By 1814 it had been forbidden to distil spirit in Norway for nearly 60 years, but neither the law nor crop failures had stamped out the illicit activity. A sense of freedom was in the air, farmers were on the advance, and in 1816 private distilling was permitted for all people who owned their own land. At the same time, it was decided to ban all import of grain spirits and Dutch gin.
Private distilling rose dramatically, and the practice spread to virtually every homestead across the country. This resulted often in drunkenness, violence and accidents. In 1833 the consumption of spirits was calculated to be 16 litres for each inhabitant – five to six times as much as today’s levels. Accordingly, many legal restrictions were imposed on non-regulated spirit production in the first half of the 19th century.
Potato production had reached new heights. The districts surrounding Mjøsa and Trøndelag invested heavily in potatoes and thus became the core areas for producing distilled spirit – as is the case today, nearly two centuries later.
