Recent Norwegian figure show that the attitude of the Norwegian alcohol monopoly Vinmonopolet towards beer is of vital importance. In January this year they has a special focus on beer, adding a fine range of domestic and imported beers to their range, giving them prominent shelf space and even a writeup in their in store magazine.
With a ban on all advertising of alcohol, this gives results. Sales of beer in Vinmonopolet were up 43 per cent from January last year to January this year, and this trend has continues in February.
These figures are from one of the biggest dailies, Aftenposten, who found this interesting enough to do a two page spread yesterday. Let’s hope this is the beginning of more beer journalism.
The statistics show that the Christmas beers are dominating the market for stronger beers, but if the current trend continues, we will see more craft beer on the list for 2010.
One thing puzzles me: Why does Singha Lager feature so prominently on the list?
They have also included a table once again showing the price differences between Norway and Sweden. I won’t go into that again today.
I have an idea about the popularity of Singha beers in Norway. Many Norwegians have been to Thailand and fell in love with the local beer. Therefore they drink it as a way of reminiscing over their vacations in Thailand.
We must also remember that a lot of Thais have settled in Norway, and of course they would like to drink a beer from their home country.
Maybe that accounts for some bottles, but then I think we would have more excotic lagers on the list. I’ll check with Vinmonopolet if I have some time on my hands.
Good idea, but think about the other lagers available. San Miguel Especial is probably not the favourite beer of the Norwegians travelling to Spain. I believe they would prefer a beer from the Canarian Islands such as Dorada or Tropical. Both are not available at Vinmonopolet.
From the list I can not see any typical holiday beers. Efes is popular in Turkey, but it is not available at Vinmonopolet. The same is to be said about Mythos from Greece.
You can buy Mythos in several Norwegian grocery shops. Don’t think it’s a best seller among the imported beers though…
And Efes pilsner is available, as of this month.
Singha is also great for spicy food which isnt easy to mach with wine. (thats when I drink it)
I love this post But me Im a heineken man myself. great read though.