Indulgences

1. øl

   Beer

   Usage

   Where you can buy it depends on its strength: beer up to 4.7 % is sold in supermarkets, anything stronger only at Vinmonopolet, like wine and spirits (Alcohol Act §3-1). Shop hours are also fixed by law — no sales at all on Sundays and public holidays, and where the municipality allows the maximum (as in Oslo) until 20:00 on weekdays and 18:00 on Saturdays. The age limit is 18

   Grammar Note

   As the drink it is neuter (et øl, definite ølet). Counting glasses, the masculine "en øl" is also used, and Bokmålsordboka lists that as a separate entry

2. pils

   Pilsner lager

   Usage

   Bokmålsordboka defines it as a pale, hoppy beer of about 4.5 % alcohol. Ask for "en pils" in a bar and this is what arrives; being under 4.7 % it is also sold in supermarkets. The standard glass is 0.4 litres, and a 0.5-litre one is a halvliter

   Grammar Note

   Masculine noun (en pils, definite pilsen). Bokmålsordboka gives both the beer itself and a glass, tankard or bottle of it

3. juleøl

   Christmas beer

   Usage

   Bokmålsordboka defines it as beer brewed for Christmas. It appears from November and every brewery releases its own each year. Many are dark and strong, and anything above 4.7 % is sold only at Vinmonopolet, never in supermarkets; the weaker ones do reach the shops

   Grammar Note

   Neuter noun (et juleøl, definite juleølet): "jule" (Christmas) + "øl" (beer)

4. akevitt

   Aquavit, spiced Scandinavian spirit

   Usage

   Bokmålsordboka defines it as a spiced Scandinavian spirit, around 40 %. Norwegian aquavit is distilled from potato while the neighbouring countries use grain, and most is cask-matured. Linjeakevitt is shipped in cask on a four-month voyage crossing the equator twice, a practice traced to the Lysholm family in 1805. It is drunk with pinnekjøtt, lutefisk and cured meats. Being over 22 % it is sold only at Vinmonopolet and only to those aged 20 and over

   Grammar Note

   Masculine noun (en akevitt, definite akevitten). Norwegian spells it "akevitt"; Danish and Swedish use "akvavit"

5. brennevin

   Spirits (over 22 % alcohol)

   Usage

   Bokmålsordboka defines it as drink of more than 22 % alcohol. That 22 % line is the Alcohol Act's own boundary: buying or being served anything at or above it requires you to be 20 (§1-5), and sales are reserved to Vinmonopolet (§3-1). Duty-free on arrival at the airport is the other legal source, within the allowance limits

   Grammar Note

   Neuter noun (et brennevin, definite brennevinet): "brenne" (to burn, to distil) + "vin" (wine, drink). Danish writes brændevin and Swedish brännvin

6. Vinmonopolet

   The state alcohol monopoly shop

   Usage

   Bokmålsordboka defines it as the company holding the exclusive right to retail wine, spirits and strong beer in Norway, and also its shops. Anything above 4.7 % can be bought nowhere else. Opening hours are short and it closes on Sundays and public holidays — typically 10:00–18:00 Monday to Friday and 10:00–16:00 on Saturday, varying by branch — with the worst queues late on Friday. The age limit is 20 for drinks at or above 22 % and 18 below that, and photo ID is often asked for

   Grammar Note

   A proper noun formed from the definite singular of the neuter noun "vinmonopol". In speech people usually just say "polet"

7. sider

   Cider

   Usage

   Hardanger is Norway's apple district and "Sider frå Hardanger" holds a protected geographical indication (the registered name keeps the Nynorsk "frå"). Orchards along the fjord run cideries that offer tastings. Anything above 4.7 % is sold only at Vinmonopolet, and unfermented apple juice is eplemost, a different drink

   Grammar Note

   Masculine noun (en sider, definite sideren). Note that "sider" is also the plural of "side" (page, side), so context decides

8. karsk

   Coffee laced with spirits

   Usage

   Bokmålsordboka defines it as coffee with spirits (and sugar) in it. It is a rural custom centred on Trøndelag, said to have taken hold in the late 19th century, and is also called kaffekarsk or kaffedoktor. Traditionally it was made with home-distilled hjemmebrent, but home distilling is illegal in Norway and licensed premises use legal spirits

   Grammar Note

   Masculine noun (en karsk, definite karsken). The identically spelled adjective "karsk" means healthy or hale, from Old Norse "karskr"

9. hjemmebrent

   Home-distilled moonshine

   Usage

   Bokmålsordboka defines it as home-made spirits. Distilling spirits at home is illegal in Norway, and the word is colloquial, not legal terminology. Poisonings and blindness from methanol contamination recur, so never drink any of unknown origin. This is a word to understand, not a suggestion; legal spirits come from Vinmonopolet

   Grammar Note

   Masculine noun (en hjemmebrent, definite hjemmebrenten): "hjemme" (at home) + "brent" (past participle of "brenne", distilled). Bokmål uses "hjemme-"; "heime-" leans Nynorsk

10. snus

    Moist snuff placed under the lip

    Usage

    This is harmful. According to reports from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), snus contains nicotine plus carcinogens including tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA); it probably raises the risk of oesophageal and pancreatic cancer, and there is convincing evidence that use in pregnancy raises the risk of low birth weight, premature birth and stillbirth. Nicotine is addictive. Bokmålsordboka defines snus as powdered tobacco; in Norway it is normally a moist pouch (porsjonssnus) tucked under the upper lip, sold from behind the counter in shops and kiosks like cigarettes, to those aged 18 and over

    Grammar Note

    Masculine noun (en snus, definite snusen); Bokmålsordboka also gives the sense of a single pinch of it. The verb is "snuse"

11. sigarett

    Cigarette

    Usage

    Smoking damages health. Bokmålsordboka defines a cigarette as a roll of tobacco wrapped in paper. Norway bans the visible display of tobacco products, so they come from a closed cabinet behind the till, and prices are high. Indoor public places, restaurants and bars included, are entirely smoke-free. The age limit is 18. An e-cigarette is an "e-sigarett"

    Grammar Note

    Masculine noun (en sigarett, definite sigaretten, plural sigaretter). To smoke is "røyke", and "ta en røyk" is to have a smoke

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