Systembolaget

The Swedish beer scene is commonly thought as a folköl-nightmare, a Pripps Blå-fuelled realm of mediocrity.

But like so many things in life, things are very much deceiving.

It’s true that the beer in stores is kept low in ABV, but the selection is wide nonetheless. The eight million inhabitants with quite large purchasing power do attract foreign breweries to experiment with lower voltage products.

But where the Swedish selection really shines is their take on the domestic alcohol monopoly. Systembolaget introduces more beers in good months than the finnish equivalent achieves in a year. And the choice is indeed massive – small breweries and small batches are well represented.

We spent a good half an hour in the swedish flagship store, the Systembolaget on Regeringsgatan. Where the “spoilt for choice” was not an exaggeration. It really took some time to fill up a shopping basket with a good cross-section of the wares. The image above is just a glimpse into the beer section, I was too awed and forgot to utilize the panorama-feature of the iPhone camera.

I had purchased five Jetbags from Amazon for safe transport in a suitcase, and a bagful of bubblewrap to take care of a couple of additional bottles. Ended up with eleven bottles and nine cans (whose survival in the hands of luggage handlers did not worry much).

Turns out the bags and wraps worked wonders, and the Norwegian handlers were gentle enough with the suitcases so that all of them arrived home safely.

FI: Ruotsissa kaikki on isompaa. Myös olutvalikoima. Kuplamuovin voimalla uskaltaa ruumaan meneviin laukkuihin punkea litrakaupalla pulloja.