Flying with beer

So, I am going home this weekend for some Mardi Gras festivities in Galveston, TX. I located a guy on Facebook who is willing me to sell me some beer that I have long sought after (no longer brewed). I am going to have a six pack (probably 4 beers after I drink 2 in celebration ) and was wondering how I should travel with it? and even if I can travel with it?

So my questions are:

Can I legally fly with beer in my bag? Does it need to be "checked?"

How do I package the beer? I want ensure the flavor isn't tampered with and it doesn't get broken during flight or being thrown around.

They are normal size. Not the bigger bottles.

Thanks in advance.

 

I'm not sure if its legal, but thought I'd chime in on the idea of mailing it... if it is a problem.

 

Has to be checked (unless all bottles are less than 3 ounces each and total quantity is less than a quart).

Wrapped, padded, watertight, re-wrapped, re-padded, more watertight coatings and it should survive the trip. Maybe... baggage gorillas have their jobs because they can muscle bags around, not to be gentle

 

I has to be checked. I brought back a suitcase full from Belgium this way The only clothing in the suitcase was wrapped around the bottles.

 

I did the same thing with several bottles of wine. Wrap them in clothes and check the bag.

 

TSA will open the box, and you just have to hope they don't take any. I've lost cigars to them but luckily they didn't take any of the case of homebrew I flew to CA with (special birthday brew for my brother) last summer. They didn't repack it well, but it made it there...

Somebody above mentioned the 3oz. rule for carry-on. That doesn't apply to alcoholic beverages. They are strictly banned.

 

Yeah, thats what I figured.

Thanks guys. I am flying within the state, so there is no transfer of alcohol between state lines or any crazy laws like that...

Hmm... one would think that bringing beer back from Belgium would mean some taxes, am I right?

 

It's not much of an issue bringing beer back in checked luggage. I've brought bottles of wine back from france and rum from the caribbean.

from the TSA website:
You may take up to five liters of alcohol with alcohol content between 24% and 70% per person as checked luggage if it’s packaged in a sealable bottle or flask.

Alcoholic beverages with less than 24% alcohol content are not subject to hazardous materials regulations.

Edit: And that is for international. Domestically its a non-issue.

 

Additional note: above 70% isn't allowed because it's flammable.

 

Don't try shipping it. It's not legal, and FedEx gets real mad when it breaks and they investigate what it is.

I brought home a few Alltech Burbon Ales in my checked bag without any problem or hassle.

 

Man I hate it when FedEx is mad at me.

 

Incorrect.

 

TSA doesn't just "take stuff" without a reason. I suspect there is more to these cigars that you care to admit.

Your second comment is also flat out wrong.

 

Keep believing what you want, but even the TSA has some bad seeds. (they took the legal Davidoffs, not the cuban partagas shorts)

And yes, I realized after posting that I should probably check the information the gate agents told me versus what the regulations actually state.

 

Duty Free wouldn't be able to sell alcohol if that were the case.

 

The duty is pretty cheap. Like 50 cents a liter give or take.

 

Oh really? They took a bottle of cologne, spare camera battery, just recently my buddy had them take a bottle Jenever all from checked bags- TSA left a nice note saying that they had searched the bags. Jeez wonder who else may have taking our stuff?


How about the Honolulu TSA that had to fire 17 percent of its workforce for thievery.

Another TSA case:
TSA agent steals $200K worth of gear, resells it on eBay
The TSA reached a mind-boggling new low in customer service this week when it was revealed that one agent had single-handedly absconded with over $200,000 worth of travelers' belongings


TSA are thieves/perverts,drug dealers,gun smugglers,money runners,ect,ect,ect

http://rebelmodel.com/news/latest.php

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2010/tle556-20100207-03.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/13366260-post1.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-safety-security-222/

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/crime/012910-stolen-laptop

http://cbs2.com/goldstein/TSA.Screener.Child.2.1471579.html

http://www.floridatoday.com/article...rt++OIA+security+worker+wanted+teen+sex+slave

http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/01/...utism-on-terror-list-detained-at-airport.html

TSA wielding Magic Paper



Did I make my point?

.

 

That falls under Customs, and not once have they bothered with taxes.
At customs desk, "anything to claim" --> "nope just some beer" -->"welcome back to the states".


This was 1 of 2 bags


what fits in 1 bag

 

Duty free, on every international flight I've been on, has been held by the flight attendants and given back to you as you exit the plane at the destination. That's why they have those big sealed bags they put it in when you buy before a flight.

 

So are you agreeing with me that you can carry alcohol on a flight or did you do a poor job of reading the conversation?

