Miners’ Beer From the 1870s Gets a Modern Sip

A Toast From the Past

High in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, a dusty excavation site recently yielded an extraordinary surprise — a fully intact alcohol bottle dating back more than 150 years. Buried in the remains of Alta, a once-thriving 1870s mining town, the bottle offers a rare liquid link to America’s frontier past.

A Rare Find in an Unexpected Place

Intact bottles from that era are seldom discovered in Utah, making the find especially notable. Archaeologist Ian Wright and his team uncovered the bottle during a summer dig and quickly realized its potential significance. The mystery wasn’t just the age of the bottle — it was what might still be inside.

Unsure whether the liquid was beer, wine or spirits, Wright turned to experts at High West Distillery, founded in 1870 as Utah’s first legal distillery, to carefully unlock its secrets.

Opening History — Carefully

Before opening the bottle, distillers examined its cork and detected a faint vinegary aroma. Using a Coravin device — designed to extract liquid without fully removing the cork — the team minimized disruption to the century-old contents.

The first impressions were surprisingly pleasant: fruity notes, hints of leather and unmistakable signs of age. Sediment clouded the bottom of the bottle, but the liquid itself remained intact enough for further analysis.

A Sip Across Centuries

Based on its aroma, appearance and structure, the team concluded the beverage was most likely beer rather than wine or distilled spirits. In a moment blending science and curiosity, head distiller Isaac Winter tasted a small sample.

The verdict? Not unpleasant.

Brewing the Past Forward

Further testing may reveal whether any yeast remains viable — a discovery that could allow brewers to recreate a beer last tasted during Utah’s mining boom. More than a novelty, the bottle offers insight into 19th-century brewing practices and daily life in a rugged frontier town.

Sometimes, history doesn’t just speak — it pours.