Over the weekend I was invited to a friend’s house to participate in a beer burial. What is a beer burial you ask? Well, it is exactly what it sounds like. You fill a box (or coffin if you want to be fancy) with beer and bury it. After a year everyone gathers again to unearth the beer to enjoy together while burying another batch. Why would anyone do this you ask? I would answer why not. If you would like to start your own tradition, here are the simple steps to take.
- Dig a nice big hole. Our hole was three feet deep and 3’x4′. Our gracious host wanted to give a shout out to “Local sage Doug Powell” for his assistance in digging the crypt.
- Build a coffin to hold the beer. Our host went big, 18” at base and head, expanding to 38” at shoulder/breast, 18” high and 36” from head to toe.
The coffin was carried to the grave to have the lid attached before being lowered in.
- Invite friends to your house and ask them to bring a beer to be buried.
- Seal all of the bottles with melted wax and make note of who brought each beer.
All bottles we waxed to add an extra layer of sealing.
- Fill the coffin with the bottles of beer and seal it. We ended up with 54 bottles.
- Place a sheet of plastic in the hole to wrap around the coffin.
- Place the coffin into the hole and fill it in.
After wrapping the coffin in a sheet of plastic we filled in the grave.
- Gather a year later to dig up the beer, drink it, and repeat the process.
Olde School specifically instructs you to bury it before drinking.
Olde School by Dogfish Head specifically instructs you to bury it before drinking.