# Beer banned in Iceland until 1989? Why?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-banned-in-iceland-until-1989-why/361661>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 22, 2006, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-banned-in-iceland-until-1989-why/361661 "2006-06-22T02:09:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-banned-in-iceland-until-1989-why/361661/1 "2006-06-22T02:09:35Z")

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I just read on Wikipedia that beer was banned in Iceland unti 1989. Why is this? Particularly since cold countries traditionally drink alot of alcohol, I can’t see why Iceland would ban beer. Was liquor also banned?

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**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-banned-in-iceland-until-1989-why/361661/2 "2006-06-22T02:17:18Z")

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Hard liquor was legal. It was used to spike non-alcoholic beer.

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-banned-in-iceland-until-1989-why/361661/3 "2006-06-22T02:21:34Z")

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> [@Argent Towers](#):
>
> Beer banned in Iceland until 1989? Why?

You may find this recent thread helpful:  
[Icelandic beer prohibition, 1922 - 1989: Why just beer?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=362698&highlight=Iceland)

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**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-banned-in-iceland-until-1989-why/361661/4 "2006-06-22T02:30:32Z")

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Looks as if beer that contained more than 2% alcohol was illegal, until shots of aquavit (which will warm you from head to toe) were being added to light beer. Then the law was amended.

FL has some funny laws like that too. Samuel Adams’ TripleBoch isn’t for sale here, I think due to the bottle size vs. alcohol % ratio.

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**Author:** ![Spezza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-banned-in-iceland-until-1989-why/361661/5 "2006-06-22T02:33:52Z")

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In an effort to curb drinking the sale of alcohol in Iceland is heavily taxed. I was paying around $10 a beer in certain bars there. It was curious, I noticed, that although everything on the island is ridiculously expensive coffee is _cheeeap_; I could get an entire pot of coffee for $2. I found out later the sale of coffee is subsidized, again in an effort to curb drinking.