Stones Bitter
Encyclopedia
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
.
. The beer was formulated as the working classes began to favour bitter over dark mild. The beer's straw colour made it unique for the time, and its individuality helped it to become an immediate success. 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. 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. 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. 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. The expansion was mainly of the keg variety, with cask sales largely confined to the Stones heartland. Stones had such a strong local following that it was described as being "more of a religion [in South Yorkshire] than a beer." 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. 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. By 1989 Stones was the ninth most popular beer in the UK, with 2 per cent of all beer sales. 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. Demand was such that the Cannon Brewery was paying up to £1.5 million per month in duty by 1991. Cask conditioned Stones won silver in the Bitter category in the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain
in 1991. 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". 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. 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. The logo has been said to evoke "visions of...dark satanic mills where steelmen once toiled over vats of molten metal in foundries." 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.
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." In 1997, Bass decided to deprioritise Stones in order to concentrate on promoting Worthington as their national ale brand. 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." 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.". 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." 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." 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.
(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." 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. 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."
. 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"). The slogan was coined by playwright Peter Whelan
. 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. 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. "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. "Sheffield Gold – you know when you've earned it" was used from 1994 until 1996. The accompanying award-winning £4.2 million television and cinema campaign premièred in 1994 and ran into 1995. 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. A spokesman for Bass explained: "We wanted sparks and goggles." It was accompanied by print advertisements with the tagline: "The best thing about work is after work. Sheffield Gold." It was to become the final major marketing push for Stones. 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. 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.
and the Park Hill Stakes
horse racing events.
Bitter (beer)
Bitter is an English term for pale ale. Bitters vary in colour from gold to dark amber and in strength from 3% to 7% alcohol by volume.-Brief history:...
beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
first brewed in 1948 by William Stones Ltd
William Stones Ltd
Stones Brewery was a brewery founded in 1868 by William Stones in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, and purchased by Bass in 1968 before closing in 1999. Its most famous brand, Stones Bitter, is owned by the Molson Coors Brewing Company who continue to market it.William Stones had...
at the Cannon Brewery, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, England. It was designed for the steelworkers of Sheffield's Lower Don Valley
Lower Don Valley
The Lower Don Valley, or historically the East End of Sheffield, is the mainly industrial north-east quarter of Sheffield, England. Based around the River Don it encompasses the areas of Attercliffe, Brightside, Darnall, Tinsley and Wincobank....
. 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
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....
and Tadcaster
Tadcaster
Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. Lying on the Great North Road approximately east of Leeds and west of York. It is the last town on the River Wharfe before it joins the River Ouse about downstream...
, with the cask conditioned variant brewed by Everards
Everards
Everards is an independent British regional brewery founded in Leicester in 1849 by William Everard and Thomas Hull.It produces cask ales and owns over 160 tenanted pubs, mainly around the Leicestershire area and has won 'The Publican Pub Company of the Year Award' three times.The company is one...
of Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
.
History
The head brewer Edward "Ted" Collins first produced Stones Bitter at the Cannon Brewery in 1948. It was designed for the steelworkers of Sheffield's Lower Don ValleyLower Don Valley
The Lower Don Valley, or historically the East End of Sheffield, is the mainly industrial north-east quarter of Sheffield, England. Based around the River Don it encompasses the areas of Attercliffe, Brightside, Darnall, Tinsley and Wincobank....
. The beer was formulated as the working classes began to favour bitter over dark mild. The beer's straw colour made it unique for the time, and its individuality helped it to become an immediate success. 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. 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
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
which fell outside of the catchment area. From 1977, in the wake of the failure of Brew Ten and after a successful trial in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
earlier that year, Stones Bitter took on the role of Bass' main bitter brand in the north of England. 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. The expansion was mainly of the keg variety, with cask sales largely confined to the Stones heartland. Stones had such a strong local following that it was described as being "more of a religion [in South Yorkshire] than a beer." Some Sheffield houses sold 30 hogsheads (over 12,500 pints) of Stones Bitter each week.
Stones Bitter was made available in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
during the 1980s and 1990s. 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. By 1989 Stones was the ninth most popular beer in the UK, with 2 per cent of all beer sales. 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. Demand was such that the Cannon Brewery was paying up to £1.5 million per month in duty by 1991. Cask conditioned Stones won silver in the Bitter category in the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain
Champion Beer of Britain
The Champion Beer of Britain is an award presented by the Campaign for Real Ale , at their annual Great British Beer Festival in early August. Beers can qualify in three ways:...
in 1991. 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". 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. The current packaging was introduced in 1994, and tweaked in 2007, and evokes Vulcan
Vulcan (mythology)
Vulcan , aka Mulciber, is the god of beneficial and hindering fire, including the fire of volcanoes in ancient Roman religion and Roman Neopaganism. Vulcan is usually depicted with a thunderbolt. He is known as Sethlans in Etruscan mythology...
