John Sleeman & Sons revives six generations of family craft with Spring Mill Distillery
After selling the brewery that rebuilt the family name, John Sleeman opened Spring Mill Distillery in Guelph. His sons Cooper and Quinn joined to carry the legacy into whisky.
Copy link
By Torontoer Staff
John W. Sleeman has opened Spring Mill Distillery in Guelph, Ontario, returning his family to spirits production after decades in beer. The project restores a Prohibition-era site on the Speed River and places his two sons at the centre of the business.
The company, operating as John Sleeman & Sons, produces rye, single malt and other whiskies as well as gin and vodka. The distillery makes about 150,000 bottles a year and employs 21 people.
A family legacy restored
The Sleemans have brewed and distilled in Guelph since the 1860s. Prohibition-era activity and a 1933 licence suspension interrupted the family business for decades, but John Sleeman relaunched brewing in 1988 with Sleeman Brewing and Malting. He later sold that company to Sapporo in 2006.
In 2015 Sleeman planned a new distillery from scratch. The plan changed when workers discovered hidden holding tanks beneath an abandoned liquor maker on the Speed River, relics that tied directly to the family story. He decided to restore the existing building and make it part of the family narrative.
I wanted to make this building part of our story.
John W. Sleeman
From beer to whisky
The transition from brewing to distilling reflects practical and emotional choices. The family did not intend to relaunch a beer brand they no longer owned, but they wanted a beverage business they could control. Whisky appealed for its global reputation and for the chance to build a new craft rooted in family history.
Spring Mill released gin and vodka in April 2019, followed by its first traditional straight whisky in June 2022 and a rye in May 2023. Production requires long-term investment, because straight whisky demands years of barrel aging.
If Cooper and his team make great bourbon, I cannot get you any more for four years.
John W. Sleeman
The next generation: sales, coopering and control
John positioned the business so his sons could join if they chose. Cooper Sleeman, 32, moved from sales roles at the family brewery into sales and marketing at John Sleeman & Sons. Quinn, 29, trained as a cooper, apprenticing in Prince Edward County, then learning repairs in Scotland and barrel-building in Missouri.
Their roles reflect the practical needs of a distillery and the succession challenge many family businesses face. Janie Goldstein, special advisor for family business at Toronto Metropolitan University, says spin-off ventures help the next generation feel invested and involved in entrepreneurship.
When you do these kinds of spin-offs, it is great for the next generation because they feel like they are part of that entrepreneurial process.
Janie Goldstein, Toronto Metropolitan University
Business realities and market context
Distilling ties up capital in ways brewing does not. A craft batch of beer can be on shelves in weeks, while straight whisky may be locked in barrels for years. The company navigated COVID-19, supply pressures and building restoration issues while establishing a brand in a competitive market.
Canadian brands dominate beer sales by value, but spirits remain more exposed to imports. Statistics Canada reported that Canadian brands accounted for 88 per cent of beer sales by value from April 2023 to March 2024, while Canadian spirits made up 46.1 per cent of spirits sales in the same period. Trade disputes briefly shifted retail availability, creating a window for Canadian spirits but also contributing to an overall dip in spirits purchases.
Where Spring Mill sits now
Spring Mill has grown distribution across Canada, reaching every province except Newfoundland and the territories. The Sleeman family name helps with recognition, bridging the brewery audience to the new spirits line.
- Location: restored distillery on the Speed River, Guelph, Ontario
- Output: roughly 150,000 bottles per year
- Staff: 21 employees
- Products: gin, vodka, rye, single malt and other whiskies
- Notable dates: gin and vodka launched April 2019, first straight whisky June 2022, rye May 2023
The project blends craft, history and family succession. It gives Cooper and Quinn room to learn technical skills and business management while maintaining a visible connection to the Sleeman name.
John frames the business as a practical inheritance rather than an obligation, and he has kept the company identity deliberately simple. "It is a really cool thing for me that this company is called John Sleeman & Sons," he says, noting that he wanted the business to be available to his sons if they wished to take it on.
It is a really cool thing for me that this company is called John Sleeman & Sons.
John W. Sleeman
Spring Mill Distillery positions a multigenerational family for the long game. The business balances restoration and craftsmanship with market realities, and it gives the next generation a platform to shape the family story on their terms.
family businesswhiskyGuelphdistillerysuccession
