Iceland review - 2012, Qupperneq 66

64 ICELAND REVIEW
SkáL!
Heavy applause.  The Icelandic
brewers rise from their seats.
“There must be some mistake
here!” the Germans cry.  How can this
be?  The Icelanders enter the stage.  They
have just been awarded the grand prize for
the best German pilsner at the World Beer
Cup 2012. Bravo!
tHe ReCeNt HIStoRY of beeR
IN ICelAND
To understand beer culture in Iceland, we
must first look at some history. 
Alcohol was prohibited in Iceland in 1915.
The Spaniards didn’t like that and refused to
buy Icelandic fish unless Icelanders bought
Spanish wines. So, in 1921 the ban was
partially lifted—and lifted further in 1935
following a national referendum. Beer was
excluded from the vote because of pres-
sure from the temperance lobbyists, which
argued that because beer is cheaper than
spirits, it would lead to more depravity.
The ban on beer was abolished in 1989,
following a debate in parliament. It was tele-
vised live and Icelanders held their breath
as the politicians clawed at each other. The
opposing side preached heavily against open-
ing what they considered a Pandora’s box. 
“People will start drinking while work-
ing,” argued the Minister of Finance at the
time (and the current president of Iceland),
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson.  Fortunately, he
was wrong.
Now, more than twenty years later, it seems
absurd that beer was banned. What were they
thinking?

tHe bIRtH of ICelANDIC MICRo
bReweRIeS
It started in late 2005. Following a news
report on a Danish micro brewery, the
couple Ólafur Þröstur Ólafsson and Agnes
Sigurðardóttir decided to get into the busi-
ness. A week later, they were in Denmark
learning the tricks of the trade. And within
a year, they had purchased all the necessary
equipment from the Czech Republic and
founded a brewery they called Bruggsmiðjan
at Árskógsströnd, a tiny North Icelandic vil-
lage.
Ölvisholt was next in line, its owners
transforming a farm into a brewery. They
got one of Iceland’s foremost brewers, Valgeir
Valgeirsson, to build the brand with a simple
order: Make quality beer. Needless to say, the
mission was accomplished. 
Other noticeable Icelandic micro brew-
eries are Borg and Gæðingur.  The latter
one opened a bar recently in the heart of
Reykjavík that sells only beers from micro
breweries. To nobody’s surprise, it is called
Micro-bar. In less than two months, it has
built a reputation for being the city’s best
beer-oriented bar.
Cheers! Or Skál! as we
have been saying since
the Viking Age. For most
of the 20th century, beer
was banned in Iceland but
the last five years have seen
a micro-brewery revolution,
resulting in world-class, award-
winning beer brands. Jóhannes
Benediktsson takes a sip.
Photos By PÁll stefÁnsson