In London, this flood came neither from the rain nor from the Thames.

A supply of beer seems to belong to the quiet interior of a brewery. But the size of the facilities changes the nature of the risk. In 1814, a huge vat in the Horseshoe Brewery, located in London, broke and released a torrent of liquid.

The London Museum reports that this flood is causing nearby buildings to collapse and kill eight people. The name often used, Great Beer Flood, can seem comical if we stop at the contents of the tank. The consequences belong entirely to the history of industrial accidents.

The brewery continued its activity after the disaster. This detail prevents us from closing the story as a simple extravagant curiosity: behind the familiar product were volumes, buildings and inhabitants on display. The surprise is not only that beer has invaded a street. It is that a liquid associated with conviviality could become a destructive force.