Sleeman Breweries
Guelph, Ontario, Canada · Est. 1988
Tally's Take
Why this matters
Re-established in 1988 from an 1851 family recipe book, then sold to Sapporo in 2006. The heritage is genuine and the owner is in Tokyo.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1851Founded
Re-established from a family recipe book of 1851.
- 1988Founded
Sleeman Breweries begins brewing in Guelph, Ontario.
- 2006Acquired
Expanded rapidly before being acquired by Japan's Sapporo in 2006.
The People
Behind the beer
Re-established the family brewery in 1988 from an 1851 recipe book.
The Beer Library
Beers
Sleeman
Year-RoundCream Ale
English immigrant John H. Sleeman opened his first Upper Canada brewery in 1836 and moved the family business to Guelph in 1851. Prohibition killed it in 1933, and the recipes sat untouched for half a century until his great-great-grandson found the family's old brewing notebooks at his aunt's house in 1984 and relaunched the company in 1988. It's now owned by Sapporo — the same brewery a few pages over in this passport.
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How it changed hands
1 recorded move- 1988Founded
- 2006Acquired
Expanded rapidly before being acquired by Japan's Sapporo in 2006.
Today the chain tops out at Sapporo Holdings.
Show your working
Sources
- controlConfirmed
Sleeman Breweries is controlled by Public company.
Sapporo Holdings Fact Book · Sapporo Holdings · 2025-06
BreweryHigh reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-05Reviewed 2026-08-05
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Sleeman Breweries
- Who owns Sleeman Breweries?
- Sleeman Breweries is owned by Sapporo Holdings. Sleeman Breweries is based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
- Is Sleeman Breweries still independent?
- No. Sleeman Breweries is owned by Sapporo Holdings and is no longer independent.
- When was Sleeman Breweries acquired?
- 2006. Expanded rapidly before being acquired by Japan's Sapporo in 2006.
- When was Sleeman Breweries founded?
- Sleeman Breweries was founded in 1988 in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
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