Shipping Bottles?

I have some very jealous family in FL and I live in VA. I just bottled some of my dunkelweizen and they are dying to try it. Is there a safe way to send these bottles to them? I dont want the heat to kill the bottle conditioning so I want to wait till they are good to go, but then I'm worried about a bottle bomb. Anyone done this before?

UPS/FedEx/DHL, call it yeast samples or something similar, and pack it in styrofoam, keeps it from getting broken, and should help with temp fluctuations. They won't take it if you say it's beer, but it's no problem. DO NOT SHIP VIA USPS, IT IS ILLEGAL.

I belonged to a wine club that had very cool bottle packaging. Anyone have a source for bottle shipping material?

When I ship beer I pack the box tight with newspaper, and wrap the bottles in their own plastic bags to minimize leakage if broken. I don't bother telling the shipper what's in the box unless they ask. Then I write "collectibles". Although you could just as easily say you're shipping yeast samples in liquid media, or hot sauce bottles.

Pack the box with newspaper or packing peanuts. Wrap each bottle separately in a sheet of bubble wrap. Put them in and top off the box with newpaper or packing peanuts so that nothing moves around inside when you shake it. That's how I pack beers and I have never had a problem.

Also, it is easiest for shipping if you just print a label online. Then you can bring it to a dropbox or shipping center and just hand it to them, no questions asked. You can write Fragile on the box. When you print the shipping label, just guess at the weight and if it is vastly different then they will just update it and charge you accordingly. Say NO if they ask if there are any liquids ;-).

From my perspective, I've see the most issue with DHL...FedEx and UPS have been no problem.

Numerous shipping places have told me there is no point in writing fragile or anything of that sort on the box since the majority of handling in the distribution centers is automated.

I have shipped by UPS successfully. I wrapped each bottle in bubble-wrap then put two bottles per 1 gallon ziplock and squeezed out the air, and used packing peanuts for additional space in the box.

conpewter said:

I have shipped by UPS successfully. I wrapped each bottle in bubble-wrap then put two bottles per 1 gallon ziplock and squeezed out the air, and used packing peanuts for additional space in the box.

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This is probably the best way to go about it.

Never ever right fragile on a box. I deal with all the couriers on a daily basis. The word fragile is like putting a bulls eye on the box. Over pack it and use FED-X or UPS as stated above. There's a good reason DHL is number 3.

I get a beer of the month and they use preformed Styrofoam pieces on the top and the bottom with 12 holes in them. I've never had a problem. My buddy works for UPS, and yes, writing Fragile is like writing "Throw Me".

OT-Ben25 what beer club is that?