The Amber Tsunami
The day London was drowned by a wave of beer
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Beschreibung
The tragic true story of 1814, when a brewery vat burst and sent a 15-foot wave of beer crashing through the slums of London.
"The Amber Tsunami – The day London was drowned by a wave of beer" recounts the London Beer Flood of 1814. At the Meux & Co's Horse Shoe Brewery, a massive iron hoop on a fermentation vat snapped. The vat burst, releasing 1.4 million liters (320,000 gallons) of porter ale. The force was so great it smashed through the brewery walls.
Historian Thomas Brew details the tragedy in the St. Giles rookery (slum) behind the brewery. The 15-foot wave of beer destroyed two houses and killed eight people, mostly women and children attending a wake in a basement.
"The Amber Tsunami" explores the legal aftermath, where the disaster was ruled an "Act of God," leaving the victims without compensation. It is a grim reminder of the lack of regulation in the industrial age, where even a brewery could become a source of mass destruction.
Autor*in
Thomas Brew
Author
Themen in »The Amber Tsunami«
London Beer Flood 1814 Industrial Disaster St Giles Poverty History Tragedy