:: Monday, November 22, 2004 ::

Rite of Passage

On Friday I finally took part in that oh-so-Swedish weekend activity known as going to Systembolaget. Yes, after almost 3 months here, I finally made it to the state-run liquor store. To those of you in places like Virginia, that might not seem so strange, what with Virginia state ABC stores. But here in Sweden, Systembolaget is run by the national government, and unlike in Virginia, you can't even get beer or wine in grocery or convenience stores. (Actually, you can get beer at grocery stores, but it's called "light beer," as in so light on alcohol [2-3%] as to barely be beer at all.) So if one wants "real" beer, or wine, or liquor, one goes to Systembolaget. In this way, the Swedish government can impose high taxes on alcohol as well as try to control the amount of alcohol imbibed by Swedish citizens. Does it work? Well, they do "stigmatize" patrons of Systembolaget by putting your alcohol in a horrendously ugly green bag that brands you to all who see it as a drunkard and a lush. But judging by the numbers of people one sees with the aforementioned green bags (particularly among the university students in Britsen), I would have to say most people dont seem that affected.

For my part, I ended up buying some wine with some friends so we could have hot spiced wine that night before going out, some "real" beer for myself, as well as that delicious Swedish yule-time drink, glögg. Like beer, glögg is available at grocery stores, though at 2.2% (barely alcoholic). Systembolaget carries both 10% and 15% glögg. I decided to take the middle road, and went with 10%. Of course, as I was drinking with my friends, I got to taste very little of it, so I suppose I'll be returning to Systembolaget in the not-too-distant future. Mmmmmmmm, glöööögg...

Swedish word of the day: öl, which means "beer"

:: posted by Rob 3:42 PM [+] ::

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