An Iowa investment group has discovered a secret beer cave dating back to the 19th century beneath an old brewery building the group purchased and is renovating, local media reported Tuesday.

Brian Bock and his group, Iowa Main Street Investments, purchased the old Cascade brewery two years ago and were in the process of repurposing the building into apartments when they discovered the cave. , KCRG News report.

“We've gotten some historical information that there may have been a beer cave somewhere underneath this building. There's nothing to indicate there was actually a beer cave here. “It was,” Bock said. Said outlet.

Construction workers encountered two arches while excavating, and by digging further they discovered Beer Cave. Weber Construction Co., Ltd., a construction company working on the site told KCRG News. “That was crazy.”

Iowa City is home to an extensive network of 19th-century underground tunnels used to ferment and transport beer. according to Iowa Public Radio. (Related: Archaeologists discover 5,000-year-old beer factory in Egypt)

Doug Alverhusky, an Iowa City grocery store owner who also conducts beer cave tours in the city, explained the discovery.

“The beer needed to be served chilled and kept refrigerated for a month while brewing. So we needed an underground ice cave to keep the beer at a comfortable 33 and a half degrees.” Alberhusky told KCRG News.

“When they built them, there was no hydraulics or pneumatics. Everything was done with horse power and human power. According to KCRG, the fact that they were able to do all this to this extent was extremely It's amazing,” Alberhusky added.

“It's a pretty unique find, and obviously something I never dreamed of, that no one had set foot on it for 100 years and it's been preserved in such good condition,” Bock said. told the magazine.