Sending Beer To Competition's

[MIWI]

Looking for info on shipping beer for the first time. I have some very clear German Lagers that are bottle conditioned. I am afraid shipping could disturb the bottom contents and cloudy the beer. Anyone have experience with shipping for competition or judged and see this issue? Thanks for the help.

 

[Agent]

I don't have the data to back this up, but I've seen that by the time everything drops out, it's formed large enough particles that will settle back down relatively quickly after being disturbed.

The best recommendation I can give is to send them in as early as allowed to allow the most time between rough handling and judging.

 

[DonT]

Once the beer gets to it's destination, it will stand upright in a cooler for a bit and shouldn't get stirred up.
I use these boxes... and these inserts. Three inserts fit nicely into the box with no movement.

 

[jdauria]

You will be fine sending bottle conditioned beers. Even if you ship near the end of the shipping dates, usually there is a week or two between that and when the beers will be judged, plenty of time for it to settle out. If they comps you are sending to use the Brew Comp Online Entry & Management (BCOEM) comp software and if it's the recent version 2.7.0, there is even info to enter if you want the yeast roused (no for German lagers!) and whether you want the beer poured slow, fast or normal and you can even put in a pouring note, i.e. "Bottle conditioned, do not rouse yeast".

As for boxes, I am a big fan of these Whale Pods They are probably the most used bottle shipping boxes/inserts on the comp circuit. Little pricey but I ship to a lot of comps so buy in bulk, and get a discount as a Master Homebrewer Program member. 2nd most popular shippers are the Spirited Shipper bottle boxes. But if you are only doing a couple comps, what DonT suggested definitely work well also. I am sure there are still people out there that ship like I used to before I really got into comps...just a box and a bunch of wadded up newspaper around the bottles, so they are packed tight and won't shift during shipping.

And whatever you do..DO NOT tell UPS or Fedex you are shipping beer. While not against the law like with USPS, it's against their company policies. Just print a shipping label at home and bring and drop off, no questions asked. UPS online will ask what you are shipping, I just say "glassware".

 

[Snuffy]

i shudder to imagine the treatment and temps that beer shipped USPS must experience.

 

[MaxStout]

Federal law prohibits sending alcoholic beverages by USPS. Ship UPS or some other carrier.

Just to be safe, it's a good idea to wrap a few turns of electrical tape around the bottle caps. Another hack for sending beer is to vac-seal the bottles. If you use the 11" wide plastic you can get 2 or 3 bottles side-by-side.

 

[OLBrews]

Federal law prohibits sending alcoholic beverages by USPS. Ship UPS or some other carrier.

Just to be safe, it's a good idea to wrap a few turns of electrical tape around the bottle caps. Another hack for sending beer is to vac-seal the bottles. If you use the 11" wide plastic you can get 2 or 3 bottles side-by-side.

Please don't do this: electrical tape leaves a sticky mess and wastes time while the sorting through all the entries. Bottle caps that are properly applied will stay on just fine. Concentrate on the packing and per Joe's comment using dedicated shipping boxes like Whale Pod and Spirited Shipper is the best way to ensure delivery and happy competition sorting staff.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Obviously you're keeping one or two beers for yourself to drink at the approximate time of judging. I would shake one up while you know the others are in transit and see how long it takes to settle back clear. That way you'll know and taste everything the judges taste.

 

[MaxStout]

Please don't do this: electrical tape leaves a sticky mess and wastes time while the sorting through all the entries. Bottle caps that are properly applied will stay on just fine. Concentrate on the packing and per Joe's comment using dedicated shipping boxes like Whale Pod and Spirited Shipper is the best way to ensure delivery and happy competition sorting staff.

Good point, thanks.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Please don't do this: electrical tape leaves a sticky mess and wastes time while the sorting through all the entries. Bottle caps that are properly applied will stay on just fine. Concentrate on the packing and per Joe's comment using dedicated shipping boxes like Whale Pod and Spirited Shipper is the best way to ensure delivery and happy competition sorting staff.

Yeah, I feel ya. I hate electrical tape for this very reason. I use Gorilla tape over duct tape instead...no residue.


Srrrrsly though. I will use electrical tape to prep for transit, but I will double-back a third of the sticky side on itself, then wrap. That way, no sticky part on the bottle and no residue. Limited effort to remove the tape and you don't have to worry about the cap puncturing the Ziplock/suck & seal bag.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

FWIW, I was on the "unpackaging" team for a couple of 400+ entry events in 2017-2018.

Even then, the advice in #3 and #4 (above) was the simplest approach to getting bottles, unbroken, to the event.

FWIW, back then, packaging material was either re-used or re-cycled. So a pro tip: find a bottle sort event and help with unpackaging.

Yeah, I feel ya. I hate electrical tape for this very reason. I use Gorilla tape over duct tape instead...no residue.

Srrrrsly though. I will use electrical tape to prep for transit, but I will double-back a third of the sticky side on itself, then wrap. That way, no sticky part on the bottle and no residue. Limited effort to remove the tape and you don't have to worry about the cap puncturing the Ziplock/suck & seal bag.

My experience with "unpackaging" was that very few bottles break during shipping. I didn't saw a failure when packaging products, like the ones mentioned in #3 & #4, were used (and they can be re-used). Filling the box with "air bags" or "packaging peanuts" was also effective - but a PITA for the unpackaging team and for the home brewing / craft brewing business that offered space (and dumpsters) for the bottle sort.

Any "limited effort to remove" is additional effort. And additional handling of the bottle. Which slows down, un-necessiarly, the "unpackaging" process.

---

Help make "unpackaging" as simple as opening the clam-shell, removing the bottle, applying any further routing label, and placing it in a larger container. Just say no to extra tape.

 

[Beermeister32]

I shipped a bunch of beer in a sealed top 5 gallon bucket. Probably 15 mixed batches. I put the bottles in cardboard mailing tubes with a few foam peanuts in the ends. When all in, you lightly hammer the top down, the type of lid that has a peel-off strip to remove.

Really a durable way to ship beer! Went from my company address with a company label on it, shipped UPS. I even stuck a packing list and MSDS sheet for generic beer on the side of the bucket. Nobody ever checks…! Looks industrial!

 

[JohnDBrewer]

Don't use packing peanuts! Most comps specifically ask you not to use them. Make sure to line the entire box with a garbage bag, then put in your beers, no matter what method you use. That way if there is breakage, or more likely leakage, from the cap, it doesn't ruin the integrity of the shipping box. If the outside is destroyed, really doesn't matter how you packed the inside.