 

In my experience, you can't carry a bottle on, example:

I bought a duty-free bottle of grey goose before a flight to Slovakia to give as a gift to somebody putting us up in Bratislava. The duty free shop packaged it up and made sure it was on the plane. I never got to touch it after purchase until I exited the plane.

This is just my experience, which I inquired about and was told flatly that alcoholic beverages cannot be carried by the passenger onto the plane. My comment above regarding the sealed bags was from another flight where I witnessed sealed duty-free bags being gathered at the gate by the flight attendants.

 

Before the liquid restrictions I carried on a full growler of some Austrian beer

 

+1
That is what I see on every trip.

 

That's hilarious! Government employees are far too honest to steal?

 

Alright guys, well I just got back home from a weekend of Mardi Gras in Houston and Galveston!

I scored one of Saint Arnold's single batch one time release beers (Divine Reserve #9) off some guy I met on Facebook. I drank one, stored 2 at my family's house, and brought back 3 with me.

I went to check my bag with the 3 beers wrapped tightly in some towels and clothes I had. I got up to the desk and let the nice lady know I was flying with beer and wanted to stick a fragile sticker on there. Right off the bat she told "not to let her know" and this worried me. She told me they had to be "specially wrapped" otherwise she wasn't allowed to let me fly with it. She was going to let me just pass by without the special wrapping, but it was only $5 bucks for this protective "wine bag" and all 3 of my beers fitted nicely in it. The logic behind this is that if the bottles somehow break they wouldn't leak onto my clothes or anyone's stuff. The bag was essentially a normal plastic bag with the heavy duty inflated plastic bags to absorb shock. To me, the $5 bucks was worth it. I flew on Southwest Airlines.

To sum up:

She told me you might get your bottles taken up, depending on the bag checker if they aren't in the proper protective bag. They sell them at the bag check counter for $5. These bags easily fit (3) 12 oz beers, possibly more.

I wouldn't risk it, as these people don't give a **** because they will never see you again. The $5 is worth it.

Make sure to ask for a "fragile" sticker. It can't hurt.

Drinking good beer before flying can make the time fly by all the more quickly. Though, it sucks when you have to pee badly and you can't get up because the plane is waiting to take off or is taking off.

 

I'm my experience putting a Fragile sticker at best makes no difference and at worst inspires some baggage handlers to deliberately bounce your bag across the tarmac a few times. Red rag to a bull.

I checked in some 22oz bottles recently to Costa Rica. Just some bubble wrap, nothing else. No problems. Will be doing the same to Scotland in a couple of weeks (homebrew this time). I don't expect any problems. Anything you want to bring into the cabin as hand luggage on the other hand... if in any doubt don't do it. Your friendly (I'm being sarcastic) TSA official doesn't give a stuff if you're going to miss your flight while you answer some thorough questions. Flying just fills me with dread these days. Quiz. How do airlines refer to passengers these days?

- a. Vertically-stack freight.
- b. Self-loading freight.

The answer is, pathetically, both a and b.

 

I have had liquor, beer, and wine shipped internationally and nationally via FedEx/UPS and airlines numerous times without problems and legally. The most frustrating thing is that I have had bottles of rare liquors opened up and an ounce taken off the top more than once. I have complained in the past and am always assured they do that as part of randomized testing.

Albeit, two years ago, when flying from Europe, I came back with an 80 year old bottle of Madeira. When I arrived in the states, the seal had been broken and a third of the bottle was cleanly extracted. It had been in a special box, on its own, checked separately, sealed, well taken care of. Long story short, I raised hell with TSA who ultimately paid me for the cost of the bottle - so it is doable, but it took more effort than it was probably worth.

 

I do not think that carrying alcohol on board is legal. No problem with checked luggage though. It will require TSA to open your bag to inspect it and see if there is anything good inside. I do not think TSA is there to enforce FAA requirements just security requirements and steal your stuff.

The prohibition of alcohol is an FAA issue. I do not have the Federal Aviation Regulations with me and not positive on this but I am pretty sure it is there. I do know:

You are not allowed to allow anyone who appears intoxicated onboard, any airplane, not even commercial flights.

The aircraft crew is responsible for ensuring for passenger behavior and control. This something taken very seriously and a rowdy passenger will cause a plane to be diverted and the passenger will be greeted by Marshals upon landing. Letting people travel without shampoo but bringing 3 airplane bottles instead does not seem like a good way to go about crowd control.

If you have a pilots badge and a uniform you can bring whatever you want onboard as long as it is not a weapon. Even with this outfit they took away my nail clippers once. I however have not tested their flexibility of this rule by carrying on alcohol as it would not look good if my suitcase was opened and I was standing there in uniform with a corny keg in my suitcase.

