{"id":61,"date":"2009-03-08T16:10:52","date_gmt":"2009-03-08T20:10:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=61"},"modified":"2009-03-08T16:10:52","modified_gmt":"2009-03-08T20:10:52","slug":"alkohol-norway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/alkohol-norway\/","title":{"rendered":"Alkohol & Norway"},"content":{"rendered":"

In all Scandinavian countries except for Denmark, alcohol monopolies control the sale and consumption of alcohol.\u00a0 Sweden was the first of these countries to institute governmental control of alcohol in 1850, followed by Norway in 1922.\u00a0 Norway’s alcohol monopoly is called Vinmonopolet <\/strong>or Polet <\/strong>for short\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (literally “wine monolpoly,” which can be misleading because it carries hard liquor and strong beer as well).\u00a0 One can purchase weaker beer at supermarkets.\u00a0 Any alcohol with a higher alochol content than 4.7% must be purchased at Vinmonopolet.\u00a0 <\/strong>Until 1999, alcohol purchases at Polet <\/strong>were required to be over the counter purchases, meaning that you had to tell the salesperon what you wanted and they would retrieve it for you.\u00a0 Since 1999, customers can physically choose what they want to purchase and bring it up to the counter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are very specific hours of business for Vinmonopolet <\/strong>and for beer purchases at supermarkets as well.\u00a0 They open mid-morning and close at 6 pm on the weekdays and 3 pm on Saturdays, with no service on Sundays.\u00a0 If you have read one of my earlier posts, you will recall that business in the whole country basically shuts down on Sundays.\u00a0 The hours for buying beer in supermarkets follow the hours of sale of harder booze at Vinmonopolet.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

One must be 18 years or older to purchase beer, but cannot purchase any alcohol with more than 22 % alcohol content until they are 20 or older.\u00a0 As in the U.S., some bars are stricter than others and everyone always knows someone that is of age, so of course teenagers\u00a0often engage in alcohol consumption as well.\u00a0 In the mid and northfern parts of the country, hjemmebrent <\/strong>or heimebrent <\/strong>(moonshine, the illegal product of distilling one’s own liquor)\u00a0alcohol\u00a0is popular.\u00a0 A very popular drink is called karsk, <\/strong>which consists of strong coffee, home-made liquor (usually vodka) and a spoonfull of sugar.\u00a0 It really tastes strange, but it can be\u00a0enjoyable from time to time.\u00a0 When I was up in northern Norway I had this a couple times and it was something fun and different to drink.\u00a0 Sometimes people mix vodka with flavored hot tea, which I must say did not taste very good.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While hard liquor is very heavily consumed in Norway, beer is the drink of choice for most people.\u00a0 Wine is becoming more and more popular, but since the Norwegian climate does not accomodate vineyards, the sales have typically been lower than beer.\u00a0 There are 18 breweries in Norway and the most popular kind of beer consumed in Norway is pilsner (probably because the alcohol content is lower and thus more available at supermarkets);\u00a0the\u00a0majority\u00a0of beer produced in Norway is pilsner.\u00a0 Norwegians do not drink a lot of imported beer.\u00a0 It was interesting to me to see Norwegians get really excited about Budweiser.\u00a0 It’s a classic American beer and that’s why they like it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I cannot forget the most well-known Norwegian liquor akevitt <\/strong>(aquavit) which I have mentioned several times now in previous posts.\u00a0 I do not enjoy most hard liquors, but I do enjoy akevitt.\u00a0 <\/strong>If you are of legal age and haven’t tried akevitt, <\/strong>I suggest you do.\u00a0 It has a very unique flavor.\u00a0 Tell me what you think!\u00a0 Do not drink it on an empty stomach.\u00a0 It is most enjoyable in small quanitites after a large meal (such as Christmas).\u00a0 I just got my hands on some venison steaks, so I plan to follow a Norwegian recipe that calls for akevitt, geitost,<\/strong> lingonberries and juniper berries (Scandinavian berries) in the sauce.\u00a0 I’ll let you know how it turns out!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In all Scandinavian countries except for Denmark, alcohol monopolies control the sale and consumption of alcohol.\u00a0 Sweden was the first of these countries to institute governmental control of alcohol in 1850, followed by Norway in 1922.\u00a0 Norway’s alcohol monopoly is called Vinmonopolet or Polet for short\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (literally “wine monolpoly,” which can be misleading because it…<\/p>\n

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