The only places where it would be worth taking beer with you would be remote domestic destinations, so I wonder if he was going to some far flung Norwegian fjord... for the first time... and has no exposure to news of any kind.
We are heading to Norway in August so what is the typical cost of a beer or glass of wine in Norway. We know that it is expensive but how expensive?
Dry August might be the way to go Richard!
Very fond memories of travelling on the ferry between Denmark and Sweden on Midsummer's Day - a festive day if not holiday- and seeing people of all ages and both sexes dragging shopping caddies (the lol ones). I was puzzled as thought they'd been food shopping. But reality dawned upon hearing them go down the gang plank clinking. The caddies were loaded for the festivities.
In the days before Sweden joined the EU, at one point they introduced regulations which abolished duty-free alcohol sales on ferry trips of less than three hours' duration. The route I was on (3.20) was the shortest which still qualified; I suspect I was the only person on board whose principal objective was to get from point A to point B.
I heard that at some point after joining the EU they stopped cars coming from Denmark for being unroadworthy as the ground clearance wasn't what it ought.