The Siebel Institute of Technology, North America’s oldest brewing school and part of the World Brewing Academy, will shift its classroom operations from Chicago, where the institute was founded in 1868, to Montreal / Canada on 1 January 2026. According to New School Beer, the move follows rising operational costs in the United States, tightening federal visa rules for international students, and broader shifts in the brewing education market. Siebel noted that foreign students have become the majority of its enrolment, and recent U.S. regulatory changes made in-person attendance increasingly difficult.
Montreal will host the school near the historic Molson site, the oldest brewery location on the continent. The new premises will also house the Lallemand Baking Academy, enabling cross-disciplinary training and shared technical facilities. Daily Hive stressed that U.S. President Donald Trump’s visa policies, including heightened scrutiny and increased denial rates for student applications, were a decisive factor in Siebel’s strategic exit.
Antoine Chagnon, CEO of Lallemand Inc., which has owned Siebel since 2000, described the relocation as essential to safeguarding world-class education. Lallemand’s financial support was instrumental in keeping the school active during the COVID-19 pandemic. Siebel’s Munich-based academy partner, Doemens Academy, publicly endorsed the move, reaffirming long-term cooperation within the World Brewing Academy.
Local reactions in Canada were positive. Montreal brewers told CBC News that the relocation would strengthen the province’s technical expertise and enhance Quebec’s international brewing profile. The Association des Brasseurs du Québec highlighted the expected knowledge transfer as a boost to a craft beer sector that contributes USD 3 billion annually to the provincial economy. In contrast, several Chicago-based beer historians and educators lamented the departure as a cultural loss for the local beer community.
Despite the change in location, Siebel will maintain its established online and in-person curriculum from Montreal and aims to preserve its historic educational standards while keeping tuition accessible. The school emphasized that the new Canadian base offers a safer regulatory environment, fewer administrative barriers for international students, and strong industry infrastructure.
