Outside of the big corporate brands, few modern breweries have a heritage that stretches across five generations. John H. Sleeman – great-great-grandfather of current proprietor John W. Sleeman – started in 1834 building a business inspired by the brewing recipes developed by his ancestors. As with many family-owned breweries, Sleeman’s was forced out of business by prohibition and was once thought to be permanently consigned to the history books.
After a 50-year forced hiatus, John W. Sleeman’s aunt approached him with the collection of old family beer recipes, and in 1988 he relaunched Sleeman Breweries in Guelph, Ontario. John W. Sleeman quickly resurrected the family business, so successfully that it was acquired by Japanese brewer Sapporo in 2006. Today, the brewery still produces 10 different beers under the Sleeman name along with several other brands under license for the Canadian market, including Sapporo.