Sleeman Breweries
continues to build on
the family legacy
By Heather Hudson
John Sleeman was born to brew beer.
The drive to supply a thirsty public
with quality suds is lodged deep in
the DNA of the founder and chairman of
Sleeman Breweries. His family’s checkered
history began with the establishment
of Stamford Springs Brewery in St.
Davids, Ont., in 1834. His ancestors rose
to fame as crusaders of prohibition and
notorious underground suppliers, including
to gangster Al Capone.
However, the jig was up in 1933,
when a group of farmers hired to smuggle
beer south of the border were ensnared in
a roadblock.
“They turned us in and we lost our
brewing licence,” said Sleeman. “The people
who stopped us said no one with the
last name Sleeman could have an excise
licence for one generation – or 50 years.”
All in the Family
Photo: Sleeman Breweries
4 § POURED CANADA § www.poured.ca
/www.poured.ca
