Siebel Institute of Technology,
From The Oxford Companion to Beer
North America’s oldest brewing school, was founded in Chicago as John E. Siebel’s Chemical Laboratory by John Ewald Siebel in 1868.
J. E. Siebel was born near Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1845 and earned a PhD from the University of Berlin before moving to Chicago in 1866. Siebel was a very important contributor to brewing technology in the United States, publishing many papers in the journal he edited, The Western Brewer, as well as other brewing journals.
In association with a partner, Siebel began conducting brewing classes as early as 1882, but when his sons joined the business in the 1890s, a regular program of classes covering all aspects of brewing and packaging was established, conducted in both German and English. The name was changed from The Zymotechnic Institute to Siebel Institute of Technology in 1910.
After Prohibition a second company called J. E. Siebel and Sons was created to sell specialty items such as yeast and kettle finings to brewers. The Siebel companies remained family businesses for much of their history, managed by brothers Ron and Bill Siebel from the 1960s onward. In 1992 J. E. Siebel and Sons was sold to Quest and in 2000 Siebel Institute of Technology was sold to Montréal-based yeast manufacturer Lallemand.
A full range of brewing classes continues to be taught in Chicago, with fermentation classes in Montreal and other programs offered in cooperation with Doemens, a brewing school in Munich.
Seibel Institute of Technology. http://www.siebelinstitute.com/ (accessed January 18, 2011).
This definition is from The Oxford Companion to Beer, edited by Garrett Oliver. © Oxford University Press 2012.