Abstract
The article describes the two waves of popularity for medium beer in Finland. Medium beer contains 3.7-4.7 percent alcohol per volume whereas strong beer (sold only in the state retail monopoly shops) contains 4.7-5.8 alcohol per volume. The first wave occurred after deregulation of the sale of the medium strength beer in 1969. The second was in the beginning of the 1990s. During the first wave, the total consumption of beer increased; the consumption of medium beer rose in parallel with the consumption of strong beer. During the second wave, medium beer became a substitute for the strong variety.
Finnish drinkers of medium strength beer are described using data from two data sets: Monitoring of Health Behaviour among the Finnish Adult Population (1978–93) and Alcohol Interview Surveys (1984 and 1992).
Consumption of medium beer has increased in all age, gender and socio-economic groups, but it has increased more among younger and middle-age people than among older people. The differences between educational groups diminished after adjustment for age. Since 1984 medium beer bars have become increasingly popular and women, in particular, have joined the clientele.
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