The alcohol retail system in Iceland is quite similar to what you find in Sweden, Finland and Norway, with a state monopoly running the shops. Iceland and Sweden are the strictest, where what you would call everyday beers also have to be sold through these shops.
This is obviously a hassle for the Icelandic beer drinkers, though a casual observation of the Reykjavik street scene on a Saturday evening shows that the teenagers get enough of the cheapest canned drinks there as everywhere else.
For a foreigner on a whistle-stop tour, however, it means that there is one shop within one shopping mall that carries all Icelandic beers.
A bright and airy shop, very similar to Systembolaget stores. Maybe 25 Icelandic beers, half of them from micros, plus imports from Denmark, Germany,, the Netherlands, Belgium.. – the usual suspects. The only exotic among the imports were six beers from the Faroe Islands.
A decent selection for a one time visitor, pretty thin if the alternatives are a few hours away by plane. Inexpensive as long as the Icelandic currency stays at its present level.
How odd to see Moosehead there in the upper left but I suppose there are direct flights from Nova Scotia to Iceland and cargo holds to fill.
There are direct flights to Canada, but they would be to major cities. Back in the days when the planes had shorter range, the Iceland-Nova Scotia flights were probably important.
Iceland is now a popular hub for people travelling between Northern Europea and North America, it much more comfortable if you’re going from, say, Stockholm to Toronto, to transfer at a small airport. An extra opportunity for a stopover in a unique place adds a lot to this, of course.
Moose Head is now the cheapest beer in Iceland I think.. very popular among young people
in which ATVR store was this? shamefull picture of lager swill
It’s the Kringlan store. I did not wasnt to enquire about their photo policy, so the shots were rather hurried.
more to the right would have made a better photo :)
a friend of mine is the wine expert there, should have been no problem taking pics