It seems incredible, but for well 74 yearsfrom 1915 to 1989, in Iceland It was forbidden to drink beer. In the distant 1908, in fact, a popular referendum (with 60% of the votes) had been approved in the Scandinavian country) which actually prohibited all alcoholic beverages, which entered the January 1, 1915. There were two reasons to ban the alcohol: the first era of a purely nature moral (it was thought that it was not appropriate to get drunk) and the second was linked to the desire to become independent compared to Denmark (which dominated Iceland for more than 500 years, from 1380 to 1944), with which the beer was culturally associated.
In the 1922however, the ban was partially revoked following Commercial pressures from Spainwho threatened to interrupt the import of the salted cod Icelandic if Iceland had not purchased their wines. So the Icelandic economy at the time was particularly dependent on the Iberian continent, could not give up this important commercial partner, and so the Icelanders managed to pull a “sip” of relief … and wine!
After this first weakening of the ban, in 1935 There was a vote in Parliament and it was decided to legalize the spirits, however maintaining a ban on beer with more than 2.25% of alcohol. Being cheaper and easy to consume, it was thought that it could favor a Increase in alcoholism and of behavior “dissolution“. Despite the ban, the Icelanders found “creative” ways to circumvent itlike smuggling and domestic production. Among the many ideas that came to the Icelandic, some mixed very light (allowed) beers with strong alcohol to obtain drinks as similar as traditional beer.
In the 70s and 80s, with the increase in Travel abroadthe Icelanders familiarized more and more with the culture of European pubs, feeding the desire to legalize beer. In 1988, finally, the Icelandic Parliament approved the legalization of beerwhich became effective the 1 March 1989.
Since then, on that day the country celebrates the Bjórdagurthat is the “Beer day“, with numerous clubs in the capital Reykjavík remaining open until late at night to celebrate the end of the prohibition. Do you think that today the beer is the Most popular alcoholic drink in Icelandand that there are several around the country craft breweries that offer a wide range of local beers.
