The beer classification in Sweden and Finland sorts

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

s into classes based on their alcohol content. The classes vary slightly between the two countries.

Finland

While previously enforced by law, the beer class legislation was repealed in 1995 with the accession of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

into the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

and the consequent harmonization of tax law, and is now merely kept as a convention. However, drinks containing under 2.8% alcohol (Class ''I'') are still favorably taxed, and the retail sale of any drinks containing more than 5.5% alcohol is still limited to state retailer

Alko Alko Inc is the national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly in Finland. It is the only store in the country which retails beer over 5.5% ABV, wine (except in vineyards) and spirits. Alcoholic beverages are also sold in licensed restaurant ...

. Even though the slang word ''pilsneri'' for low-alcohol beer comes from the

pilsner Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the Bohemian city of Plzeň (german: Pilsen), where the world's first pale lager (now known as Pilsner Urquell) was produced in 1842 by Pilsner Urquell Bre ...

style of beer, in practice the slang word is used for any style of low-alcohol beer, not just pilsners.''MOT Kielitoimiston sanakirja 2.0''. Search terms ''pilsneri'' and ''ykkösolut''. Research centre for domestic languages and Kielikone Oy, 2007.

Sweden

Only classes ''I'' and ''II'' can be purchased in supermarkets, while class ''III'' can only be purchased in restaurants licensed to do so, and the state shops Systembolaget. Class ''II'' beer is loosely divided into two sub-groups, light "Folköl" ("people's beer") with a maximum ABV of 2.8% and normal "Folköl", with a maximum ABV of 3.5%. An alcohol content of 2.8% and below is not subject to specific, higher, alcohol taxes, but only to VAT (12%) as any other food or non-alcoholic drink. Class ''III'' beer is also, unofficially, divided into two sub-groups, "Mellanöl" ("in-between beer"), with ABV between 3.6% and 4.5%, and normal "strong beer" with ABV above 4.5%. There is no real maximum amount of how much alcohol Class ''III'' beer may contain, and amounts of 10%+ are common. Mellanöl used to be available in supermarkets between October 1, 1965 and July 1, 1977, but was removed from the supermarkets due to heavy consumption by Swedish teenagers. Today "Mellanöl" does not exist as a class of its own, but "Mellanöl style beer" is available at Systembolaget. Before 1997,

alcohol by weight Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

was used, and then the limit for shops was 2.8%, same as 3.5% alcohol by volume, which was a source of confusion.

References

{{Authority control Law of Sweden Law of Finland Alcohol in Finland Alcohol in Sweden *

Finland

Sweden

See also

References