A beer recipe roughly 5,000 years old has been uncovered in China — and researchers call the finding “surprising” because it means people there were importing a critical ingredient from thousands of miles away.

A team of archaeologists from Stanford University, Brigham Young University and two Chinese institutions discovered a cache of ancient brewing equipment — including jugs, pots and funnels — containing remnants of mashed grains and other starches.

The researchers, who were working at the Mijiaya dig site, say their analysis reveals “a surprising beer recipe” containing a grain called broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), another grain called Job’s tears or Chinese pearl barley (Coix lacrymajobi), and some sort of tuber.

The “recipe” they compiled came from the analysis of those grain residues on the interiors of the vessels. Scholars say the evidence points to a culture that understood advanced brewing techniques that are very similar to modern methods.

“All indications are that ancient peoples, including those at Mijiaya, applied the same principles and techniques as brewers do today,” said Patrick McGovern, an archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania, who was not involved with the research.

The earliest references to beer in Chinese literature do not pop up until […]