Ours is a small independent brewery. We are situated a small distance from Stone town centre in what was described to us as “a brick built industrial unit”. Actually it turned out to be a former brewery and quite a large one at that.

For almost a thousand years, the town of Stone in Staffordshire has been a brewing town. Stone’s first recorded brewers were Augustinian Monks who brewed ales blessed with the sign of the cross – later used as Joules Brewery’s famous trademark. Due to the quality of the local water beneath Stone, two brewers were located here carrying on the tradition of beer making that the Augustinian monks started. Firstly, the notable John Joules who brewed beer from 1758. The Trent and Mersey canal, which passed behind the Joules Brewery, played a great part in Joules development. Coal was delivered on the brewery’s own boats and beer was distributed nationally and exported via Hull and Liverpool. Joules former bottle store can be seen from the canal and can be clearly identified by their red-cross logo in the brickwork. John Joules and Son ceased brewing in the 1970’s following a take-over by Bass Charrington.  

The other Brewer in town at that time was Bents who occupied a huge site in the north of the town.

First built in 1889 by Montgomery and Company, the Brewery changed hands in 1902 when Newcastle under Lyme Brewers Roland and Edward Bent acquired the brewery following Montgomery’s failed court case over the use of the name Stone Ale. The acquisition of the Brewery included an estate of 23 tied houses. The Brewery was altered and enlarged throughout the early 20th century. Production at the Stone site ran round the clock during the Second World War when Bent’s sister site in Liverpool was heavily damaged by enemy bombing. By the time Bents Brewery Co Ltd was closed by Bass Charrington in the 1970’s, Bents operated 514 pubs.

Well, that’s the history according to various sources so it must be more or less right. An indisputable fact however is the locals have a clear favourite when it comes to yesteryear. One only has to mention Stone’s brewing past to see grown men’s eyes mist over. Once they have regained some composure, they will talk endlessly of Joules, Stone Ale et al. I have even had it put to me that it was a shame we didn’t set up in the former Joules brewery - now a supermarket.

If everyone has something nice to say of Joules, few if any have anything nice to say of Bent’s. If it wasn’t the beer, it was the pubs and most of the time it was both. Perhaps they paid slightly less or worked slightly longer but Bent’s never held affection like its illustrious neighbour.

In the intervening years, Bass released the site to private ownership. Nothing remained of the former brewery except the buildings which were sub divided and rented to companies eager to capitalise on the ready-made industrial estate.

Ron and I immediately saw the advantages of having the brewery here in Stone. As well as the historic values of a brewing town with a supportive population, we had a building (though for many years neglected) that had been designed for that very purpose. The floors in our “brick built unit” are sloped and all run to drains originally installed when the brewery was first built. Our main room is a huge production area of some 15 metres ³ which must be the old fermenting rooms with their floors removed to incorporate the cellars below. This huge area houses our brewing room but also has space for dry storage.  Also on the site is the old well which is available to us should we choose to use it. We are currently looking into it. Ahem.

Photo from the Frith collection.

http://www.francisfrith.com/search/england/staffordshire/stone/photos/stone_46189.htm