The London Beer Flood

October 17, 1814 - At around 5:30 in the evening at the Horse Shoe Brewery in Central London, a 22-foot wooden of fermenting porter burst. Over 150,000 gallons of beer poured into the surrounding area known as the rookery. 8 people were killed, including 5 mourners at an Irish wake.

Nobody was ever charged with any crimes in the aftermath of the disaster, but it did help hasten the phasing out of wooden vats in industrial breweries.