Shipping homebrew

[sictransit701]

I know it’s probably not legal, but...I’d really like to share my homebrew without having to drive 14 hours. I e never done a competition, but I’d imagine you would ship it, no? Anyways, can it be done?

 

[DBhomebrew]

Shipping via USPS is against the law. Shipping via UPS is against company policy.

 

[Broken Crow]

Maybe check out the What came in the mail for you today? thread, and if you don't get answers in this one, try tagging or PM'ing some of the folk who recieve beer in the mail.

 

[Sammy86]

Shh...I've shipped USPS to my buddy serving in Japan! Took exactly a month but everything got there in one piece and still carbed!

Have to go a little over the top though...wrap them in plastic wrap, wrapped in newspaper stuffed in a garbage bag filled with newspaper so it doesn't make a peep! Line the box with garbage bags and paper towel! Wrapped the box nice and tight and tell them its a gag gift...never ask questions.

Easiest way is UPS or Fedex and use the app...print your shipping label and drop off/have them pick it up.

 

[Jaybird]

Just ship it UPS and pack the ever living hell out of it and you'll be fine! These days when you can ship Spirits legally around the world using UPS and Fed Ex. I really wouldn't worry about it. Pack it so if it breaks its contained and the only one that will be worried is the person opening it. We ship for competition ALL THE TIME!

Cheers
Jay

 

[BrewZer]

Maybe pick a first round site that's closer than 14 hours away. I'm driving mine to Indy.

 

[BAF]

Cans are super easy to ship, if you have such equipment. I just put them in ziplock bags (you can fit a couple in a gallon size bag), and use a little bubble wrap. Cans are light, resilient (unless punctured), and tend to not really make any noise when shaken, so it's not obvious that your package has liquids in it at all.

 

[jdauria]

I ship UPS with zero issues...I print the label at home, and bring to a UPS store or Staples UPS drop off...they never ask anything if it's already labeled. When you create the label, you are asked what you are shipping, just don't say beer...I have used "glassware samples", "Hot sauce", "snow globes", etc. The only time there is an issue is if UPS breaks beers and the box leaks...you can't file a claim for the value of the package in that case as they will deny it for shipping beer.

However, saying that, a friend told me he got into a battle with UPS over a damaged box of entries he shipped from east coast to Alaska. UPS would not pay his claim because he shipped beer, he argued how to you know it was beer? They were "well it says in our report it smelled and looked like beer and we don't allow alcoholic beverages" He then responded with "how do you know it was not non-alcoholic beer or just non-alcoholic malt beverage (like canned wort you can buy these days)?" And with that, he had them, and they paid out his claim!

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Shh...I've shipped USPS to my buddy serving in Japan! Took exactly a month but everything got there in one piece and still carbed!

Have to go a little over the top though...wrap them in plastic wrap, wrapped in newspaper stuffed in a garbage bag filled with newspaper so it doesn't make a peep! Line the box with garbage bags and paper towel! Wrapped the box nice and tight and tell them its a gag gift...never ask questions.

Easiest way is UPS or Fedex and use the app...print your shipping label and drop off/have them pick it up.

This, plus I'll add a toilet paper tube, sealed on both ends with a few screws, paperclips, washers, etc to hide the sloshing sound. Only some jingle jingle if the box is shaken.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Maybe pick a first round site that's closer than 14 hours away. I'm driving mine to Indy.

Ahhh...Google tells me it is 3.5 hours to Philly from my place. Maybe I should plan a road trip! That would be about $32 in gas...but spending an entire day driving up and down 95 sounds like a shitty day!

 

[AlexKay]

I use Crafty Shippers. They're a little pricey, but I bought cardboard boxes that fit them exactly, and it's trivially easy to pack bottles now: no styrofoam, bubble wrap, whatever. I still seal each bottle in a plastic bag, but have never had a single break.

 

[KeizerBrewr]

Over wrap your bottles, pack it inside a garbage bag before it goes into the box. Use UPS and when they ask what the contents is, "Snow Globes" or "Hot Sauce".

