Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Alcoholic
For some Icelanders, drinking alcohol is not about the taste - getting trollied is the aim of
the game. Particularly in Reykjavík, it's the done thing to go out at the weekend and drink
till you drop.
You must be at least 20 years old to buy beer, wine or spirits, and alcohol is only avail-
able from licensed bars, restaurants and the government-run Vínbúðin liquor stores
( www.vinbudin.is ). There are roughly 50 shops around the country; most towns have one,
and the greater Reykjavík area has about a dozen. In larger places, they usually open from
11am to 6pm Monday to Thursday and on Saturdays, and 11am to 7pm on Fridays (closed
Sundays). In small communities, the Vínbúðin store may only open for an hour or two in
the late afternoon/evening. Expect queues around 5pm on a Friday. The cheapest bottles of
imported wine cost from Ikr1300. Beer costs about a third of what you'll pay in a bar.
Petrol stations and supermarkets sell the weak and watery 2.2% brew known as pilsner,
but most Icelanders would sooner not drink it at all. The main brands of Icelandic beer -
Egils, Gull, Thule and Viking - are all fairly standard lager or pils brews; you can also get
imported beers. In recent years a slew of good local distilleries and breweries have sprung
up all over Iceland, concocting whiskey, vodka and dozens of high-calibre craft beers -
check our cheat sheet for your next bar-room order ( Click here ) . Look out, too, for season-
al beers - the ones brewed for the Christmas period are especially popular.
Reports of astronomical prices for boozing in Iceland are not altogether true - a pint of
beer in a bar costs around Ikr800 to Ikr1200. In Reykjavík, many venues have early-even-
ing happy hours that cut costs to between Ikr500 and Ikr700 per beer. Download the smart-
phone Reykjavík Appy Hour app to gladden your drinking budget.
The traditional Icelandic alcoholic brew is brennivín (literally 'burnt wine'), a potent
schnapps made from fermented potatoes and flavoured with caraway seeds. It has the fore-
boding nickname svarti dauði (black death) and it's essential drinking if you're trying any
tasty tidbits with a þorramatur flavour.
Beer Day (1 March) dates back to the glorious day in 1989 when beer was legalised in
Iceland (it was illegal for most of the 20th century). As you'd expect, Reykjavík's clubs and
bars get particularly wild.
 
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