Stones Bitter

Stones Bitter

William Stones logo
Type	Beer
Manufacturer	Molson Coors
Distributor	Molson Coors
Country of origin	Sheffield, England
Introduced	1948
Alcohol by volume	3.7%
Colour	straw/golden

Stones Bitter is a bitter style of beer manufactured and distributed in the United Kingdom by the North American brewer Molson Coors. It has a straw-golden hue; it was first brewed in 1948 by William Stones Ltd at the Cannon Brewery in Sheffield. It was designed for the local steelworkers and became successful in its local area, becoming one of Sheffield's best known products.

The brewing giant Bass acquired William Stones in the 1960s, and began to heavily promote the keg variant of Stones Bitter, which eventually became the highest selling bitter in the country. However the keg version was promoted at the expense of the traditional unpasteurised and unfiltered cask conditioned version. In the 1990s, the ABV of Stones was gradually reduced, and, as ale sales declined, Stones reverted from a national into a regional brand. Following the closure of the Cannon Brewery, Stones has been brewed at a number of different breweries. When Bass exited its brewing business, Stones became a Coors brand (later Molson Coors).

Stones was promoted through a series of television advertisements in the 1980s that starred Michael Angelis and Tony Barton. It eventually became the United Kingdom's longest ever running bitter campaign. Stones sponsored the Rugby Football League Championship and its successor the Rugby Super League throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

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 Valley. The product was formulated as the working classes began to favour bitter over the dark mild style of beer. The beer's straw colour made it reasonably unique for the time, and its individuality helped it to become an immediate success. By the 1960s its local reputation was "colossal", and it accounted for 80 per cent of William Stones' sales. Stones had such a strong local following that it was described as being "more of a religion than a beer."