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Over wrap your bottles, pack it inside a garbage bag before it goes into the box. Use UPS and when they ask what the contents is, "Snow Globes" or "Hot Sauce".

If you don't want to lie at all, just slap one of these babies on each bottle and sleep with a clean conscience.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Don't bring your kids to the UPS Store.

What I did for beer today

Finally got around to putting my brown ale from Big Brew into a keg. The extra time on the yeast seems to have done well for this one, and the clarity is great!

www.homebrewtalk.com

 

[BrewMan13]

Everyone seems to hate on them, but I like FedEx for this kind of thing. Setup an online account so you don't have to talk to anyone, and just drop it off at a shipping location, don't even need to declare what it is. Also, I have a cousin who works for them and they don't care it's beer unless you make it super obvious what's in it. Obviously pack it well, so nothing in the box moves. I've taken to bubble wrapping each bottle individually, them re-wrapping all of them together, so there's no chance of them banging into each other.

 

[BAF]

I just declare it as a "care package" and nobody has said anything yet (if anyone even sees the declaration after typing it in on ups.com).

 

[BongoYodeler]

I have a "marinade business" set up on the ups site. Pre-print the labels and pay online. No questions asked.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Uline has these:

Beer/Half-Wine Carrier Box - 12 Bottle Pack S-19769 - Uline

Safely carry 12 beer bottles or half-size wine bottles with these heavy-duty corrugated carriers. Large hand holes for easy carrying. Ships flat, saves storage space. Corrugated inserts accommodate 375ml half-size wine or beer bottles.ULINE offers over 38,500 boxes, plastic poly bags, mailing...

www.uline.com

They also have 24-bottle-pack.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Uline has these:

Last time I was tempted by Uline (maybe just some standard boxes), it ended up the shipping costs about doubled the price. I was thinking that if these were reasonably priced they might make a clean bottle storage system (vs the random sized boxes I use now) but even without shipping it is $124 for 10 of the 24 count boxes!

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Last time I was tempted by Uline (maybe just some standard boxes), it ended up the shipping costs about doubled the price. I was thinking that if these were reasonably priced they might make a clean bottle storage system (vs the random sized boxes I use now) but even without shipping it is $124 for 10 of the 24 count boxes!

Ouch! I confess, I’ve never bought any, or considered shipping any brew. I just remembered seeing them in catalog and decided to share.

 

[grampamark]

One thing to consider when shipping beer is the time of year and the ambient temps in both your, and the recipient’s, locations.

I participated in the 12 BOC exchange for 3 years. I live within spitting distance of The Great White North, it gets damn cold here in December, and freight trucks aren’t climate controlled. In each year I both sent and received bottles which had frozen in transport and broke the bottles. That’s why you want to be sure each bottle is sealed in a waterproof package.

I also discovered that dry, unbuttered, unsalted, popcorn makes good, cheap, packing material,

 

[Thorrak]

I highly recommend Whale Pods as a shipping box -- especially for cans. Their bottle boxes seem to be based on the same general principle (foam inserts secure the bottles & provide padding against shock).

I used to use Spirited Shipper -- the downside is that they externally brand their boxes, and anyone with half a brain (or google) will know the contents.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I shipped a bunch of beer to Alaska via USPS in flat rate boxes, used candy and such for packing material, printed the shipping label at home and just dropped the box off at the post office, didn't give them time to ask what was in the box.

 

[CharlaineC]

I use ups to ship mostly but have done usps a few times. What I normally do is buy a sheet of 2" thick foam like whats used to make cushions. Cut to fit the box in height and with, Than cut X where the beers go. I'd normally add return postage for the box with empty bottles. I always labled my packages as liquid yeast starters.

 

[Phish_on2k]

I also prefer UPS to ship home brew...err...mason jars of grandma's chicken soup or kombucha or homemade salsa! For packaging I reuse shipping materials from when I order Mead from Vinoshipper...they come in plastic or cardboard molded in shape of bottles..2 pieces...separated...like egg crate...works great