page_title: Stones Brewery
section_title: Multinational ownership (1967–1999)
hierarchical_section_title: Stones Brewery / History / Multinational ownership (1967–1999)
caption_attribution_description: English: Cannon Brewery, Rutland Road, Neepsend, Sheffield - 3. This view of the brewery shows Rutland Road on the left and Boyland Street to the right. The Reception Building shown in Picture 2: 1778422 is off picture to the left, down Rutland Road. The brewery buildings have been put up - and probably parts knocked down - many times over the years, as can be seen looking down Boyland Street with at least five different structures.' For more views of the brewery and area see 1778394 1778422 1778464 1778479 1778484
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: By 1967 Bass had built up a 14 per cent stake in the company, and in 1968 they purchased William Stones for £9 million (£157,234,005 in 2020 adjusted for inflation) The friendly takeover was financed by an exchange of stock. The company had a tied estate of 257 public houses and 70 off-licences, located mainly in the south of Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, as well as a substantial free trade business. Bass retained production of the popular Stones Bitter, but largely replaced the remaining 20 per cent of Stones' sales with its own nationally available brands, such as Worthington E, and Stones' cider supplier was switched from H. P. Bulmer to Bass' own Taunton mill. As a Bass subsidiary, William Stones was given a fair amount of autonomy. The takeover also saw the Swinton bottling plant and the brewery's Worksop maltings closed down. In 1970 Bass suggested that the Cannon Brewery might be shut down, but the continuing popularity of Stones Bitter as well as technical and industrial relations problems at the supposed replacement Runcorn plant in Cheshire ensured the brewery's survival. With Bass' national distribution network, Stones Bitter began to be sold across the entire United Kingdom from 1979, and was intended as a mass-produced equivalent to Bass's regional ales.
  By 1982 16 per cent of Yorkshire's public houses were tied to Stones. Bass closed the Cannon Brewery in April 1999 with the loss of 57 jobs. Bass blamed the closure on the steep decline in sales of cask conditioned beers (nationally there had been a 14 per cent decline in sales of cask beer over the previous 12 months) which the brewery produced. The brewer realised £1 million in efficiency savings by closing the brewery. The Campaign for Real Ale blamed the brewery's closure on Bass' failure to promote their cask conditioned products. As well as Stones Bitter, the Cannon brewed the small scale Bass Special, Bass Light and Bass Mild brands from the mid-1990s as declining Stones volumes left the brewery with spare capacity. Bass Light and Bass Mild had been sold in the Sheffield area as Stones Mild and Stones Dark Mild respectively.
  Bass moved production of Stones to its Burton upon Trent and Tadcaster breweries. In 2000, Bass sold its brewing interests, including their breweries and the Stones brand to the Belgian brewer Interbrew. Interbrew contracted the production of cask conditioned Stones to Marston's in Burton. Competition concerns forced Interbrew to sell off certain brands in December 2001, including Stones Bitter, which was bought by the American Coors Brewing Company (later Molson Coors). Molson Coors currently produce keg Stones Bitter at their brewery in Tadcaster, and the canned version at their Burton brewery. The cask product was initially contract brewed at the Highgate Brewery in Walsall, West Midlands, before moving to Everards of Leicester in 2005. The cask product ceased production in June 2012.
  Stones Bitter has suffered a decline in sales since the closure, and a member of the Bass board of directors that took the decision to close the brewery has admitted that, given the subsequent resurgence in golden ales and local provenance in beer, the decision to close the brewery was the wrong one. Retrospectively, he argues that Bass should have backed Stones over Worthington.
caption: The Cannon Brewery was rebuilt in 1962.
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