It was an accident at Meux & Co’s Horse Shoe Brewery on 17 October 1814.
One wooden vat of fermenting porter burst. The escaping liquid destroyed several large barrels and 1.5 million liters were released.
8 people were killed, 2 houses were destroyed and another 2 had major damages. The brewery nearly bankrupted.
After this event, the brewing industry gradually stopped using large wooden vats.
[Source: en.wikipedia.org]
