Stones Brewery was a brewery

Brewery

A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....

 founded in 1868 by William Stones in 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...

, West Riding of Yorkshire

West Riding of Yorkshire

The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...

, England, and purchased by Bass in 1968 before closing in 1999. Its most famous brand, Stones Bitter

Stones Bitter

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...

, is owned by the Molson Coors Brewing Company

Molson Coors Brewing Company

Molson Coors Brewing Company is a company that was created by the merger of two of North America's largest breweries: Molson of Canada, and Coors of the United States, on February 9, 2005...

 who continue to market it.

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.