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''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. During 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 during 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. ==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 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." From 1979, keg ''Stones'' began to be promoted heavily nationwide, and the beer was introduced to the South of England for the first time.〔() CAMRA Hertfordshire Newsletter, February 1979, No. 13〕 The beer was promoted following the withdrawal of the unpopular ''Brew Ten'', which was itself intended to replace Bass's regional ales.〔 Originally the beer would be produced at the Cannon Brewery and then transported to Bass' Hope & Anchor brewery, also in Sheffield, for pasteurisation and kegging, but eventually demand for ''Stones Bitter'' became too great for the Cannon alone, and production was also extended to other Bass breweries. In the early 1980s it was produced at Bass' Runcorn brewery, although this was quickly halted after drinkers complained of headaches from the poorly manufactured beer.〔 The Runcorn beer had been brewed at a higher temperature, which increased the amount of hangover-inducing fusel oils in the beer.〔 By 1989 ''Stones'' was the ninth most popular beer in the United Kingdom, with 2 per cent of all beer sales.〔(Competition Commission 2001 Report, Chapter 4: The Market )〕 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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.camra.org.uk/cbob )〕 By 1992 ''Stones'' was the UK's highest selling bitter, a million barrel a year brand, with Bass describing 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 impact of beer duty. The current packaging was introduced in 1994, and evokes Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and blacksmiths, and protector of craftsmen. 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.〔http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1997/fulltext/400c4.pdf Competition Commission Beer Report 1997, Chapter 4: The Market〕 ''Stones ABV was further reduced to 3.8 per cent in August 1998, and then to 3.7 per cent a few months later leading to its derision in the ''Yorkshire Evening Post''. Following the closure of the Cannon Brewery in 1999, canned ''Stones'' has been brewed in Burton upon Trent and keg ''Stones'' in Tadcaster. The cask conditioned variant was brewed by Highgate Brewery of Walsall, Thwaites Brewery of Blackburn and finally Everards of Leicester.〔Ale Cry, Vol. 19, West Lancs CAMRA Branch Newsletter, No.3 Autumn 2004.〕 It was restored to 4.1 per cent ABV and its original recipe in August 2006, with Coors claiming that it would be "like () ''Stones'' used to taste." The product was discontinued in 2011. In 2006 ''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." As of 2012 ''Stones Bitter'' is among the twenty highest selling ales in the United Kingdom, with estimated annual volumes at over 100,000 hectolitres.〔Alcoholic Drinks: Euromonitor from trade sources/national statistics, 2012〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Stones Bitter」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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