The brewery consisted of eight large areas, each 20m (65ft) long and each containing about 40 earthenware pots arranged in two rows, according to the secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziry.
A mixture of grains and water used for beer production was heated in the vats, with each basin "held in place by levers made of clay placed vertically in the form of rings", he says.
The brewery "may have been built in this place specifically to supply the royal rituals that were taking place inside the funeral facilities of the kings of Egypt", an Egyptian tourism ministry statement quoted archaeologist and mission co-head Matthew Adams of New York University as saying.
Beer is thought to have been produced on a large scale, with about 22,400 litres (5,000 gallons) made at a time.
"Evidence for the use of beer in sacrificial rites was found during excavations in these facilities," the statement said.
Abydos is one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt and houses vast cemeteries and temples.
The area is in the southern province of Sohag, in Upper Egypt, also home to the city of Luxor, one of the country's most popular tourist sites.