When the news reached BeerSweden this weekend that the government had finally said no to the possibility of gårdsförsäljning I decided to break one of my ground rules on this blog.
Mixing beer with politics.
In my experience the two things never go well together, unless you get a politician in a bar, in which case it’s absolutely no problem whatsoever.
If you listen to some people this is what Sweden would look like if gårdsförsäljning were to be allowed.
But ask for a quote or wave a camera in their general direction and it seems, publicly at least, alcohol (and of course this blog’s primary concern beer) is not something many politicians seem comfortable dealing with.
Indeed many of them would rather take up thornier issues like immigration, the death penalty or selling Skåne to Denmark rather than rationally discuss the stuff.
As long as I’ve been involved in the drinks industry my understanding of politicians is that they approach alcohol on two broad fronts. They either want to tax it to death or restrict the supply of it. In several countries they like to do both.
So the Swedish government’s decision in the past couple of days to reject the possibility for local breweries (as well as wine, cider and spirit producers) to sell their products from their own premises was not entirely unexpected.
That doesn’t make it any less depressing or me any less angry.
As I understand it one of the biggest reasons behind the government’s decision to reject gårdsförsäljning is that it would pose a threat to the Swedish alcohol monopoly.
Really? Would, for example, Eskilstuna Ölkultur, with an annual volume of circa 60,000L really contribute to the collapse of the Systembolaget if it were allowed to sell a few cases of its beers to visitors?
Ahh I hear some of you say. “How many is a few cases?” And it’s here the politicians and anti-alcohol lobbyists swing into action, hinting at the prospect of a weak-willed Swedish society in the grip of an alcoholic Armageddon in which articulated lorries pull up every day to breweries in rural locations and fill themselves to bursting point with booze which is then sold cheaply in playgrounds and broken homes across the country.
I see things another way.
Allowing local breweries the opportunity to sell their beers directly to the public from their own premises would be a welcome additional income that would help stimulate the grassroots of this country’s beer industry.
In reality I doubt many of the smaller breweries would ever take up the opportunity to sell direct from their doorstep. After all the potential rewards are small and the extra staff hours and administration it requires would probably make gårdsförsäljning difficult for many to go around.
I wonder why the issue of gårdsförsäljning always has to be linked to the collapse of the Systembolaget? Surely the two could co-exist? Why not put a limit on the amount an individual can buy ‘on-premise’ to, say, 10 litres of beer each trip? That would give breweries a welcome boost but not take too much away from the coffers of the state’s monopoly.
For me though the biggest disappointment of the decision to reject gårdsförsäljning has nothing to do with profit or loss.
By scraping gårdsförsäljning we’re losing out on the opportunity to get more people into breweries. If protecting Swedish society from the negative affects of alcohol truly lies at the heart of this decision then I can’t think of a better, more effective way to positively influence a person’s relationship to beer than to demonstrate the care, passion and skill that goes into brewing it from within a brewery itself.
But then I’ve always felt being open and sharing knowledge about alcohol is the way to go rather than attempting to push it away and demonize it.
Clearly I don’t have much of a future in politics.
Hej.. I have been living in Belgium and the most exiting part was travelling around the country from one Brewery to the other during the weekend. I was actually hoping that here in Sweden it was possible the same, with some of the småbryggeriet, but so far I was not able. Thanks to this article I can understand why.
The other reason being living in Mariestad, almost far from everything
I can see the concern the politicians have in this issue.
Since most of us hangning around this forum or other beery blogs, or even other nerdy blogs about various alcholic beverages, are truly interested in the history, the making, the flavours, the aroma and maybe in a sub-clause, the buzz. We do not make up the majority of alcoholic beverages consumers in Sweden or any other country. We are but a small percentage, just look at the sales of beer in the world. There is a devestating overweight towards bland, boring, light lagers.
My guess is that the majority actually drinks alcohol for the buzz, they don’t give a rats ass about what’s in it.
That is why politicians must be overly protective when taking these kind of decisions. And that is why we enthusiasts feel that were being ran over.
I fully agree with you, Darren, that one way is education, but I fear that this makes no difference for the ones that really are the problem. It is as usual, a few that destroys for the rest.
Sorry for being so negative, as I actually want to see both gårdsförsäljning and systembolaget side by side, but we need to take some responsibility for the less fortunate also.
::marcus
”In reality I doubt many of the smaller breweries would ever take up the opportunity to sell direct from their doorstep.”
I doubt this. It costs nothing to sell a case or a keg out their door. Plus, microbreweries can sell at their margin and consumers can forego the added margin of SB. For microbreweries that are brewpubs they can sell a six-pack to go out their door to customers. This is added revenue. For farm sales especially, there is no added employees needed to sell bottles to customers. Most farm vineyards and microbreweries employ a few people who pour their heart and soul into their craft and wear many hats around the business.
