Shipping my beer

I have friends and relatives all over who want to sample some beer and it looks like in a month or so I will have more then I can handle. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience shipping beer. Don't they frown on liquids at USPS?

Archie

 

Your not shipping beer. It's empty bottles or yeast samples. I usually use Fedex ground. For me it's cheapest and the fewest questions. Make sure you wrap them very well, and make sure they won't bang against each other. But yeah, we ship all the time. Sometimes to each other or competitions and such.

 

Not sure about liquids in general but it is specifically illegal to send any alcoholic beverage in the US mail. UPS can also be a little hinky about it too so by default your best bet is FedEx. Make sure everything is packed very well. Double boxing is a good idea. When filling out the slip for the package use a creative description if you have to list the contents. Say "yeast samples in aqueous solution" rather than "beer".

 

I used FedEx just don't tell them its beer they didn't ask me.

 

UPS and all other private companies have a policy that says no shipping alcohol, however wrap them up nice, put then in ziplocks and tell them they are yeast samples, marinade, or something of that sort. A group of us did the 12 beers of christmas and had no problems sending it to each other.

 

Thanks for all the replies.

Archie

 

If you plan on doing this more in the future,use plastic bottles for lighter weight, it cost me about $12 bucks to ship a six pack of glass bottles a few states away,i used usps but wont again,its a stupid law.Use fed ex and if they ask just say its glass if it is glass.
Dont worry too much a local homebrew club has instructions on shipping it for people that cant make it to meetings to send it,i figure if they can do it why cant i. Not to mention all the trades going on on beer rating sites and even here.
I think usps mentioned something about liquids or anything that could leak,and i shook my head and said glass and its fragile.The movie pet detective when Jim Carey is kicking the box around,comes to mind whenever i ship something that says fragile on it.

 

Wrap each bottle in small bubble wrap and then surround with peanuts so its tightly packed in the box. Then that box goes into a bigger box with more peanuts surrounding it completley, hence double boxed. If you do this, the bottles will not make noise and will survive being dropped. It is how fragile glass art is shipped so it does work to protect fragile stuff.

The only other thing to consider is a higher alcohal content is better then a 'light' brew. The package will see very cold temps while being shipped and a light brew could freeze and burst!

 

I wrap each bottle in bubble wrap,then into zip lock freezer bags. Bubble wrap around those & into a blue grocery bag. Bubble wrap around that & into a 2nd blue bag. Then into abubble wrap lined box. Then fill with peanuts & seal it up. I write EXTREMELY FRAGILE on all sides. If they can be heard sloshing,I declare them as yeast samples. If not,glassware. UPS has worked out fine so far.