Archaeologists unearth 2,300 year old bottle of Chinese beer

A dig in Shanjiabo Cemetery, located in the Shaanxi province in northwest China, revealed a centuries-old bottle of beer that offers a glimpse into how people brewed in Quin, an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty, El.kz cites DrinksBusiness.

According to a report in the Journal of Archaeological Science, the bottle is dated between 547 and 221 BCE (Before Common Era) and demonstrates that Quin citizens used “diverse cereals” in their brewing practices, and even had a clever method for effectively sealing bottles.

Refined brewing

When scientists tested the liquid inside the bottle they found it contained 23 different organic compounds, with “intricate sugars” suggesting its makers had “a good understanding of fermentation”.

Featuring 8,571 yeast cells as well as millet, wheat, barley and amino acids, the 2,300-year-old beer is proof, said the report, of a “refined and technical brewing process”.

Due to the presence of cereals, scientists were able to ascertain that the bottle contained beer rather than a fruit-based beverage. It puts the Quin discovery squarely in the middle of China’s long brewing history because although residue analysis of ancient pottery has shown that the Chinese were fermenting alcoholic drinks from rice, honey, and fruit as early as 7,000 BC, the earliest evidence of grain-based beer (using malting and mashing techniques) dates to around 3,400 to 2,900 BC (about 5,000 years ago).

Double layering

The latest finding also revealed a sophisticated “double layering” technique used by the Quins to seal the bottle closed and ensure the beer lasted.

First, the brewer sealed the inside of the uncapped bottle with fabric before mixing “mud and organic compounds” over the top. The mouth of the bottle was then fashioned into the shape of a “head of garlic”, another clue as to the contents of the bottle as this was a classic stylistic motif in ancient Chinese culture for vessels housing alcoholic drinks.

Why was the bottle of beer buried in a cemetery?

The Shanjiabo Cemetery is thought to have been a popular burial ground for both troops and civilians, with 183 known tombs. Ancient Chinese citizens were often buried with fermented beverages (like early rice beer) as a ceremonial offering to honour the dead. These brews were thought to facilitate communication with the spiritual realm and provide the deceased with sustenance and luxury in the afterlife.

And it’s not the first time that beer has been discovered in an ancient Chinese burial site, with several high-profile digs turning up evidence that drinking rituals at funerals were as common then as they are today. As db reported in 2021, archaeologists in south-east China found “microfossil residues” left over from early beer drinking in 9,000-year-old ceramic pots uncovered alongside two human skeletons on a burial mound almost the size of a football pitch.

“This ancient beer would not have been like the IPA that we have today. Instead, it was likely a slightly fermented and sweet beverage, which was probably cloudy in colour,” said archaeologist Jiajing Wang, lead author of the study, in a press release at the time.