Friday 11 November 2011

William Stones beers 1928 - 1993

There was a request for something on William Stones of Sheffield.

I've not a great deal of information on the brewery, but I'm happy to share what I have. Which is just a few analyses of their beers.

William Stones beers 1928 - 1993
Year Beer Style Price size package Acidity FG OG colour ABV App. Attenuation
1928 Nut Brown Ale Brown Ale 7d pint bottled 1010 1040.9 3.96 74.57%
1932 Nut Brown Brown Ale pint bottled 0.05 1009 1036 3.53 75.56%
1938 Milk Stout Stout pint bottled 0.07 1028 1055.4 3.57 50.18%
1950 Samson Stout Stout 1/- half pint bottled 0.07 1012 1043.1 1 + 18 4.02 71.90%
1953 Samson Stout Stout 1/0.5d half pint bottled 0.05 1015 1046.6 1 + 20 4.09 67.81%
1959 Samson Stout Stout 13d halfpint bottled 1014 1045.7 459 4.08 68.93%
1961 Treble B Pale Ale 15d half pint bottled 0.05 1008 1040.3 18 4.10 81.39%
1964 Treble B Pale Ale 15d half pint bottled 0.05 1007 1039.5 14 4.03 81.52%
1977 Best Bitter Pale Ale pint draught 1038.2
1979 Best Bitter Pale Ale pint draught 1038.2
1981 Best Bitter Pale Ale pint draught 1038.2
1982 Best Bitter Pale Ale pint draught 1038.3
1983 Best Bitter Pale Ale pint draught 1038.3
1983 Cannon Special Pale Ale pint draught 1050
1986 Best Bitter Pale Ale pint draught 1038
1989 Best Bitter Pale Ale pint draught 1007 1038 4.10 82.89%
1993 Best Bitter Pale Ale draught 1007 1038 13 4.1 82.89%
Sources:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002
1993 Real Ale Drinker's Almanac
Good Beer Guide 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1990



Oh, and this from an old price list:


William Stones beers in 1897
beer price per gallon
X   1s
XX  1s 2d
XXX  1s 4d
XXXX   1s 6d
Pale Ale 1s 2d
East India Pale Ale 1s 6d
Nourishing Stout 1s
Extra Stout 1s 4d
"Samson" Extra Strong 1s 8d
Sparkling Light Bitter Beer 1s
Source:
A William Stones price list

Note that Stones were one of the breweries where the IPA was stronger than the standard Pale Ale. At only 1s 2d a gallon, their Pale Ale was a Guinea Ale. And probbaly in the range 1050º - 1055º.

2 comments:

Barbarrick said...

Thanks for the Stones information Ron. Prodigious amounts of the bright version in keg and tank were sold in the working men's clubs of south and west Yorkshire but what an excellent pint the cask version was (in the 70s and early 80s). Paler than most of its contemporaries and although having a good hop profile, it had a touch of sweetness, in some ways reminiscent of the west Midlands style of bitter.

Thom Farrell said...

Thanks for that. This is mother's milk to me. The National Archives website doesn't actually say where the William Stones archives are kept. I've emailed them about it but they haven't got back to me. I didn't realise a stronger version of Stones was available into the 1980s. I thought Bass discontinued all of the Stones brands apart from the bitter after they took them over.