Stones Bitter still popular?

[BasilRathbon]

Do many people still drink stones bitter in sheffield? i only see it in keg form and have hardly seen it on hand pull (as a real ale).

 

Last place i saw it on handpull was at the Toby Carvery place on Eccleshall Road South, where it was the only real ale available. A terrible pint barely distinguishable from the keg creamflow version. Avoid unless there is no alternative!

[Speckled Hen]

I think it is a good rule of thumb to boycott any beers they have to advertise on TV. The likelyhood is that the beer in question is nothing more than a brand name for a beer that is subcontracted out to the cheapest brewer with some available capacity. That is why you see all these beers masqerading as one thing when the small print shows it to be brewed under licence in the UK.

 

I remember reading the tasting notes on Draught Bass in the Good Beer Guide. It went along these lines.

"Once the Rolls Royce of beers, now the Ford Cortina".

 

By the same token I have no idea who brews Stones these days. It seems to change colour and ABV more often than I change my underpants.

If Bass was once the Rolls Royce of Beers my opinion would be Stones was once the Jaguar of beers now sadly the Trabant

[Danny_Boy]

Its now manufactured (not brewed) by Coors in Burton in one of their giant beer factories I believe its also made in Tadcaster by John Smiths (another Coors arm), wherever its made now its a poor copy of the original. It was my preferred tipple for 20 years or more but when they closed the Sheffield breweries it went downhill fast and has never recovered. if I see it on a bar now I look further along to see what else is available. To be honest I can thing of lagers that I'd rather drink than the insipid, sour muck that comes out of the Stones pump these days.

 

Just to be pedantic John Smiths is nothing to do with Coors and I am certain that Stones is only brewed at Burton. My Dad and Grandad both love the stuff I personally think its foul.

[Speckled Hen]

Just to be pedantic John Smiths is nothing to do with Coors and I am certain that Stones is only brewed at Burton. My Dad and Grandad both love the stuff I personally think its foul.

 

This is true. John Smiths Bitter is brewed by Heineken. It makes a difference which international giant owns the plant producing the stuff regardless of where that might be.

 

I have a feeling that the over inflated smooth may well be sub contracted out to Coors. Does any one know? Does anyone care?

[Stan Tamudo]

It's always struck me as being a bit odd.The free market has always banged on about

offering the consumer choice,yet in reality it closes no end of breweries producing what

to many people were quality ales and starts brewing substanded rubbish under the same

name in Burton and Edinburgh.

[waldershelf]

Just to be pedantic John Smiths is nothing to do with Coors and I am certain that Stones is only brewed at Burton. My Dad and Grandad both love the stuff I personally think its foul.

 

You are quite correct John Smiths is part of the Heineken group which along with Carlsberg bought out Scotish Courage in April last year. Coors do have a brewery in Tadcaster, the Tower brewery. I believe John Smiths do contract brew some of the beer sold under the Stones badge.

[Hodge]

I really miss bitter - can only get bad lager here in Thailand, although my family brought over a load of Black Sheep when they came to visit a while back, and I enjoyed every last drop!

 

Would love a pint of Stones, or any bitter right now!

[Speckled Hen]

You are quite correct John Smiths is part of the Heineken group which along with Carlsberg bought out Scotish Courage in April last year. Coors do have a brewery in Tadcaster, the Tower brewery. I believe John Smiths do contract brew some of the beer sold under the Stones badge.

 

So what we have concluded here is that Stones is brewed by both Coors and by Heineken. It is brewed in both Tadcaster and Burton on Trent using totally different water supplies. It is also brewed to at least 2 totally different recipes, neither of which bares any relationship to Sheffield Stones.

 

The thing that I find most shocking about all this is I still come across pubs selling Stones using 20 year old pump clips which poudly proclaim Sheffield Gold and claim the "beer" is brewed in the Cannon Brewery Sheffield.

[happyhippy]

So what we have concluded here is that Stones is brewed by both Coors and by Heineken. It is brewed in both Tadcaster and Burton on Trent using totally different water supplies. It is also brewed to at least 2 totally different recipes, neither of which bares any relationship to Sheffield Stones.

 

The thing that I find most shocking about all this is I still come across pubs selling Stones using 20 year old pump clips which poudly proclaim Sheffield Gold and claim the "beer" is brewed in the Cannon Brewery Sheffield.

 

<fx: enters semi-pedant mode>

 

Stones started to be advertised as 'Sheffield Gold' on the TV in about 1996, and never had the brewery's name on it. I used to like the old white oval-ish Stones pump clips with the red border which (if memory serves) said "Wm Stones" and "Brewed In Sheffield" on it. It also had the traditional cannon logo.

 

The "Sheffield Gold" monstrosity of pump clips/electric pump heads came about when Stones started to be aggressively marketed round the country.

 

<fx: exits semi-pedant mode>

[Micky ET]

Do many people still drink stones bitter in sheffield? i only see it in keg form and have hardly seen it on hand pull (as a real ale).

 

AHHHHHHHH pint ov stones, it might not be made in sheffield but it still tastes like it. last time I went in the wheel (6 months) at mosbrough they handpumped it.