The United States’ loss will soon be the Canadian brewing industry’s gain.
In November, the prestigious Siebel Institute of Technology brewing school announced that it will relocate from Chicago to Montreal. In a press release, the school confirmed the move was effective Jan. 1, 2026, but didn’t provide a date for when classes would begin at its new location.
The Siebel Institute is the oldest brewing school in North America. It was founded by German-born chemist John Ewald Siebel, Ph.D., in Chicago in 1868. It was originally known as the John E. Siebel Chemical Laboratory before being renamed the Siebel Institute in 1872, and it has called Chicago home since its opening.
The new location will be at 3035 rue Sainte-Catherine near the former Molson Brewery site in downtown Montreal. That site is part of a planned $2.5 billion redevelopment aimed at revitalizing the city’s downtown core, which will also include a public park and waterfront walkway, retail spaces and some 5,000 new housing units. Siebel Institute, which is owned by Lallemand Inc., cited changes in the brewing industry, rising operational costs and challenges obtaining student visas to enter the U.S. as reasons for the move.
“Recent regulatory changes in the U.S. have made it much more challenging for many of our international students, who have become the majority of our student body, to attend classes in person. This relocation of North America classroom operations to Montreal allows us to pivot without sacrificing the student experience,” Siebel Institute’s general manager and director of education, John Hannafan, said in the news release.
Montreal’s brewing industry reacts
Philippe Roy, vice-president of Beer Canada for Montreal, says he was pleasantly surprised to learn Siebel Institute was relocating to Montreal. Neither he nor his organization had any advance knowledge of the move.
He says he has seen two reactions from those in the industry. “The first was to say that it’s very good news…. It’s the oldest school for beer in North America, so their coming to Canada seemed to send a message that brewing in Canada is going well. But at the same time, we all felt that it was kind of normal … because we all feel that Quebec and Montreal are the cradle of beer in North America.
“In Canada, beer is still the number one alcohol beverage that people consume. We feel it’s a special beverage that can define Canada so we’re very happy about the Siebel Institute coming and joining us here in Montreal,” said Roy.
We’ll have access to high-quality training, and that will benefit all brewers in Canada.
Philippe Roy, Beer Canada
Marie-Eve Myrand, executive director of the Quebec Microbrewery Association, says she, too, was surprised to learn about Siebel Institute’s move. “We were not part of the decision or the discussion around that, but we were pleased to be informed,” said Myrand, whose organization lobbies government, promotes the brewing industry and provides production support to member brewers. “It’s a very prestigious institute.”
Myrand says the addition of the Siebel Institute to Montreal’s brewing landscape will help to make up for the recent loss of the brewing sciences certificate program at Bishop’s University.
The Bishop’s program was established by chemistry professor Dale Wood in 2015 and offered a graduate opportunity that blended chemistry, creativity and entrepreneurship. During its time, the program and its students helped develop more than 500 recipes, several of which were in partnership with Quebec-based microbreweries.
While it’s difficult to determine what kind of economic impact Siebel Institute’s move to Montreal might have on the city, Roy predicts it could have a huge effect on the brewing ecosystem, not only in Quebec, but across the country. “We’ll have access to high-quality training, and that will benefit all brewers in Canada. We already have schools that offer brewers education, but having one more, and one more here in Montreal, that’s giving brewers new access to highly qualified people [who] are going to work in their breweries,” he said.
It’s always good news for brewers to have an opportunity to improve knowledge and be at the top of the best practices.
Marie-Eve Myrand, Quebec Microbrewery Association
Myrand says the move will benefit brewers in Quebec and other parts of the country by creating a larger pool of talent to draw from. “It’s going to be very exciting,” she said. “It’s always good news for brewers to have an opportunity to improve knowledge and be at the top of the best practices. I think there will now be more opportunities for brewers to be part of that kind of improvement.”
Roy says he hopes to speak with someone from the school soon to work out the details of a scholarship that Beer Canada is looking to offer to students there. He is also anxious to learn more about the academic programming Siebel Institute will offer once its Montreal campus is up and running.
“I’m sure they’re going to want to adapt. It’s the same product, it’s still beer, but the Canadian way is a little bit different than what we see in the U.S. brewing industry, so I’m sure they intend to adapt their information to being in Canada,” he said.
Myrand is also curious about how Siebel Institute will adapt to its new surroundings, especially regarding the province’s language laws. “A good beer is a good beer. But being in business in Montreal, I think it’s mandatory to have an offering in French. It’s a very personal opinion, and not the association’s position, but I would find it [difficult] to have just an English version of all the information,” she said.
