Beer in Iceland
Beer in Iceland likely dates back to the island's settlement by Norsemen. In more modern history beer was effectively banned in Iceland for most of the 20th century. Since that ban was lifted in 1989, Iceland's consumption of beer has increased markedly and new breweries have begun to emerge. Early history Iceland's early settlers came from cultures where drinking beer and mead was commonplace. Poems such as the reference the drinking of ale (). The climate of Iceland (particularly the cooling trend of the Little Ice Age, 1300–1850 locally) may have made beer production difficult as it became impossible to produce barley domestically. Prohibition By the early 20th century, Icelandic attitudes toward beer and alcohol had shifted. A temperance movement similar to that in other countries pushed for a ban on moral grounds. In Iceland there was a political aspect to the movement as well: as the Icelandic independence movement began to form, beer was often associated with Denmark and thus "not the patriotic drink of choice." In a 1908 referendum, 60.1% of voters approved a complete ban on alcohol set to take effect on January 1, 1915. This ban was partially lifted in 1921 in response to a trade