I’d rather sell a 50cL bottle to costumer who appreciates craft beer that took the time to experience my brewery and take it all in for 25 SEK than sell that same bottle to SB for 18 SEK so they can sell it for 25 SEK. For customers they get the experience of touring the brewery/winery, talking to knowledgable staff about great beer/wine, and purchasing direct from the supplier getting the freshest goods AND often being able to purchase small-batch specialty beers and wines that don’t make it to – or won’t be purchased by – SB.
It is shameful for the Swedish government to be so short-sighted and cave to conservative anti-alcohol and anti small business interests.
In Italy, rules for beer breweries are much more strick than for wineries. So, every time the brewery wants to bottle from the big maturation tank (sorry if not exact terms..) they have to call the tax office, which personally register (through a sealed liter-meter), how many bottles/casks/kegs they brew. Can this help?
Besides, I would agree that people who wants simply to ”booze” will not go to small breweries…
In Finland breweries can sell products that contain under 4,7% vol alcohol (which is also the limit for grocery stores). Wineries can sell up to 13% from their door. The finnish monopoly, Alko, does not have the same kind of ordering system for small and local producers that Systembolaget does. That pretty much forces finnish breweries to design and brew beers that are under 4,7%, regardless of their style. Because getting their beers to Alko’s shelves is basically like a game of lottery, the only option to sell stronger beers are restaurants.
I want to point out that I’m no expert at this matter, as I’m only really starting to see the whole picture now. Anyway, a couple of years ago there was a debate in the finnish government for a new law, which would have allowed small wineliquor producers to sell their products from the production place directly to customers for up to 22% alc. The law was prepared and ready, but was pulled off at the last minute, because the government did not want to risk that EU-court would see it as a partial tear-down of the monopoly. The risk that the new law could, even if just by a small chance, to be seen that way was too much. The finnish government wasn’t ready to take any risk that could anyway affect the position of the alcohol monopoly, from the viewpoint of EU as EU does not support monopolies, they want free trade.
Maybe it’s the same thing for Sweden. The risk of the whole monopoly falling is too big.
There is already in the government investigation a proposed limitation on how much the visitor can buy: 5 litres of beer,
AND a limitation on the amount of beer the breweries are allowed to sell: approx 27 273 litres/year (5,5% ABV).
Anyone who is able to read can see this on page 90:
http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/15/78/74/0bdec39d.pdf
The whole document is actually really worth reading!
Thanks for this link Fredrik! Very informative!
Well, it’s not all that surprising, since the moral minority that is the anti-alcohol lobby is the most powerful and richest lobbying organization in Sweden. This is why it’s a pity that Svenska Ölfrämjandets plans on a umbrella organization for Sweden’s beer societies is on hold.
Hm,
while I agree with most of you that it would be nice to visit a brewery and be able to buy a few bottles at the brewery store – which the government, as mentioned above, also wants – the whole thing isn’t an easy task of taxing/prohibiting alcohol.
As I understand the debate, allowing others than Systembolaget to sell beer/wine etc, would force the government to set the whole market free. To everyone, including ICA, Coop and 7-eleven. Which have pros and cons.
”Freedom issues” aside; In a sparsely populated country like Sweden, that would hardly benefit the variety of supply and consumer choice – which today is amazing! – outside the biggest cities. The major grocery stores would easily take most of the market by supplying a handful of liquors, wines and beers (probably Pripps Blå & Tre kronor) 07–24 seven days a week.
Then Systembolaget could no longer afford the vast supply of today, even in the ordering system (considering you cannot store beer for ages).
Maybe, maybe there will be local breweries at a few places, but most of them will be totally dependent on their local market. Only. Which is possible, of course – but not very realistic in most places.
I fear such a developement would mean the sudden death of Swedish beer culture in no time at all.
http://sverigesbryggerier.se/2012/09/regeringens-nej-till-gardsforsaljning-drabbar-landsbygden/
and to avoid any misunderstanding, in my previous comment I´m of course not referring to you Darren as non-literate! It´s the debaters warning that gårdsförsäljning would be devastating to the public health.
Fredrik, This document is nearly 2 years old though. Is this proposal different from the Gårdförsäljning that was rejected as described in the post?
Kevin: This is the proposal!
I would totally agree about the proposes that Darren and Gårdförsäljning is proposing, provided that it was say part of a tour like at the Carlsberg’s brewery in Köpenhaven which offers a beer at the on-site bar as part of the tour. If there was a concern about sales, I would be sure that Systemet would happy to do a partnership with the brewery to make sure that rules were followed.
This would good only only for breweries, but also the growing vineyards in Skåne which is a major boosting form of tourism in the area.
Why not let producers apply to become SB agents, with an assortment limited to their own products? That was there are no sales outside the monopoly structure. They would have to charge SB prices but they almost certainly would anyway. US breweries with on-site sales always sell at the full retail price. This would be a pretty small revenue stream for breweries though. It would be better if SB continued to expand their ”local and small scale” assortment. Then the beers are available to the whole country, not just the tiny minority who visit the brewery.
