a cheer for beer!

This afternoon in the midst of various other conversations, co-worker K (of music video fame) informed me that yesterday was the anniversary of the legalization of beer in Iceland. The stuff was illegal here until 1989 when everyone got slightly more sensible and stopped thinking it was the poison of the divvil. Since then, they've come up with various potions, none of which compare to the beverage you can find even in the airport in Germany, although things are moving in the right direction now that Iceland's first microbrewery opened up north last year. These people seem to be so focused on the beer that they've forgotten to make a website, but if you're ever up north, order a Kaldi.

K said that back when beer was illegal, it was still allowed on the opposite side of the airport check-in, so once you'd gone through passport control, you could pick up a cold one to enjoy pre-flight (perhaps this is why Icelandair still trumpets about the business class passengers enjoying their pre-flight drink?). I think this habit dies hard, since every time I've been flying out of KEF on an early morning flight (read: 7 am) the bar has always been well-attended by Icelanders. Not my idea of a morning beverage, but apparently it's just their cuppa tea.