Can a bottle burst while being shipped?

I sent 2 bottled brews to my brother in Vegas from Philly. They had been carbing for 2 weeks. I wrapped them quite well in bubble wrap, and there was plenty of cushion at both ends of each bottle.

I sent them via Priority Mail. When he got them, the package was wrapped in plastic and I could feel that one of the bottles was broken. Obviously either one of the bottles broke or exploded. What is the likelihood that it exploded?

I pity the rest of the mail that sat with that package! It was an amber ale that was quite tasty. And yes, the rest of the batch was fully carbed!

- Joe

It's illegal to ship alcohol via USPS.

And yes, it's possible that bottles burst during shipping - they get shaken up and are exposed to all sorts of temperature extremes. With high levels of carbonation or an infection, they can pop under those conditions.

I've received broken bottles before, even though they were well packed. I think the boxes just get treated so bad that at some point a bottle is bound to break. Just be glad they still delivered it and you arn't charged with a crime! Go for UPS or Fedex next time.

i always use ups to ship beer and never the postal service.... that said, my buddy that sends me westvleterens from brugge always uses the regular postal service and brugge to biloxi happens in six days!

I worked for Gateway for a few years and I remember our UPS guy throwing $500 flat panel monitors off the back of his truck into puddles of water. Our freight shipper delivered a $10k plasma display with a shattered screen. There is absolutely a great chance anything you ship with any delivery company can and will be abused to no end.

That being said I remember my best friend's G/F shipped him a 6'er of flat tire from Colorado to VA because we can't get it here, just in time for his exams. Was pretty sweet.

I've sent beer in a sixer cooler filled with ice packs & cheese.

I sent some Bigfoot to my BIL with wedges of Maytag Blue Cheese to hold the bottles in place inside the cooler.

It got there intact. I packed it good and double boxed it too. The air between the boxes and cooler where filled with balled up newspaper.

I probably could have punted it and it probably would have still good to go.

JoefromPhilly said:

I sent 2 bottled brews to my brother in Vegas from Philly. They had been carbing for 2 weeks. I wrapped them quite well in bubble wrap, and there was plenty of cushion at both ends of each bottle.

I sent them via Priority Mail. When he got them, the package was wrapped in plastic and I could feel that one of the bottles was broken. Obviously either one of the bottles broke or exploded. What is the likelihood that it exploded?

I pity the rest of the mail that sat with that package! It was an amber ale that was quite tasty. And yes, the rest of the batch was fully carbed!

- Joe

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Hey, how'd you do that?

cvstrat said:

I worked for Gateway for a few years and I remember our UPS guy throwing $500 flat panel monitors off the back of his truck into puddles of water. Our freight shipper delivered a $10k plasma display with a shattered screen. There is absolutely a great chance anything you ship with any delivery company can and will be abused to no end.

That being said I remember my best friend's G/F shipped him a 6'er of flat tire from Colorado to VA because we can't get it here, just in time for his exams. Was pretty sweet.

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true about any delivery company damaging the goods, but wouldn't using usps run you the risk of potential legal action?????

Good chance that Priority was shipped Air, which the decrease in pressure could cause the bottle to break as well. I'd suggest shipping (via ups or fed-ex) ground next time

I went to visit my brother in Vegas. I sent the bottles ahead of time. I got the package from the apartment complex office, as it would not fit in his mailbox. Regarding sending the beer, I even asked a mailman about sending out 2 bottles. He told me "no problem".

As an experiment, I took a bottle, filled it with water, capped it and wrapped it like i did the other bottle. I dropped it a few times on my driveway and could not get it to break.

- Joe

JoefromPhilly said:

I went to visit my brother in Vegas. I sent the bottles ahead of time. I got the package from the apartment complex office, as it would not fit in his mailbox. Regarding sending the beer, I even asked a mailman about sending out 2 bottles. He told me "no problem".

As an experiment, I took a bottle, filled it with water, capped it and wrapped it like i did the other bottle. I dropped it a few times on my driveway and could not get it to break.

- Joe

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Makes you wonder if it flew in a non-pressurized storage compartment.

Schlenkerla said:

Makes you wonder if it flew in a non-pressurized storage compartment.

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Probably flew coach and got seated next to a large person and got crushed in the window seat.

jgln said:

Probably flew coach and got seated next to a large person and got crushed in the window seat.

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The stewardess was jamming it in the overhead. Then packed it in more with some jerks over-sized carry on bag.

Maybe the baggage handlers are to blame....

jgln said:

Probably flew coach and got seated next to a large person and got crushed in the window seat.

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No, that was ME!

- Joe