How or why is Sweden allowed to keep the SB monopoly ? Surely it doesn’t meet EU free market regulations? On the human side I think the government should trust its citizens to make sensible informed decisions about their drinking habits and let people be creative and encourage small businesses. It would seem the ruling here is penalizing small brewers, vineyards etc because of problems elsewhere in the system and further those who would like to enjoy wine tours, brewery tours and drink a glass of wine or beer or take it home.
Dear Anonym.
the monopoly ensures that the inhabitants of every little town gets easy access to the vast selection that Systembolaget offers. Should the monopoly be abolished and If you live in a smaller town, you can pretty much forget about a local store with the same beer selection. Enjoy your bland industrial lager.
And therein lies the problem, because Mikael is absolutely right.
But, to be a devil’s advocate, abolishment of the monopoly may drive demand for a better beer and more selection and might drive the local-based craft beer industry forward in Sweden – like it has in the US. Brewpubs are a dime a dozen in the US, but they can persist because there is enough demand for local-produced beer. People take pride in their local beer. SB, in this hypothesis, could be the floodgate holding back Sweden’s craft brewing industry. Not just because it holds the key to the only shelf space in a country of 9-10 million, but because it delegates demand.
Take away the monopoly and let small business and local economies thrive. Small scale farming here in Småland could greatly benefit from switching their fields to barley and growing hops. As it stands now, farmers are selling off their cattle and letting hay rot in the fields. One I talked to near Västervik can’t sell hay bales for 300 kr (the cost of labor only) and gets subsidies from the government for grazing the land in a traditional way and maintaining the landscape as it has for hundreds of years. But he can’t afford to keep his cattle. Another farmer I work with is also having problems selling meat. What if they could produce barley and hops on a contract basis for Sweden’s growing craft beer industry? It would really help rural areas like where I live.
And while most people live in a city, most of Sweden is rural and many ”Stockholm refugees” are moving here each year to escape the city life. SB’s influence is weak out here. If they allow farms or rural breweries to thrive and sell their own beer (even if it’s a regulated amount), it would create jobs as well as create and meet the new demand. Most people around here buy smuggled german and east european beer anyways, and many breweries are using malt from Lithuania, Finland and Germany. Why not encourage Sweden produced?
Mikael and Kevin
I think you ae both right,
The SB does provide decent beer to all small places, I know as I live in the south of Gotland and after the summer It’s not the most busy place lets say, neither are there cool bars or big SB stores, I also lived till recently in another European country better known for wine and yes decent beer was hard to come by, but it meant once found it was better supported and I was always able to get by and In the last years discoverd more new small start up breweries not so far away,
How cool would it be to have as per Kevin lots of small local breweries?
I think promoting small Swedish breweries is the thing SB does best, especially now that you can order almost anything in single bottles from breweries all over the country. I’d rather have that then the ability to buy direct from the brewery, because there are a lot of small breweries in remote locations that I’m just never going to visit. I’m much more frustrated by the lack of Danish and Norwegian beer, but that’s another matter. I don’t see how getting rid of SB would cause the great mass or Carlsberg drinkers suddenly take interest in locally brewed beer.
As others have hinted at the major argument against gårdsförsäljning has been that it risks the future of the monopoly system in Sweden. I.e, the decision over whether to keep, reform or abolish the monopoly would be taken out of our hands and decided by the EU, and the EU court, if there are transgressions against the conditions that currently allow us to maintain a monopoly where the EU would like to see a free-market system/privatization.
I personally think it is a shame and outrage that the EU can hold Swedish alcohol policy hostage in this manner, but it is the reality we find ourselves in. If we’re going to abolish the monopoly it should be done via the Swedish political system, by a willful and conscious decision by a political majority, and it should be backed by popular support.
The decision should not be taken for us by the EU beaurocracy. Without the threat from the EU court, Swedish alcohol policy could be more flexible and balanced, if political and popular will were in favor of a more flexible and balanced system. Some reforms might carry less of a risk for abuse than others, and gårdsförsäljning is one reform proposal which could be thought to have less of a risk associated with it.
If there was a way in which the EU law could be challenged, or tested by an introduction of gårdsförsäljning, with an option of reversing the decision without any consequences should the proposal violate EU law, then it would be a different matter. But I’m not sure whether EU law would allow for a member-country to play a game of judicial chicken against EU statute, only to then backpedal if the country thinks that it will get punished if it continues on the current path. Once you end up infront of the EU court it might be difficult to undo the damage done.
Repentence on our part might not be enough.
Honestly, I don’t care whether SB exists or not. But there is no reason that I should be forced to go through SB to buy a case of beer. There is no reason that SB AND microbreweries and wineries cannot sell their products side by side. Someone here had the idea microbreweries could act as an agent of SB to sell their beer site (and thus maintaining constant prices everywhere and sending SB its ”cut” of the profits…). This is a reasonable compromise.
As a future microbrewery owner in Sweden (hopefully!), I will be already be paying moms and ölskatt. And the swedish consumer is already accustomed to paying those at SB or at the pub/restaurant. But why a producer cannot sell a product out the door where it is produced is beyond me!