In a 1908 referendum, Icelanders voted in favor of a ban on all alcoholic drinks, going into effect January 1, 1915. In 1921, the ban was partially lifted after
Spain refused to buy Iceland's
main export, fish, unless Iceland bought Spanish wines; then lifted further after a national referendum in 1935 came out in favor of legalizing
spirits. Strong beer (with an
alcohol content of 2.25% or more) was not included in the 1935 vote in order to please the
temperance lobby—which argued that because beer is cheaper than spirits, it would lead to more depravity. As
international travel brought Icelanders back in touch with beer, bills to legalize it were regularly moved in
parliament, but inevitably were shot down on technical grounds. Prohibition lost more support in 1985, when the
Minister of Justice (himself a
teetotaler) prohibited pubs from adding legal spirits to legal non-alcoholic beer (called "
pilsner" by Icelanders) to make a potent imitation of strong beer. Soon after, beer approached legalization in parliament—a full turnout of the upper house of Iceland's Parliament voted 13 to 8 to permit the sales, ending prohibition in the country. ==Celebration==