Can you buy beer in Iceland?

On 1 March 1989 Icelanders were at last allowed to buy beer in Iceland. There has been a rise of micro-breweries and craft beers in Iceland in recent years and that has led to a newfound passion among many Icelanders, with craft pubs on every corner and a very good selection of beer.

How do Icelanders make their own beer?

Icelanders have always been quite ingenious and rebellious. So they figured out a way to make their own kind of beer from a low alcohol beer (beers up to 2.25% strength were allowed) and a shot of the Icelandic schnapps Brennivin, which is distilled from fermented grain mash and then combined with water, and flavored only with caraway.

Why was beer banned in Iceland?

Historians also say that the reason for the ban could be, that for a long time alcohol was frowned upon in Iceland, and beer especially, for political reasons. When full prohibition became law, Iceland was engaged in a struggle for independence from Denmark, and beer was strongly associated with Danish lifestyles in the opinion of Icelanders.

How did the climate affect beer production in Iceland?

The climate of Iceland (particularly the cooling trend of the Little Ice Age, c. 1300–1850 locally) may have made beer production difficult as it became impossible to produce barley domestically. By the early 20th century, Icelandic attitudes toward beer and alcohol had shifted.