September 13, 2002 -- By now, American beer drinkers should be familiar with imported beer brands that are not exactly as they appear. For a long time now, it has been a trend among high-selling foreign brews to licence their production for the US market to Canadian breweries, thus allowing beers like Guinness, Fosters, Harp, Kirin and others to remain in the high-end 'import' category while reducing their shipping costs.

The latest brewery to hop on this bandwagon is the Japanese giant, Sapporo, which yesterday announced a deal with Canada's Sleeman Breweries. Guelph, Ontario-based Sleeman, which recently inaugurated a new canning line, will produce both canned and bottled Sapporo beers for the US market for the next five years, a Sleeman-issued press release said.

The United States is Sapporo's largest single export market with sales amounting to roughly 2 million cases annually. The deal is expected to deliver C$2.5 million in pre-tax earnings to Sleeman annually.

Search The Real Beer Library For More Articles Related To: Sleeman, Sapporo

Feedback?

We're very interested in your news, notes, comments and questions, so please feel free to contact SBWoB by clicking on the link below. Or you can add your comments when you sign up for the World of Beer Update, a mid-month e-mail newsletter that brings even more of the world of beer to your computer.

Send Feedback To: beaumont@worldofbeer.com