After more than a century of teaching brewers from around the world, the Siebel Institute of Technology announced Thursday it’s leaving Chicago for Montreal.
The school said in a news release the move aligns “with the changing dynamics of the global brewing industry and the need for the business to remain competitive and sustainable far into the future.”
It made the decision after reviewing operational costs and increased student visa challenges for people entering the US The move will be effective Jan. 1, 2026. It’s new home will be near Molson’s original brewery site, which is the oldest North American brewery, according to the school.
Siebel Institute did not return requests for comment.
For many in the industry, the announcement provoked a mix of sadness and anger.
“It’s really disappointing,” said Liz Garibay, founder and executive director of the online Beer Culture Center, a nonprofit focusing on beer history. “It’s a kick in the gut for beer history and Chicago. It’s the oldest brewing school in the United States and has taught many of the beer pioneers of the past and certainly of the modern era.”
Located at 322 S. Green St. in the West Loop, the school was established in 1872 and was home to several beer company founders that went on to become household names.
“When I first walked in there, I went and looked at all the class pictures,” Hagen Dost, co-owner of Dovetail Brewery in North Center, said. “The oldest (class pictures) have Pabst and Busch and Coors — the who’s-who of American brewing. They went to the Siebel Institute to learn their trade.”
Dost is also a graduate, having attended part time between 2008 and 2013 while still working as an engineer. In 2011, while in the school’s Siebel World Brewing Academy that ran in conjunction with the Doemens Academy in Munich, he met Bill Wesselink. The men would both become certified master brewers and open Dovetail a few years later.
“There would be no Dovetail Brewery without the Siebel Institute,” Dost said, adding his exit from Chicago is bigger than his own journey.
“I can’t understate the loss for Chicago. There would be no brewing industry in the United States without the Siebel,” he said. “I know it’s not closing, but it’s such an American institution and a Chicago institution, and to lose it, it hurts.”
Billy Jacobs, co-owner of Piece Brewery and Pizzeria in Wicker Park, which has earned 28 medals at the World Beer Cup and Great American Beer Festival over the years, also bemoaned the news.
“Our award-winning brewer, (the late) Jonathan Cutler, went there. So did our current brewer Anthony Haynes,” Jacobs said. “It’s a huge loss. They’ve been wonderful friends of ours and a wonderful resource for us.”
Garibay said Chicago’s central location made it easy for students to come from all over the US and from international locations.
Garibay and Dost blamed President Donald Trump’s administration for actions they said creates a hostile atmosphere for foreign students, at the expense of businesses in the US
“It’s another example of how this current administration is really ruining lives and not taking Americans into consideration,” Garibay said.
Dost said the fundamental issue for the school is visas.
“They are in a time where a significant class portion is international,” Dost said. “They educate people from all corners of the beer industry, from huge brewers down to individuals who want to get into craft brewing.”
While the cost to Chicago may be hard to calculate, Sam Toia, executive director of the Illinois Restaurant Association, did not welcome the news.
“We feel that Chicago is the culinary capital of the United States. So to have an organization like this that’s been around for decades and decades decide to leave, it’s not good,” Toia said.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Dost said, “I’m so angry at this administration for demonizing outsiders, and now an American institution, critical to an American industry, is being forced to fight for its survival because of it.”
