Early 19th century London was a dangerous, dirty, dingy place with tons of poverty and a lot of drinking. Alcoholism was common and excessive drinking, especially amongst lower-income people in London, was the norm, not the exception. All of that alcohol had to be produced, which meant lots of breweries and lots of beer. All of these trends came crashing home on the day of October 17, 1814, in one horrific disaster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices