
section_title: Stones Bitter
hierarchical_section_title: Stones Brewery / Beers / Stones Bitter
caption_attribution_description: English: StonesNiceTry
context_page_description: Stones Brewery was a 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. 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. 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.
context_section_description: Stones Bitter is a bitter beer first brewed in 1948 at the Cannon Brewery. It was designed for the steelworkers of Sheffield's Lower Don Valley. Bass extended its distribution to include the north of England in 1977, before extending distribution nationwide in 1979. Its popularity during the 1970s and 1980s in its heartland saw it described as "more of a religion than a beer." By 1992 Stones was the UK's highest selling bitter, with a million barrels 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, before being discontinued in 2012. A famous major television campaign ran nationally from 1983 until 1991 with the tagline "(Wherever you may wander) there's no taste like Stones" and starred Tony Barton and Michael Angelis. By 1987 it had become the UK's longest running bitter campaign of all time. Stones also sponsored the Rugby Football League Championship from 1986 to 1995 and its successor the Rugby Super League from 1996–7.
caption: Pump clip for Nice Try, a seasonal special using the Stones brand name.
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