History
John H. Sleeman was born in Cornwall, England, in 1805 and came to Upper Canada (present day Ontario) in 1834, first settling in St. David's (Niagara-on-the-Lake) where he founded the Stamford Spring Brewery in 1836. He and his family moved to Guelph in 1847 where they operated a series of breweries including the Hodgert's Brewery, and the Silver Creek Brewery, which he opened in 1851. His son George Sleeman joined the company in 1859 as general manager and was named a partner in 1865.[6] John H. died in 1893.
By 1890, George Sleeman had achieved great success with Silver Creek Brewery which had sales in Ontario and Quebec. He incorporated it into the Sleeman Brewing and Malting Company Limited with members of his immediate family. Due to excessive investments in his Guelph Street Railway Company, he lost the businesses to the banks in 1905; he then opened the Springbank Brewery. A year later the banks sold the brewery back to Sleeman.[6] The family subsequently operated breweries in Guelph, often with success, until 1933.[7]
Prohibition in Canada had an effect on the business. In Ontario, prohibition started in 1916 with the passing of the Ontario Temperance Act by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. While that eliminated the domestic market, the law allowed for brewing for export, so the Sleemans continued to do so, shipping their products to the US. This was perfectly legal until 1920 when the Volstead Act led to Prohibition in the United States as well. The Sleeman family (including younger members) subsequently worked with bootleggers to export their beer to Michigan, paying no taxes on the illegally gained profits. Some sources (including John W. Sleeman) hint that the family was involved with Al Capone but after considerable research, historian Micheal Matchett suggests that the contact in the US was actually Rocco Perri, often called the "Al Capone of Canada" according to the book Rocco Perri: The Story of Canada's Most Notorious Bootlegger. Perri had documented connections with Guelph's large Italian population.[8]
In April 1927, the family claimed to a Parliament of Canada special committee that the business' books had been lost. Eventually, the smuggling was uncovered; it was allowed to continue however, on the agreement that taxes would be paid. Since the business refused to pay, charges were laid for smuggling and for non-payment of taxes later in 1933. On conviction, the family's license to brew beer was revoked for 50 years, effectively ending their entire enterprise. The brewing operation was sold to the Jockey Club Brewery Ltd.[6][9]
Revival
Five decades later, in 1984, John W. Sleeman of Oakville, Ontario, great-great-grandson of John H. Sleeman, acquired the book of family beer recipes from his aunt Florian.[6] He incorporated the new Sleeman Brewing and Malting Co. Ltd. in Guelph and began producing beer in 1988 with backing from Stroh Brewery Company for much of the $3 million he needed, a loan from a Detroit bank, and about $500,000 of his own money.[10] The company flourished. In 2006, Sleeman Breweries was purchased by Sapporo Breweries for $400 million; in the agreement, John W. Sleeman sold all of his shares to Sapporo but continued as president until 2010.[11] In 2012, the company produced 1157420 hL of beverages, an increase of approximately 40000 hL over the previous year.
As of 2020, the company's President and CEO was Jesse Hanazawa.[12] The company was brewing its products in three cities: Guelph, Ontario; Chambly, Quebec; and