, the Roman god of fire and blacksmiths, and protector of craftsmen. The logo has been said to evoke "visions of...dark satanic mills where steelmen once toiled over vats of molten metal in foundries." 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
Widget (beer)
A widget is a device placed in a container of beer to manage the characteristics of the beer's head. The original widget was patented in Ireland by Guinness. The "floating widget" is found in cans of beer as a hollow plastic sphere, 3 cm in diameter with a small hole in one side...
to give a creamy "draught" pour. Its packaging was predominantly black, in contrast to the traditional orange.
In 1997 the Yorkshire Post
Yorkshire Post
The Yorkshire Post is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by Yorkshire Post Newspapers, a company owned by Johnston Press...
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." In 1997, Bass decided to deprioritise Stones in order to concentrate on promoting Worthington as their national ale brand. 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." 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
Yorkshire Evening Post
The Yorkshire Evening Post is a daily evening publication published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers Ltd in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
to deride it as "like real beer, only weaker.". 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." 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." 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.
Recipe and flavour
Brewery conditioned Stones is brewed with a blend of American hopsHop (plant)
Humulus, Hop, is a small genus of flowering plants native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The female flowers of H. lupulus are known as hops, and are used as a culinary flavoring and stabilizer, especially in the brewing of beer...
(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." 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
Ounce
The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
of English Goldings. Roger Protz
Roger Protz
Roger Protz is a British writer, journalist and campaigner. He was an early member of the Campaign for Real Ale in 1971, and has written several books on beer and pubs...
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."
Advertising
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. Still a local beer, in 1970 the slogan ran: "Stones: the Best Bitter we drink round here." 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 KnuttBobby Knutt
Bobby Knutt is a British television actor, who started in entertainment as a stand-up comedian. He is best known for playing Albert Dingle in Emmerdale.- Biography :...
. 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"). The slogan was coined by playwright Peter Whelan
Peter Whelan
Peter Whelan is a British playwright.Whelan was born and raised in Stoke-on-Trent, England. His works includes seven plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the first of which was Captain Swing, in 1979...
. The series initially starred Bernard Hill
Bernard Hill
Bernard Hill is a British actor of film, stage and television. In a career spanning thirty years, he is best known for playing Yosser Hughes, the troubled 'hard man' whose life is falling apart in Alan Bleasdale's groundbreaking 1980s TV drama, Boys from the Blackstuff...
and Tony Barton, although Hill was replaced by Michael Angelis
Michael Angelis
Michael Angelis is an English actor and voice actor.Michael Angelis was one of the stars of the famous 1982 BBC drama serial Boys from the Black Stuff and another Alan Bleasedale drama G.B.H.. He also starred in comedies such as Luv and The Liver Birds, in which he appeared between series 5 and 9...
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. By 1991 however Campaign commented that the series had run its course:
- Pro stand-up comedians have a last, desperate line of defence: if the script is so bad that it cannot be delivered, ham it up and raise a laugh at the weakness of your material. As long as they're laughing at something, you might get booked for the panto. Thus, the only energy in the Stones campaign comes from the performers, who have an 'Are-these-live-bullets?' air about them. The films are meticulously well-made, but Woody Allen couldn't save you in the Himalayas, where the barman is a yeti, and the 'punchline' is about him being 'abominable'. Flat and stale. Pour it down the sink and bring us something else.
A set of television commercials featuring a montage of Western cultural
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
icons such as Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
ran in 1992 with the tagline: "There's only one Stones", insinuating that Stones was an icon of equal eminence. "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. "Sheffield Gold – you know when you've earned it" was used from 1994 until 1996. The accompanying award-winning £4.2 million television and cinema campaign premièred in 1994 and ran into 1995. It was set in a steel foundry: a nod to Sheffield's heritage, although it was filmed in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
because Sheffield's own foundries were considered to be too clean and automated for the desired gritty and industrial effect. A spokesman for Bass explained: "We wanted sparks and goggles." It was accompanied by print advertisements with the tagline: "The best thing about work is after work. Sheffield Gold." It was to become the final major marketing push for Stones. 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
Father's Day
Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June but it is also celebrated widely on other days...
campaign. 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.
Sponsorships
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. A 1986–8 set of poster advertisements with the tagline: "Stones. Sheer poetry." supported the sponsorship. In 1995 and 1996 Stones sponsored the Doncaster HandicapDoncaster Handicap
The Doncaster Mile is a Group One Thoroughbred horse race held at Royal Randwick Racecourse, Sydney. Although the race has traditionally been held on Easter Monday, the race is now run on the third Saturday in April. The race is contested over 1,600 metres . The prizemoney in 2010 was A$1,510,000...
and the Park Hill Stakes
Park Hill Stakes
The Park Hill Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.The event was...
horse racing events.