Beer in Finland facts for kids

Finland has a long history with beer, going all the way back to the Middle Ages. The oldest brewery in Finland, and even in the Nordic countries, is Sinebrychoff. It was started in 1819.

Every year on October 13th, people celebrate Finnish Beer Day (Finnish: Suomalaisen oluen päivä). This day remembers when the Sinebrychoff brewery was founded, marking the start of modern Finnish beer making. The biggest Finnish breweries today are Hartwall, Olvi, and Sinebrychoff. Most of the beer made in Finland is a type called pale lager. Finnish people drink a lot of beer, ranking 9th in the world for how much beer each person drinks.

What is Sahti?

Finlandia sahti.

Sahti is a very old and special Finnish drink, like a traditional farmhouse ale. It's usually made with rye and barley grains, but sometimes also oats. To filter it, people traditionally use straw or juniper twigs.

Modern Sahti often tastes a bit like banana. This comes from the special bread yeast used to make it. A famous beer expert named Michael Jackson often praised Sahti in his writings. Even though it's not as common today, Sahti is still served at special events like weddings. You can also find it from a few companies that make it for sale.

How Beer is Sold in Finland

In Finland, how much alcohol is in a drink affects where you can buy it. Beers with a low alcohol content (up to 5.5%) can be bought in regular stores, like supermarkets.

However, if a beer has an alcohol content of 5.6% or higher, you can only buy it from special state-owned stores called Alko. You can also buy stronger beers in bars and restaurants that have a special license. Another place to find them is in tax free shops on Baltic Sea cruiseferries. These shops can only sell when the ships are in international waters or visiting the Åland Islands, which have special rules.

Finnish Beer Companies

Finland's beer market has some big international players, but also many local ones. The Carlsberg Group owns the Finnish brewery Sinebrychoff, which makes popular brands like Koff and Karhu. Another big company is Heineken International, which owns the Hartwall brewery. Hartwall makes well-known Finnish beers like Lapin Kulta and Karjala.

Olvi is the largest brewery that is fully owned by Finns. Besides these big names, Finland also has many smaller, local breweries called microbreweries. Most of these smaller breweries started after 1985. As of 2017, there were 85 microbreweries in Finland! These craft breweries are even allowed to sell their products directly to customers.

Some of the most popular Finnish beer brands you might see are:

• Karhu
• Karjala
• Koff
• Lapin Kulta
• Olvi
• Sandels
• Kukko

Prohibition in Finland

Finland once had a time called Prohibition. This started on June 1, 1919, and lasted for almost 13 years. During this time, it was mostly against the law to make, bring in, sell, move, or store alcohol. Alcohol was only allowed for things like medicine, science, or technical uses.

People voted on whether to continue Prohibition in December 1931. Most people (70%) voted against the law. Because of this, Prohibition ended on April 5, 1932, at 10:00 AM. That's when the new state-owned alcohol stores opened their doors for the first time.

Finnish Beer Events

Finland has several events each year that celebrate beer. One of the biggest is the Helsinki Beer Festival, which has been held since 1997. There are also championships for making traditional Finnish sahti (Sahdinvalmistuksen SM-kisat), which have been held since 1992. These events are a chance for people to try different beers and learn about Finnish brewing traditions.

Images for kids

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  Two Finnish microbrewery beer bottles

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  Sinebrybrychoff Brewery in Kerava

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  Kukko Lager beer