Sleeman Breweries

Sleeman Breweries Ltd.
Industry Alcoholic beverage
Founded 1834
Founder John H. Sleeman
Headquarters Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Products Beer
Production output
1,200,000 hl
Owner Sapporo Brewery
Subsidiaries The Beer Store (2%)
Website http://www.sleeman.com/

Sleeman Brewery Ltd. is a Japanese-owned brewery located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. John H. Sleeman originally began brewing beer in 1834.[1] By 1933 the Sleeman brewery had ceased operations when their liquor licence was revoked for bootlegging, specifically, smuggling beer into Detroit, Michigan. The brewery was restarted in 1988 by John W. Sleeman, the great great grandson of John H. Sleeman. The company's current products are based on the family's original recipes. In 2006, the brewery was purchased by Japanese brewer Sapporo Brewery.

John H. Sleeman

John H. Sleeman was born in Cornwall, England in 1805 and came to Ontario in 1834. He died in St. David's, Ontario in 1893. His family continued to operate the brewery he founded in 1851 until 1933.

History

Between the reestablishment of the brand in 1988 and the sale to Sapporo in 2006, Sleeman acquired several other Canadian microbreweries, and became the third largest Canadian brewing company after Molson Coors and Labatt's. The acquisitions included Okanagan Spring Brewery in 1996, Upper Canada Brewing in 1998, Shaftebury Brewing Company in 1999 (sold to Fireweed Brewing in 2014), Maritime Brewing in 2000, and Unibroue in 2004.

Timeline

Sleeman's dates back to 1834 when John H. Sleeman begins his career as a malter and brewer. A timeline of Sleeman family owned breweries:

Operations

A bottle of John Sleeman Presents India Pale Ale

The brewery currently produces the following beers under the Sleeman name:

Aside from its own brands, the company brews Pabst products for the Canadian market, including Old Milwaukee, Stroh's, Schlitz and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Other brands brewed under licence include Maclays Pale Ale for Maclays Brewery, Red Bull Beer and Sapporo Premium for Sapporo Brewery, their parent company.

Sleeman also continues to brew Upper Canada Lager and Upper Canada Dark Ale, two beers that were formerly produced by the Upper Canada Brewing Company before Sleeman acquired the company. Additional beers under the Upper Canada brand including Rebellion Lager, Wheat and Maple Brown Ale have since been discontinued.

Sleeman owns a 2% stake in Brewers Retail Inc., the operator of The Beer Store retail chain. The takeover by Sapporo means that no portion of Brewers Retail is held by any majority Canadian-owned entity.

Many Sleeman brands are distributed in clear bottles, which are less expensive and give them a distinctive look, but can result in the liquids becoming more susceptible to light damage. Concerned this would affect the beer's taste, Sleeman compensates for this in a majority of their brews by using hops that are processed to be less light sensitive.

Marketing

The brewery entered into a $1.2 million sponsorship deal with the City of Guelph in 2007 that gives Sleeman exclusive naming rights to the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre until 2020.[5]

In 2010, the company began an advertising campaign drawing attention to their bootlegging past.[6]

See also

References

  1. "Sleeman Brewing History". www.library.guelph.on.ca. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  2. "John Sleeman – Successful Canadian Entrepreneur". The Canadian Business Journal. January 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  3. http://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/2764311-the-manor-is-a-monument-to-guelph-s-history-and-much-more/
  4. "CBC News - Money - Sapporo acquisition of Sleeman on tap". cbc.ca. 2006-08-11. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  5. "City of Guelph approves Sleeman sponsorship deal". Toronto: www.thestar.com. 2007-06-18. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  6. Paul, Jonathan (2010-05-07). "Sleeman brews infamy". strategy. Retrieved 28 July 2011.

External links

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