The cool mountain air swirled around us as I stepped onto the grounds of what would soon become the new home of America’s oldest brewing academy. Nestled in the forested edges of Chilliwack, British Columbia, the century-old barn being renovated told a story of transformation – not just of this space, but of a 150-year brewing legacy making an unprecedented border crossing.
“We never imagined we’d leave Wisconsin,” admits Michael Kallenberger, director of the Siebel Institute of Technology, as he guides me through the construction site. His fingers trace weathered wooden beams that will soon support state-of-the-art brewing equipment. “But sometimes preservation requires movement.”
Founded in 1872, the Siebel Institute stands as North America’s oldest brewing school, training generations of master brewers who shaped the continent’s beer landscape. Their decision to relocate to Canada after a century and a half in Chicago represents more than just a change of address – it signals shifting currents in North American craft brewing culture and education.
The move came after the institute faced mounting challenges in their Chicago location, including prohibitive operational costs and increasingly complex regulatory hurdles. When Canadian brewing company Chilliwack Hops extended an invitation to relocate to their expanding agricultural and brewing campus, Siebel saw an opportunity to reinvent while preserving their heritage.
For British Columbia’s growing craft brewing community, the arrival feels like validation. “This puts Canadian brewing education on the global map,” explains Janelle Brouwer, head brewer at Vancouver’s Strange Fellows Brewing and a Siebel graduate herself. “Students won’t just learn brewing science here – they’ll be immersed in one of North America’s most innovative hop-growing regions.”
The relocation involves transporting historic equipment, archives, and brewing traditions developed over fifteen decades. During my visit, I watched as workers carefully unpacked copper vessels and laboratory equipment that have taught thousands of brewers, including founders of iconic breweries like Goose Island and Sierra Nevada.
“Each piece carries knowledge,” says institute instructor Emma Christensen, as she unwraps a 1920s-era microscope used to teach generations about yeast biology. “These aren’t just tools – they’re repositories of brewing history.”
Canadian officials have embraced the arrival enthusiastically. According to Agriculture Canada statistics, craft brewing contributes over $4.3 billion annually to the Canadian economy, with British Columbia leading provincial growth at 17% year over year since 2018. The provincial government has provided $800,000 in educational grants to support the institute’s transition.
But not everyone celebrates the move. Back in Chicago, where the institute operated for most of its history, some see the departure as a cultural loss. “Siebel trained brewers through Prohibition, two World Wars, and the craft beer revolution,” laments Chicago brewing historian Randy Mosher. “That connection to place matters.”
When I visited the nearly empty Chicago campus last month, the emptying classrooms echoed with decades of brewing knowledge. A janitor sweeping floors told me about famous brewers who had walked these halls. “Now all that history’s heading north,” he said with a shrug.
The institute plans to welcome its first Canadian-based cohort of students this September. Applications have surged, with prospective students from 23 countries already securing spots. The relocated program will maintain its intensive curriculum while adding new elements focused on sustainability and agricultural connections to brewing.
“We’re building something that honors tradition while embracing innovation,” explains Hannah Taylor, the Canadian brewmaster overseeing curriculum development. As we walk through hop fields adjacent to the new campus, she points out experimental varieties being developed specifically for changing climate conditions. “Students will literally see their ingredients growing outside the classroom windows.”
For current brewing students, the relocation offers unexpected perspectives. “I enrolled thinking I’d study in Chicago, but now I’m getting a completely different experience,” says Miguel Fernandez, who moved from Mexico to study brewing. “This landscape shapes different flavors, different approaches.”
Beyond technical training, the institute’s move represents broader trends in North American craft brewing. The industry faces consolidation pressures, with multinational companies acquiring independent breweries and climate change affecting traditional growing regions. Canadian hop production has increased 43% since 2019 according to Agriculture Canada, partially in response to challenging growing conditions in traditional U.S. hop regions.
As evening falls over the construction site, Kallenberger and I watch workers install gleaming tanks that catch the last light. “Beer connects people across borders,” he reflects. “Maybe that’s what we’re really teaching – how brewing transcends boundaries.”
The Siebel Institute’s journey north represents something rarely seen: a historic American institution choosing Canada as its future. When classes begin this fall, students from around the world will gather in this transformed barn to learn century-old techniques while overlooking Canadian hop fields – a reminder that tradition sometimes finds new roots in unexpected places.
Walking back to my car, I notice something poetic: workers installing a weathered wooden sign salvaged from the Chicago campus. It reads simply “Est. 1872” – the date remaining unchanged, even as everything else transforms.
