Curious Question about Beer of the Month Clubs

[ThatGuyMike]

Hey All, I'm a long-time-reader, first-time-poster. Love the community here. It's such a great resource!

Anyways, I was just thinking about something and curious if anyone had an answer. I'm curious as to how Beer of the Month clubs are legal in the US. I know it is illegal to ship beer, and I also know that you can not purchase beer directly from a brewery online due to the Three-Tier system. But does anyone know how Beer of the Month clubs remain (thankfully) legal? Also, if they are legal, why would it be illegal for a distributor to have an online store and ship beer to consumers?

 

[Walker]

It's only illegal to ship beer if you don't have the proper permits/licenses.

edit: and in some cases, the legality only comes into question if you are shipping across state lines.

 

[ThatGuyMike]

Permits. That makes perfect sense. I was looking at this from a homebrewer's perspective (in which case I obviously don't have the permits to ship my beer elsewhere).

Also, I didn't think about shipping beer as something legal on a state-by-state basis. I thought it was a federal law. Thanks!

 

[Walker]

Also, I didn't think about shipping beer as something legal on a state-by-state basis. I thought it was a federal law. Thanks!

The federal government doesn't get involved until it leaves one state and enters another. That's why I mentioned the "state lines" thing.

 

[ThatGuyMike]

Right right. Another obvious thing that I didn't take into consideration. No matter what I'm happy they exist! I wish it could be made one step easier and we could order our favorite beers directly from breweries online, but now I'm just dreamin'

 

[kjung]

Who ships beer? We all ship "liquid-protected yeast samples."

 

[ThatGuyMike]

Who ships beer? We all ship "liquid-protected yeast samples."

How true. I don't know what I was thinking!