Can I ship this stuff?

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reuliss

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I'd like to send some bottles from my latest batch to my brother-in-law, who lives in Tampa, Florida. I'm in Maryland. I was thinking I could just box up a couple of bottles, and send them off. That raises two questions in my mind, and I'm wondering if anyone here knows the answer(s).

1. Is this legal? I'm not selling it, but I am shipping it across state lines.
2. Will it be drinkable? I'm sure the agitation from shipping won't be good for it, and all of the sediment will get suspended in the beer. Would a few days' rest cure that?
 
People ship things for competitions all the time but the post office won't take it if they know it's beer. It's best to label them yeast samples or something similar.
 
Yea just don't mention what it is and make sure its tightly packaged in a box they won't have to repackage. Anytime they've asked me I just say its homemade hot sauce, though sometimes they don't even ask.

As long as they give the bottles a few days in the fridge they should be fine.
 
I've been told that saying it's "yeast samples for examination" or something works, too.

Right now I'm trying to figure out how to send some to my brother in Canada.
 
1. Absolutely illegal via USPS. Seems to be against policy for UPS and FedEx, but they're both used by a lot of brewers to submit competition entries. As long as you pack it well so that they don't break and make a mess I think you'll be fine. That said, it could be against some state laws...for example sometimes state laws only allow homebrewing for "personal use" but I doubt you'd find many prosecutors that would be willing to charge you unless it appeared you were trying to sell your brew.
2. Let it settle for a couple days and it should be fine.
 
Also don't ship USPS because it is illegal to ship it that way. Check out the DIY forum where there is a sticky containing a detailed tutorial for shipping beer.
 
I send them UPS labeled "liquid yeast samples". I wrap bubble wrap around each bottle,then again around both bottles,taping them as I go. Then put the bundle inside a doubled up blue plastic bag,& tie tightly shut.More bubble wrap around that,& another double blue bag. Pad the box on top,bottom & both sides with more bubble wrap or foam peanuts to where the bundle can't move around at all. Tape box shut & mark all sides "very fragile". Haven't lost one yet.
 
Do not mark the box fragile. There's studies that have been done with UPS, USPS, and FedEx that show boxes marked fragile get handled rougher, dropped more often, and from higher heights.

Also though I've heard the yeast sample thing I wouldn't do that either. I tried before and UPS actually opened my box after I left the store and called me to come pick it back up because they wouldn't send it. So to me the 'yeast samples' just draws suspicion it might be alcohol. I'd tell em its hot sauce or something that has nothing to do with beer.... If they even ask.
 
When I was getting beer on the month club deliveries, it came ups. Each bottle had a cardboard package and six bottles fit into a box tightly. I would assume ups knew that it was beer because they would have picked it up from the beer club or the brewer. Also, my mother gets wine delivered ups. And I sure they know its wine. It come direct from the winery.
 
I've shipped both USPS and UPS ground before without problems either way. If you want it to take a week then send it UPS ground. Many here will tell you that it is against there rules etc but when I called UPS they said it is fine to ship alcohol.

http://www.ups.com/content/lv/en/about/news/service_updates/06092009_alcoholuk.html

If you want the package to make it in a decent amount of time then send it USPS priority mail and it will get there faster and just fine. Just package it up really well.
 
When I was getting beer on the month club deliveries, it came ups. Each bottle had a cardboard package and six bottles fit into a box tightly. I would assume ups knew that it was beer because they would have picked it up from the beer club or the brewer. Also, my mother gets wine delivered ups. And I sure they know its wine. It come direct from the winery.

The rules for FedEx and UPS shipping for businesses is different than for consumers. There is (or, was when I last looked it up) a process for obtaining approval for shipping alcohol commercially.

Whether it's legal to ship alcohol in the US is complicated. The rules are different for each state, and in states where it's legal, it may be different depending on who's shipping it, who's receiving it, etc. Plus there may be tax requirements. To make matters worse, the rules change frequently---for example, Indiana has repeatedly changed its laws in the last few years as they (happily) keep getting struck down.

