Sleeman Breweries
Encyclopedia
Sleeman Brewery Ltd. is a brewery
located in Guelph
, Ontario
, Canada. John H. Sleeman originally began brewing beer in 1834. By 1933 the Sleeman brewery had ceased operations when their liquor licence was revoked for bootlegging, specifically, smuggling beer into Detroit, Michigan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.
. The acquisitions included Okanagan Spring Brewery in 1996, Upper Canada Brewing
in 1998, Maritime Brewing in 2000, Shaftebury Brewing Company
and Unibroue
in 2004.
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, which due to a legally-protected near-monopoly has an over 90% market share of Ontario beer sales. The takeover by Sapporo means that no portion of Brewers Retail is held by any majority Canadian-owned entity, and may increase pressure on the government to force an end to the Brewers Retail near-monopoly.
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.
until 2020.
In 2010, the company began an advertising campaign drawing attention to their bootlegging past, featuring John Sleeman, despite the fact that he no longer owns the company.
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
located in Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada. John H. Sleeman originally began brewing beer in 1834. By 1933 the Sleeman brewery had ceased operations when their liquor licence was revoked for bootlegging, specifically, smuggling beer into Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. 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.
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'sLabatt Brewing Company
Labatt Brewing Company Ltd. is a Canadian beer company founded by John Kinder Labatt in 1847 in London, Ontario. In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer Interbrew; it is now part of Anheuser-Busch InBev...
. The acquisitions included Okanagan Spring Brewery in 1996, Upper Canada Brewing
Upper Canada Brewing Company
Upper Canada Brewing Company is a brewery that is currently located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Founded by Frank Heaps in Toronto, they started brewing beer in 1984 and grew became one of the largest independent breweries in Canada....
in 1998, Maritime Brewing in 2000, Shaftebury Brewing Company
Shaftebury Brewing Company
The Shaftebury Brewing Company is a brewery located in Delta, British Columbia, and is currently owned by Sleeman Breweries.Beers include Four Twenty Brilliant Lager, Coastal Cream Ale, Wet Coast Wheat Ale, Easy Honey Pale Ale, Summer Days Premium Pilsner, and Winter Nights Black & Tan.- External...
and Unibroue
Unibroue
Unibroue is a brewery located in Chambly, Quebec, Canada that was started by Quebec native André Dion and Serge Racine. It was purchased by Sleeman Breweries Ltd. in 2004, which itself was taken over by Sapporo in 2006. The company was incorporated in 1993, exporting to the United States in...
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:- 1800's - The Slyman family, beer-making piratePiracyPiracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
s, change their name to Sleeman.
- 1836 – Sleeman establishes the Stamford Springs Brewery in St. Catharines, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
- 1845 – Sleeman sells his brewery to Holliday Brewery and opens a new company called Hodgerts Brewery in GuelphGuelphGuelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
- 1850 - Hodgerts Brewery is renamed Holiday Brewery and later sold.
- 1851 – Sleeman establishes his third brewery, Silver Springs Brewery, in Guelph and later relinquishes control to his son George Sleeman in 1867
- 1900 – John's grandson George A. Sleeman establishes the Sleeman Brewing and Malting Company
- 1921 – Silver Springs Brewery Beverage Company is renamed Canada Malt Products
- 1926 – Holliday Brewery obtains the original Sleeman Brewery and later acquired by Canada Cream of Malt in 1930
- 1927 – Spring Bank Brewery is created by Henry O. Sleeman, son of George A Sleeman.
- 1933 – Silver Creek Brewery is lost by the family when it was forced to sell to Jockey Club Brewery Limited after their liquor license was revoked for bootlegging.
- 1938 – Jockey Club Brewery Limited bought out by Ace High Brewery Limited
- 1939 – Ace High Brewery Limited ceases operations
- 1955 – Sleeman Brewing and Malting Company name becomes inactive
- 1988 – Sleeman Brewing and Malting Company re-established by John W. Sleeman, great great grandson of John H. Sleeman
- 2006 – Sapporo BreweriesSapporo Breweriesis a Japanese brewery founded in 1876. Their world headquarters are in Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo. The company purchased the Canadian company Sleeman Breweries in 2006.The company has five breweries in Japan as well as the Sleeman brewery in Canada...
reached a deal to purchase Sleeman for approximately $400 million.
Operations
The brewery currently produces the following beers under the Sleeman name:- Cream Ale
- Original Draft
- Honey Brown Lager
- Original Dark
- Silver Creek Lager
- Light
- Clear, a low carbohydrate beer
- John Sleeman presents Fine Porter
- John Sleeman presents India Pale Ale
Aside from its own brands, the company brews Pabst
Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and by 1889 named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently the holding company contracting for the brewing of over two dozen brands of beer and malt liquor from defunct companies...
products for the Canadian market, including Old Milwaukee
Old Milwaukee
Old Milwaukee is an American lager-style beer currently brewed and owned by Pabst Brewing Company. The Old Milwaukee marquee is used by a family of products which includes Old Milwaukee, Old Milwaukee Light and Old Milwaukee Non-Alcoholic.-History:...
, Stroh's, Schlitz and Pabst Blue Ribbon
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Pabst Blue Ribbon is a brand of beer sold by Pabst Brewing Company, originally established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but now based in Los Angeles. Pabst Blue Ribbon is contract-brewed in six different breweries around the U.S...
. Other brands brewed under licence include Maclays Pale Ale for Maclays Brewery
Maclays Brewery
Maclay's Brewery was a Scottish brewery based in Alloa, Clackmannanshire until 2001.In 1830, James Maclay founded the brewery as James Maclay, Ale, Porter, Table and India Beer Brewer of Alloa...
, 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
Upper Canada Brewing Company
Upper Canada Brewing Company is a brewery that is currently located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Founded by Frank Heaps in Toronto, they started brewing beer in 1984 and grew became one of the largest independent breweries in Canada....
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.
Brewers Retail Inc.
The Beer Store is the trading name for Brewers Retail, a privately owned, joint-venture chain of retail outlets in Ontario, Canada, founded in 1927. The articles of incorporation stipulate that Brewers Retail cannot sell "hard liquor" , or consumer goods...
, the operator of The Beer Store retail chain, which due to a legally-protected near-monopoly has an over 90% market share of Ontario beer sales. The takeover by Sapporo means that no portion of Brewers Retail is held by any majority Canadian-owned entity, and may increase pressure on the government to force an end to the Brewers Retail near-monopoly.
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 CentreGuelph Sports and Entertainment Centre
The Sleeman Centre is a 5,100 seat multi-purpose facility in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The Sleeman Centre has hosted concerts, sporting and family events as well as trade shows and conferences...
until 2020.
In 2010, the company began an advertising campaign drawing attention to their bootlegging past, featuring John Sleeman, despite the fact that he no longer owns the company.