Flying with a lot of homebrew

Williams 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
B

Brew_Buckeye

New Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2012
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Location
Oakland
Hi All,

I've used the site a lot, but this is my first post! I feel like I've grown as a brewer!

Anyways, I'm taking a lot of beer home with me for the holidays, and I'm wondering about flying with a lot of beer (about 10 gallons).

First, can homebrew even survive the lower atmosphere levels? Would it explode in flight?

Second, should I just mail it?

Thanks for your response ahead of time!

KV
 
I've flown with a few bottles before - never 10 gallons. What are you planning to put them in? With the bottles, I had no problem - packed them tight in a box that I filled with expanding foam, everything worked great. 10 gallons... wow, that's a LOT of beer to try and stick in a suitcase. You may want to check with the airline if they have a restriction on how much liquid you can pack in your bag.
 
what will the beer be contained in? normally i'd assume bottles but 10gal is a lot... kegs?

i bet kegs would be 100% fine (except people will want to take them for themselves at the baggage claim!).

i've flown with bottles but not that much. it worked out fine but there is definitely the possibility of breakage (baggage handlers not too careful) and, somebody correct me on this, breakage from pressure drop.

if its in a suitcase with your clothes (which i'm doubting since you seem to be bringing so much) make sure the clothes arent ones you'd mind soiling
 
My thought is shipping would be far cheaper. Just the weight of 10 gallons of liquid before packaging would make flying with it very expensive.
 
Kegs make me nervous - 1: they're giant metal drums which I'm sure will raise eyebrows with the TSA on an x-ray. 2: the cargo hold is not pressurized, the keg is. Say you've got 10psi in the keg, at ground level (14.7psi atmospheric). At cruising altitude, you drop to 2-3psi, which is going to effectively increase the gauge pressure on your keg. What's your safety blow-off set to? My fear is the blow off venting at altitude, and venting your beer all over your bag and the cargo hold.
 
BadNewsBrewery said:
the cargo hold is not pressurized, the keg is.
Click to expand...

Incorrect. The cargo is pressurized JUST like the rest of the plane. That's why dogs in kennels can fly in the cargo.

Most airplanes are pressurized to 8,000ft.

I've brought numerous cans + bottles of beer from the UK in years past without any problems. Of course, glass breakage is a concern.

MC
 
I stand corrected - cargo holds are pressurized, not all are temperature controlled, but it wouldn't really matter in this case.

Still think you'd run into issues with large metal cylinders full of liquid weighing in excess of 70lbs in your luggage.
 
Yes, the cargo hold is pressurized. Transporting bottled beer is not an issue if it's in a checked bag. They will of course ding you on overweight charges. That could add up quickly as you only get one checked bag for free. As for kegs, I wouldn't even go there. Tsa and FAA prohibit Compressed gas cylinders. If they somehow manage to let the kegs slip past they most certainly won't want you toting a co2 cylinder on board.
 
adivito said:
My thought is shipping would be far cheaper. Just the weight of 10 gallons of liquid before packaging would make flying with it very expensive.
Click to expand...

Ditto - that's about 90 lbs of beer.
 
I recently came back from San Diego with about 50-60 lbs of in a suitcase. Wrapped everything in bubble wrap and styrofoam. I did that because it was a business trip and it was only for a couple of days. I know you can ship golf bags for around $100 with a 100lb limit. I think the airlines was charging around $50 per extra bag so if you did something like UPS you don't have to worry about waiting at baggage claim or them damaging loosing it. Plus it's straight to your door for around the same price. I think they tagged my suitcase with a "Very Heavy" sticker so I'm sure they weren't happy but hey they all fit and came home fine ;-)
 
TheDudeLebowski said:
I recently came back from San Diego with about 50-60 lbs of in a suitcase. Wrapped everything in bubble wrap and styrofoam. I did that because it was a business trip and it was only for a couple of days. I know you can ship golf bags for around $100 with a 100lb limit. I think the airlines was charging around $50 per extra bag so if you did something like UPS you don't have to worry about waiting at baggage claim or them damaging loosing it. Plus it's straight to your door for around the same price. I think they tagged my suitcase with a "Very Heavy" sticker so I'm sure they weren't happy but hey they all fit and came home fine ;-)
Click to expand...

I brought back a 24 of 500ml Pliny's on my last trip to SFO :D

MC
 
I'm planning to bottle 2 five-gallon batches for the family over the holidays. I'm guessing it's just too heavy for flights though and I'd pay a ridiculous amount in baggage fees. I'll probably ship it.

Thanks for the responses and great info!
 
Brew_Buckeye said:
I'm planning to bottle 2 five-gallon batches for the family over the holidays. I'm guessing it's just too heavy for flights though and I'd pay a ridiculous amount in baggage fees. I'll probably ship it.

Thanks for the responses and great info!
Click to expand...


I bet 2 corny kegs would fit in a UPS box. Tape it up and shipt it. Not sure of the weight requirements tho.
 

Similar threads

Z
Homebrewer as of yesterday
Replies
10
Views
526
wallyLOZ
wallyLOZ
JuniorR
Priming Ginger Beer
Replies
2
Views
2K
IslandLizard
IslandLizard
ChlorineQueen
Hello! Brand new brewer.
Replies
4
Views
447
lumpher
lumpher
sven.vandevenne
New member from Belgium
Replies
10
Views
673
sven.vandevenne
sven.vandevenne
J
Do you purge the keg at serving pressure?
Replies
3
Views
594
day_trippr
day_trippr

Latest posts

Back
Top