Imagine coming out from work on a Friday evening, and not being able to drink a nice and cold beer. Well, this happened in Iceland during the 20th Century, after approving the prohibition law in 1915 banning all alcoholic beverages to be brewed and sold in the country.
After a new referendum and 74 years of prohibition, on March 1 of 1989 beer could be legally brewed and sold again in Iceland. They decided to allow low alcohol beer with 2.25%. But of course, they needed something stronger, so a lot of bars started serving the beer with a little bit of vodka. Pretty good idea, right?
The beer has always been part of the Icelandic drinks since the Vikings came to settle. And while the laws where prohibiting alcohol consumption, some people were smart and the local breweries start emerging again — a lot of them. Thanks to the pure water in Iceland, the beer tastes delicious, but of course, every brewery and brand has its own signature methods and flavors. We can see that when Iceland ranked as the 20th country with a consumption rate of 75 liters per capita (2016).