If the shipper is the USPS, the rule is simple, though. It is against the law. (https://www.usps.com/ship/can-you-ship-it.htm) Don't do this.

If you're shipping with UPS/FedEx, it's up to you to determine whether it's legal between the states in question. If it is, then the only issue is with the shipper's policy. They may refuse the shipment, dispose of it, or send it back to you (not sure how they handle it), and it's possible you'd wind up on the hook for something if your bottles leaked and damaged someone else's package, but there aren't legal issues there.

There's no reason to play cutesy games like "yeast samples" or the like. You do not have to disclose the contents, and as others have said, it's not going to fool anyone. Certainly it's not going to make anything that was illegal become magically legal. If you're going to deceive the shipper in order to get them to accept a package, you might as well go whole hog and come up with something that's less likely to arouse suspicion---it won't be any more fraudulent.
 
Maybe not,but it works. A different story for claiming contents could be better. I saw on the news a couple months ago that the USPS is concidering allowing beer mailing to increase business. This since there are so many home brewers now. Would def be good for all concerned.
 
I usually use fedex and just pack it real good. I've used UPS before too but they asked me what it was and FedEx never does.
 
I mentioned this upthread, but didn't come outright and ask -- any experience with shipping from the US to Canada? Since whatever is inside has to be declared on customs forms, it seems that it would be a bit more likely to get searched or something.
 
So if its illegal via USPS and against policy for ups and FedEx, then how do the legit beer of the month clubs work? They ship you beer.
 
I saw on the news a couple months ago that the USPS is concidering allowing beer mailing to increase business.
I'd heard this as well. It sounds like a good idea to me!

I mentioned this upthread, but didn't come outright and ask -- any experience with shipping from the US to Canada? Since whatever is inside has to be declared on customs forms, it seems that it would be a bit more likely to get searched or something.
I'm not sure about this, but it appears that Canada's postal service does not permit non-commercial shipments (http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/pgcustoms-e.asp#1386292). Not sure whether this applies to non-postal carriers, though. I'm also not sure what the importation rules are for homemade alcohol (or even if they're any different).
 
Craig did mention in one home brew wednesday video that he didn't get anything from the states. I assumed he ment beers? Odd,because he gets then from other countries.
 
Check out www.beermonthclub.com. On their site they say:
"Do you ship to my state?
We ship our Wine and Beer clubs to all states except Utah, Alaska, and Hawaii"

So maybe they have a special agreement with ups and or FedEx?
 
From FedEx.com:

Alcoholic Beverages
Only licensed entities holding a state and federal license or retailers holding a state license may ship alcohol with FedEx. Consumers may not ship alcohol. Shippers must enter into an approved FedEx Alcohol Shipping Agreement before shipping any alcohol with FedEx. For more information, go to fedex.com/us/wine or contact your FedEx account executive.

Licensee to Licensee. FedEx will accept alcohol shipments (beer, wine and spirits) when both the shipper and recipient are either licensed wholesalers, licensed dealers, licensed distributors, licensed manufacturers, licensed retailers or licensed importers, subject to additional requirements and all applicable laws and regulations. Contact your FedEx account executive for complete details.
Licensee to Consumer. FedEx will accept wine shipments from licensed entities directly to consumers, subject to additional requirements and all applicable laws and regulations. Contact your FedEx account executive for complete details. Shipments of beer or spirits to consumers are prohibited.

From UPS.com I couldn't find anything specific to beer, or more general like alcohol, but here is what they say about wine:

Who Can Ship Wine
Who can ship wine via UPS services?

UPS only accepts packages containing wine from shippers who are licensed under applicable law and who have signed and entered into a contract with UPS for the transportation of wine.

So basically, they both say you have to enter an agreement with the shipper and be a legal seller. That's how the beer of the month, etc. ship it.
 
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