Sapporo Breweries

Sapporo Breweries Limited (サッポロビール株式会社, Sapporo Bīru Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese beer brewing company founded in 1876. Sapporo, the oldest brand of beer in Japan, was first brewed in Sapporo, Hokkaido, in 1876 by Seibei Nakagawa. The world headquarters of Sapporo Breweries is in Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo. The company purchased the Canadian company Sleeman Breweries in 2006. Sapporo Breweries has five breweries in Japan, the Sleeman brewery in Guelph, Ontario, Canada and Sapporo Brewing Company in La Crosse, Wisconsin, U.S. The main brands are Sapporo Draft; Yebisu; and Sleeman Cream Ale. Sapporo Premium has been the best-selling Asian beer in the United States since Sapporo U.S.A., Inc. was founded in 1984. In 2003, Sapporo Breweries restructured into a holding company, Sapporo Holdings Limited, with the brewery division taken over by the second incarnation of Sapporo Breweries. Sapporo Breweries is a member of the Mitsui keiretsu.