Traveling with Beer Bottles ?

Hello all-
I'm going to Portland, OR for vaca and I'd like to bring back some of the local beverages. I was curious if anyone had any tips for getting it home. I'm debating between putting it in its own box with bubble wrap or stuffing it in with my clothes. Thanks for any input.

I always take my (usually dirty) socks and put the bottles in them then put them in a side compartment in my duffle bag or suitcase...

I recently checked a bag that contained a cardboard box with beers wrapped in foam. Maybe overkill but none broke!

I'd also recommend buying a few 1 gallon zip lock bags and putting the bottles in those, just in case of breakage.

You don't mention how you're traveling. If you're going by some form of public transport, where your baggage will be checked, then the advice given in this thread sounds really good. If you're just driving your own car, then....just put it in and go. I'm currently on vacation on the East coast, and brought a case and a half of homebrew a thousand miles, just packed in normal commercial packaging in the back of the car. Opened a bottle of one style a day after refrigeration on arrival, and it foamed up, but another bottle from the same batch was fine the next day. All other types of homebrew have been fine.

somewhat OT

i flew to vegas for my wifes birthday/anniversary last year. I took a couple of bottles of wine with us and wrapped in bubble wrap and placed in our suitcases. the combination of big bottles of liquids and my wifes hair straighteners/curlers triggered an inspection from the TSA.

the wine made it safely though

I've had luck puting 12 ounce bottles in my packed shoes when flying. I wear 10 1/2 and they fit in nice and snug. Never had one break doing it that way.

I recently got back from a Trip to Boston flying on a major commercial airline and had no problems. I wrapped the few bottles I was bringing back in clothing like T shirts and socks inside of my checked luggage and it was fine. I think the more you take the more you end up being under suspicion but we traveled the day after a plane had to be grounded at Logan due to a security issue, and I had 4 22oz bottles in my bag, so you should be fine. Bubble wrap and a case might be a little overkill but it all depends on the friendly baggage carrier handling you bags.

I was told recently when flying Southwest that you must use commercial leak-proof packaging when packing any liquids (I had wine bottles) or their own special $5 a bottle bag-in-bubble wrap system.

I had bottles wrapped in socks and other clothes, smartly packed as I've done many times before (including with the homebrew I packed on the way down with no problems), but they made me repack in their system, costing me $40 for a bunch of plastic.

One idiot packs a bottle of red wine wrong, it breaks and leaks on someone's gucci, they sue Southwest, ruining it for the rest of us.

So, you might want to make some kind of professional-looking pack job with zip lock bags and bubble wrap to avoid any problems. But as far as the bottles making it safely, if you're smart about it and your caps are solid, you should be good.

Man I really miss the days of being able to have a full case as your carry on luggage!

I forgot, have a great trip.

Some of the best stuff in town is not in bottles, but you should still be able to find some souvenirs. If you get out to Hood River (an hour east of Portland), you have to go to Double Mountain Brewery. One of the best brewpubs I've been to anywhere. Every beer they make is awesome and killer pizza to boot. You can find their beer (IRA, Hop Lava) on tap at some spots around Portland too.

Enjoy the beer mecca that I am fortunate to call home...

Thanks for all the tips. Yeah, I'm flying. Prolly should have included that in orig thread. Looks like bubble wrap and clothing inside the suitcase will be choice. I'll check out that brewery in Hood River.

I ended up getting my hands on what I learned are called 'wine shipper cases.' Box with a Styrofoam insert that goes all around bottles. A local distributor and a good liquor store both were really helpful in getting me one. Which fit like a glove into one of my bigger suitcases. Sweet! Just thought I'd pass that tidbit along. Thanks again.