The Great London Beer Flood Of 1814: When London Couldn't Hold Its Liquor

In 1814, London saw the 'Great Beer Flood' when a brewery tank ruptured, releasing thousands of gallons of porter onto the streets.

An AI imagination of the Great London Beer Flood Of 1814.

Source : ABPLIVE AI

On a fateful October day in 1814, London experienced a disaster that would forever be etched in the annals of bizarre history — the Great London Beer Flood. Forget the Thames; this deluge was all about porter, a type of beer brewed first in London, and it came with the force of a drunken tidal wave.

The London Beer Flood: The Brewing Disaster

It all began at the Meux & Co Horse Shoe Brewery, located at a bustling corner of Tottenham Court Road in London. On October 17, around 4:30 PM, one of the brewery's massive wooden fermentation tanks — towering at 22 feet and packed with over 3,500 barrels of fermenting porter — decided it had had enough. One of the iron rings holding it together snapped, leading to a catastrophic chain reaction that would unleash between 128,000 and 323,000 gallons (4.85 lakh - 12.2 lakh litres) of beer onto the unsuspecting streets of St Giles Rookery, a densely populated London slum.

As the tank ruptured, it blasted through walls and dislodged valves on neighbouring vats, creating a veritable tsunami of alcohol. Within minutes, a 15-foot wave of beer surged through the streets, sweeping away everything in its path. Houses were flattened, and eight lives were lost in this frothy chaos.

London Beer Flood And 'Free Beer'

The aftermath was nothing short of surreal. As locals rushed to scoop up the "free beer" flooding their streets, some even resorted to drinking it straight from the ground. Reports later emerged of a ninth victim succumbing to alcohol poisoning days after the event — a grim reminder that not all floods are created equal.

The odour of beer hung in the air for months together, reminding people of the tragedy.

In a particularly macabre twist, a few more fatalities occurred some days later when a floor collapsed. It's unclear still what was happening that particular day, but either the relatives of a deceased were exhibiting the corpse for money or an Irish wake was taking place — plunging visitors waist-deep into a beer-soaked cellar. Talk about drowning your sorrows!

London Beer Flood An 'Act Of God'

Meux & Co Horse Shoe Brewery faced legal battles over the incident, but was let go after it was declared an 'act of God'. Nevertheless, the company suffered losses of around £23000 (nearly £1.25 million today), taking the company to the brink of bankruptcy. However, Meux & Co Horse Shoe Brewery was able to save itself by reclaiming the excise duty paid on the beer.It also got a hefty compensation for the barrels of beer lost.

While the flood caused significant destruction and loss of life, it also left an indelible mark on London's brewing practices. The incident prompted an overhaul in safety regulations for breweries — goodbye to wooden fermentation casks and hello to more reliable materials, such as concrete vats.

This bizarre disaster became a source of humour and inspiration in art and literature. It served as a reminder that even amidst chaos, there’s room for laughter — after all, who wouldn’t chuckle at the thought of a city literally 'drowning in beer'?

So next time you enjoy a pint in the city, raise your glass to those who survived the sudsy tsunami of 1814.