Anniversary of beer legalisation in Iceland today
Skál! (English: Cheers!) Photo: Iceland Monitor/Brynjar Gauti
On 1 March in 1989 the sale of beer was permitted in Iceland. Until that day, beer had been illegal since 1915. In the beer-ban years Icelanders went different ways to make up for not being able to drink beer. Some drank more strong liquor like the Icelandic Brennivín, landi (Icelandic moonshine) or vodka. Another “popular” drink was bjórlíki, a mix of strong alcohol and light beer (2.25% alcohol and under).
In 28 years beer culture in Iceland has changed by leaps and bounds. Icelanders have thouroghly participated in the wave of craft beer popularity, with god knows how many craft breweries and bars.
Some Icelanders have the custom of drinking one or two beers to celebrate the beer anniversary and many bars have a special celebration tonight with offers on beer and more.
