3-Year Old Buried Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Keg In Berwyn, IL Is a Bust

Berwyn, IL —

An experiment to see if a vintage keg of beer buried underground on the property of a Berwyn bar three years ago would taste better turned out to be a bust.

When the keg was unearthed Saturday, it was damaged, and none of the beer survived.

Ronnie Lottz, owner of Cigars and Stripes, 6715 Ogden Ave. in Berwyn, said Sunday it was “a nightmare” when he found out the keg of 2007 Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot Barley Wine, which he buried in his beer garden in 2009, was damaged while it was underground when he dug it up Saturday, with a crowd there ready to tap into it.

“No one really knows what happened,” Lottz said. “We pulled it up, and there was a hole in the keg. Not sure if there was a weak spot in the metal keg or what happened, but it was a big disappointment.”

The beer, brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, in Chico, Calif., is known to be so potent that it’s typically served in 10-ounce servings instead of 12 or 16.