Traveling for work, every week... what's a brewer to do?

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DRoyLenz

DRoyLenz

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So, starting this week, I've begun traveling for work, from Chicago to Dallas/Plano. It's a safe assumption that I'll be doing this most weeks if not every week. I'll be traveling Monday morning through Thursday night.

Since I usually brew on the weekends, this shouldn't suffer much. The issue is that I'm never going to be able to drink my own beer? I don't think I have to tell you guys how much of an issue this is.

I'm thinking of just becoming really charitable with my beer, giving a bunch to my friends, and only keeping a few bottles for myself.

The biggest issue with this is I need the bottle space. I only have 150-200 bottles. My favorite part about brewing is actually BREWING, not drinking (although, I do like the drinking part of it).

Do any of you travel for work, but still brew often? How do you do it?
 
That's not a bad thought. I'll be flying, I ain't gonna drive from Chicago to Plano every week. It would be a pain to ship/check bottles in every week, but it might be worth it. If I can find a reliable container that I could check on to the plane, and still count on the bottles getting there safely, I do have a fridge in my hotel room.

EDIT: BTW, first order of business when I checked in yesterday was to check out the tap/bottle list at the bar. Not a WHOLE lot there, but they do have Deschute's Black Butte Porter and Mirror Pond Pale Ale (I think), so that should be able to tide me over until I start bringing my beer with me or find a good beer bar/store in the area. Happy hour $2.50 drafts, not bad....
 
I picked up a nice softside hot/cold lunch bag with a strap. Carries like a camera bag and holds a six pack of bottles easily with a home made divider.

Trouble is the current Ounce restrictions for carry on liquids. I think it's 4 ounces per container right now. So, use really small bottles.

I think you'd do better mailing the beer to yourself or, wax seal some re-useable PET beer bottles and check them into carry-on.
 
Have you seen some of these neoprene bottle carriers? I'm thinking one of these in one of your more rugged suitcases might work, though not carryon with all those new air anti terror rules.

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http://www.thefind.com/search?query=insulated+beer+bottle+carrier+holds
 
I have one of those red style holders to take beer places. It's great for holding temp. Drawback to taking HB in bottles that I could see is that once you arrived, you'd want them to sit in your hotel fridge at least over night if not 2-3 days before drinking. This puts you 2 days to drink what you take. Start kegging and bottle from the keg. No sediment :D
AS far as transporting them, I took lots of bottles home when i was traveling every week for 2 years. I'd just roll them up in my clothes in my suit case. I had to check my luggage because of a large toolbox so it wasn't a big deal.
 
I wouldn't take more than a six pack and would invest in some bubble wrap. Unless you have a hard plastic suitcase, I wouldn't trust anything less than bubble wrap. Those baggage handlers literally throw your bag and I have had liquor bottles break when put in the middle of my bag with clothes all around them. One of those breaks on a business trip and you are going to need a two hour dry cleaning place to get your clothes cleaned for work the next day.
 
DRoyLenz said:
So, starting this week, I've begun traveling for work, from Chicago to Dallas/Plano. It's a safe assumption that I'll be doing this most weeks if not every week. I'll be traveling Monday morning through Thursday night.

Since I usually brew on the weekends, this shouldn't suffer much. The issue is that I'm never going to be able to drink my own beer? I don't think I have to tell you guys how much of an issue this is.

I'm thinking of just becoming really charitable with my beer, giving a bunch to my friends, and only keeping a few bottles for myself.

The biggest issue with this is I need the bottle space. I only have 150-200 bottles. My favorite part about brewing is actually BREWING, not drinking (although, I do like the drinking part of it).

Do any of you travel for work, but still brew often? How do you do it?
Click to expand...

Up until last year I was travelling 10 months of the year for about 4 years - leave Sunday at about 2 PM to catch a 4:30-5:00 PM flight and then fly back Friday night at 5 PM to be home at around 10 - 11 PM.

I built up enough miles and marriott points to pay for three weeks of vacation each year. So, after that I basically got to be home for about 30 days a year.

To say it caused major problems in my marriage would be an understatement. I finally told the company "no more". Guess what - they said OK.

I was only able to brew about 6 batches a year. You will need to curtail your brewing habits I am afraid - you won't have much time to go to the grocery store let alone brew.
 
The issue is that I don't normally check luggage. When you fly twice a week, and the airlines have lost more luggage than you can count, you learn to pack for 4 days in a way that allows you to carry everything onboard.

That being said, I'd make an exception if it allowed me to bring my brew with me every week. I know that baggage handlers are pretty rough, but I wonder if I checked ONLY that box, and put FRAGILE stickers all over it, maybe they would be a bit more friendly. Hell, I could probably put FRAGILE - BEER INSIDE all over it. I doubt any handler would knowingly do anything malicious to a case of beer.
 
in 2008 I traveled 32 weeks, and in 09 I traveled 27 weeks. Most of my traveling was just like yours, out on Monday and back on Friday. I made the most of my weekends usually, and if my girlfriend had to work I usually made a beer. I guess that since my brewing started while my job had me out a lot I don't see the problem, but if I had started brewing, and then taken a job like this I might have a problem. In fact, after almost three years of this I'm starting to get tired of always being gone. I was home for 4 weeks straight over Christmas and really liked spending time with my OL'.

BTW, I'm typing this in Little Rock, AR
 
Mattbastard said:
in 2008 I traveled 32 weeks, and in 09 AR
Click to expand...

I am on the road 50 weeks a year.

Not this week though. Guess how much brewing i will be doing?

If I were to travel to a new place each week, I would send myself a party pig. Could make you very popular with the coworkers.

I would not check a box of beer. A party pig would be better. Maybe a duffle bag with clothes, or a bunch of towels with the beer wrapped inside of it. I have never had a problem with breakage as long as the glass is in the center, i have never had anything break.
 
I'm doing the weekly travel deal as well. I convinced my employer that renting me a place here in MD instead of paying for hotels would be cheaper. It is cheaper, but that wasn't my motivation. All my brewing gear is now down here, instead of having to drive up to Princeton to brew and sometimes bottling early because I didn't want to wait another week in a fermenter or something.

Maybe find a room with a month to month lease that costs less than your hotel?
 

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