On the other end of the spectrum. UPS sends wine all the time. I am sure beer would work as well.

 

I am not sure if taking liquor on board a plane is so much illegal as not allowed. Most of the things the FAA does not allow on board, to my limited knowledge (IANAL), are "not allowed" but there is no accompanying misdemeanor/felony if you were to carry it on. Not that it is a good idea to do so, as TSA agents will make you wish it was a crime by the time they are done with you.

As for shipping alcohol, the legality of it is essentially random. That is, it depends entirely on the state sending and state receiving. Companies like UPS have pretty good guidelines on this, but they are not always correct or up to date.

TSA: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1189.shtm

State shipping laws regarding wine:
http://www.wineinstitute.org/initiatives/stateshippinglaws

Military Site with Information:
http://www.hqusareur.army.mil/opm/state.htm

Whatever you do, don't ship it via USPS:

Great article on USAToday showing the laws back in 2004:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004/alcohol-policy.htm

And, the rules change completely if you are shipping alcohol internationally.

Internationally, just be clear it is for personal use:
http://www.ttb.gov/importers/personal_importation.shtml

Or you can always call your ABC and ask:
http://www.ttb.gov/wine/control_board.shtml Which is probably the best idea, they should have information on beer also.

And, supposedly, but I didn't find anything on it other than people telling this to each other and a few fed sites mentioning it is doable sometimes ... in a few states, you can ship direct between people, so long as the box is clearly marked: "ADULTS ONLY, GIFT, CONTAINS ALCOHOL" and it is truly a gift.

Whatever it is. I get alcohol through the mail fairly regularly - but under my state's legal limits and usually from an appropriate shipper (unless it's a gift or sent by myself to myself).

 

I fly for a living. I take my homebrew with me many times, and bring beers rangeing from 12 oz to bombers to belgians I bought over seas back home. I always pack them in my spare socks and use undershirts to stick around them. Never once have I had a problem, and never once have I had one break. I get the nice "TSA has checked your bag" inserts all the time, but all the beers have been there when I unpack in a hotel or back at home. I've never told the counter people but then again, they dont need to know.
And no, you cant bring them onto the plane in your carry on luggage

 

Bevmo ships beer through the mail all the time. Don't remember who they ship it through, but they use big huge wine/beer styrofoam boxes to secure the individual bottles. Then they collapse the sixer cardboard and slip it into the side.

So when you order beer from bevmo, some assembly is required. :rockin:

 

Anyone flown Southwest Airlines and checked any beer in their luggage lately? I'm headed to Chicago in a couple days and am planning on bringing about a 12 pack of homebrew.

 

They absolutely do. I have lost cigars, deodorant, beer and liquor. There does not have to be more to it. They know no one is going to complain, just try and find someone to complain to, let alone actually follow-up on it with someone. These guys know nothing is gonna happen to them. They have sampled 1/3 bottle of Riesling, confiscated a flask of Jim Beam, out of 3 boxes of LEGAL cigars I am down 13, I brought back 2 bottles of Brugal hoping that 1 would be left alone 1 was down a few shots, the other was happily full, but opened. Their reason is, they can, so I guess in a matter of speaking you bare correct.

 

Didn't an TSA X-Ray inspector recently get busted for stealing $500 while hand checking a handicapped lady's purse?

You can zip-tie your checked baggage. If the tie is cut, you know it got randomly searched.

Back in the 80s, my old stand-by for getting through customs fast was packing a dirty jock on top so it's the first thing visible when the bag was searched.

 

That is brilliant. I think I'll try that. Or maybe think of something more nasty. You know, just to keep up with the jackass generation.

 

It's kind of like a gym locker lock. Anyone who wants to get past it can, but it takes more effort.

The guys doing serious searches are wearing gloves and they don't care what gross stuff is in your luggage. But the guys who are just looking to hassle you or see if the can find something quick and easy to steal will think twice about searching deeper.

 

So, what about flying with corny kegs? I'm halfway serious - would save me having to drive 3 kegs cross-country prior to my wedding.

 

It would be pretty cool to fly with cornies...I'd also be interested if anyone knows the answer.

 

That you'd have to talk to the airline about. They might have a volume or a pressure problem with it or give you special packing instructions.

 

Why not just have someone brew for you? I taught a buddy to brew in St. Louis. Now I have beer in Missouri and Ohio! It's also where my dad is, so now it's close to him, and I don't have to make a 6 hour drive with it.

You could probably find someone where you are getting married, or close by that brews, send them recipes, or ingredients, have it brewed. Then just fly with 3 empty cornies, and make a trade when you get there.