Sooke Brewing Company announced Thursday that co-owner and head brewer John Adair had been terminated “effective immediately” after a photo circulated showing him at the brewery wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words “SHOW ME THE EVIDENCE.”
The image spread rapidly across social media, including Threads and Reddit, drawing criticism over both the message and its appearance on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Adair has not publicly commented on what he intended the slogan to mean.
The brewery initially responded Thursday morning without naming Adair, confirming that a member of its ownership group had worn what it called an “offensive T-shirt” while working at the brewery.
“We want to be unequivocal: the message displayed on that shirt does not reflect the values of Sooke Brewing Company,” the ownership group said.
The company called the incident “inappropriate and unacceptable” and apologized for the “anger, hurt and disappointment” it caused, particularly within Indigenous communities.
But the backlash quickly escalated. Some users called for a boycott and encouraged negative Google reviews, with the brewery subsequently hit by an influx of one-star ratings.
Within hours, Sooke Brewing went from issuing an apology to closing its doors, cancelling upcoming events and terminating Adair.
“John Adair has been terminated, effective immediately,” the company announced Thursday afternoon.
The brewery said Adair’s “views and actions do not reflect the values of Sooke Brewing Company, its ownership or its staff,” adding that it was “devastated by his actions.”
The company also announced it would close “for now” and said it had reached out to First Nations leadership to hear concerns and determine its next steps.
“Sooke is our home. We grew up here. We live here. And we work here. We care deeply about this community and the people who are part of it.”
Adair has been with Sooke Brewing since its beginnings and is identified as one of its five owners as well as the head brewer. The brewery has not said whether his termination affects his ownership stake.
The slogan itself landed amid an ongoing national dispute over residential schools and evidence surrounding suspected unmarked burial sites.
Some critics online interpreted Adair’s shirt as questioning claims surrounding residential schools, although Adair has not publicly explained what “SHOW ME THE EVIDENCE” was intended to reference.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded Canada’s residential school policy amounted to “cultural genocide.” Debate over evidence at specific sites intensified after the 2021 announcement of potential unmarked burial sites at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
The fallout even spilled over to an unrelated Sooke brewery.
Sooke Oceanside Brewery (S.O.B.) issued a public clarification Thursday after receiving backlash apparently intended for Sooke Brewing Company.
“We want to make it absolutely clear that Sooke Oceanside Brewery (S.O.B.) is NOT Sooke Brewing Company,” founder Ryan Orr said.
The independently owned brewery said it has no affiliation with Sooke Brewing and has faced confusion between the two businesses for years.
The latest controversy brought that confusion to a new level, prompting S.O.B. to ask people to direct their criticism to the correct brewery.
“Sooke Oceanside Brewery is S.O.B. — and we are not Sooke Brewing Company,” Orr said.
Hopefully we are about to witness another case of "go woke, go broke." I wish Mr. Adair the best and hopefully he finds a better professional situation with people who appreciate his ethics.
Yup, show us the evidence.