VERNON, BC – The Globe & Mail, CTV News and the Vernon Morning Star have reported that a fermentation tank exploded yesterday afternoon at the Okanagan Spring Brewery in Vernon.
It’s speculated that a small crack in the tank combined with a build up of carbon dioxide may have caused the accident, which saw over 32 thousand litres of beer lost. The force of the explosion blew through an aluminum loading door, and much of the beer escaped into the adjoining parking lot and road where a rainstorm washed most of it into the sewers.
Aside from one minor hand injury, no one was seriously injured in the incident, which also shattered several hundred bottles inside the plant.
While the articles don’t mention the brand of beer being brewed at the time, it’s noted as being “cream beer”, so it was likely a batch of Sleeman Cream Ale which is brewed at the Okanagan Spring facility for distribution in western Canada.