Brewed from a major brewery on Ecclesall Road, the beer was regarded as Sheffield's own, although there were also a few other big breweries in the city.
By the 1980s, some of the city's pubs started to get in on the act, creating their own, distinctive beers. And as the big breweries moved large scale production out of some of the city's sites, smaller companies started to fill the void - with their own products.
Now Sheffield is home to a whole range of independently produced beers - some of them a far cry from the days of when Wards was the main name on the pumps in the city's pubs.
With the Sheffield CAMRA beer festival, which runs from October 18 until October 21 at Kelham Island Museum, just a few weeks away, we have taken a trip down memory lane, and through our own archives, to look at some of the city's most iconic brews over the last 40 years, and into the present day. Some go back years, while others are among those now sold at Beer Central at the Moor Market.
How many of these, pictured below, have you tried?
1. Sheffield's iconic beers
We have put together a picture gallery showing Sheffield's iconic beers of the last 40 years
2. Wards
Wards was one of Sheffield's best known beers until the closure of the brewery on Ecclesall Road.
3. Stones
Brewed in Sheffield and household name for years, Stones brewery in the city closed in 1999. It is now brewed under licence by another firm
4. Roger and Out
Roger and Out, brewed at the Frog and Parrot, near Devonshire Green, was once famous as the strongest beer in the world, certified by the Guinness Book of Records. It is no longer brewed.