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A bottle of Finnish Olvi-beer

Finland has a long history of beer dating back to the Middle Ages. The first brewery in Finland and Nordic countries was Sinebrychoff, founded in 1819. "Suomalaisen oluen päivä", or the Finnish Beer Day is celebrated on the 13th of October to commemorate the founding of Oy Sinebrychoff Ab and the birth of Finnish beer. The largest Finnish brewers are Hartwall, Olvi and Sinebrychoff. Most of the beers brewed in Finland are pale lagers. Finland's standing is 9th in per capita consumption of beer. Finnish people consume a total of 437 ML of beer annually and the trend is increasing by 11.7 633 mL bottles year-on-year per capita.^[1]

[edit] Sahti

Main article: Sahti

Sahti is a traditional Finnish beer, which contains some oats, has a distinct banana flavor, and was traditionally made at home. It was often praised in the writings of the beer connoisseur Michael Jackson. Although less common, it is still served at weddings and other special occasions.

[edit] Finnish beer tax-classes

Beer was classified into tax classes by law in Finland until the year 1995 when Finland joined the European Union. After joining EU the law was reformed so that the tax is set directly by the percentage of alcohol by volume contained in the product: with 0.5-2.8% beers €0.02/cl of alcohol, with beers over 2.8% €0.214/cl.^[2] However, the old classifications are still voluntarily used widely and the old tax classes are still often marked on the products and advertisements.

	percentage by volume	sold in restaurants	sold in stores	notes
I-beer	0.0% - 2.8%	yes	yes	doesn't require a license
II-beer	2.8% – 3.7%	yes	yes	not usually used in Finland, however, it is used in Sweden
III-beer	3.7% - 4.7%	yes	yes	known as "keskiolut", "kolmosolut" or "kolmonen", the most popular class of beer in Finland
IVA-beer	4.8% - 5.2%	yes	no	steep taxation before the 1995 reform, usually sold as Export-beers
IVB-beer	5.2% - 8.0%	yes	no	steep taxation before the 1995 reform, usually sold as Export-beers

[edit] Prohibition

Main article: Prohibition in Finland

Prohibition started in Finland on the 1st of June 1919 and lasted nearly 13 years, during which the production, import, sales, transportation and storage of alcohol products was only allowed for medicinal, scientific, and technical purposes. A referendum on the continuation of prohibition was held starting on the 29th and closing on the 30th of December 1931. The referendum closed with a 70% majority and resulted in the end of prohibition on the 5th of April 1932 at 10:00 when the new state-owned alcohol retail stores opened their doors to customers.

[edit] Finnish breweries

Auran panimo
Bock
C. A. Robsahmin Portteripanimo (sold in 1895)
Finlandia Sahti
Hartwall (Karjala)
- Lapin Kulta (owned by Hartwall)
Keudan panimo
Koskipanimo
Kotkan Höyrypanimo
Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas (Kukko)
Lammin Sahti
Mallaskoski (KUOHU, HÄJY, KOMIA, MAKIA)
Malmgårdin Panimo
Nokian Panimo (Keisari, Året Runt)
Olvi (Olvi, Sandels)
Palvasalmi (bankrupt)
Saimaan Olut (SAIMAA, MARSALKKA, ROKRAMMI, LUOSTARI)
Sinebrychoff (Karhu, Koff)
- Porin panimo (owned by Sinebrychoff)
Stadin Panimo
Suomenlinnan Panimo
Vakka-Suomen Panimo
Ålands Bryggeri (Stallhagen)

[edit] Finnish brewery restaurants

[edit] Most important Finnish beers

[edit] Annual Finnish beer events

Helsinki Beer Festival (held since 1997)
Isojano-tapahtuma (held since 1993)
Olutfestivaalit (held since 1990)
Sahdinvalmistuksen SM-kisat (Finnish sahti brewing championships, held since 1992)
Suomalaiset sahtipäivät (held since 1995)
Suuret oluet – pienet panimot (held since 2003)

[edit] See also

Sahti, traditional Finnish beer

[edit] References

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[0] List of countries by beer consumption per capita

[1] ttp://www.viisitahtea.fi/content/view/2724/149/

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