Shipping

[Cody]

What is the proper way to ship beer across state lines? Surely this is legal, as you can mail order wine and beer baskets. Right?

[PhillyBrewer]

A quick search will give you a good number of existing threads regarding this topic.

ps. Beer laws differ for each state meaning. PA is a state which alcohol cannot be shipped to.

[Ozwald]

I believe it's legal to ship 'yeast samples' to all 50 states. Just sayin.

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

It is illegal to ship "yeast samples" by the US mail. Felony illegal.

Ship via UPS or FedEx, where it is not illegal but against company policy, but tell them you're shipping sauces and marinades. If you picture Paxton in your head while writing it on the form, you are not technically lying. Wrap each bottle in bubble wrap and pack well with newspaper or other packing material. (I put a couple of sections of the local paper on the bottom of the box, and then insert a black trash bag, then another layer of newspaper in case of breakage.)

Maybe one day AHA will get UPS and FedEx to change their policy. . .

[Ozwald]

It is illegal to ship "yeast samples" by the US mail. Felony illegal.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that part. I tend to forget that this isn't common knowledge. My bad.

[Bugeater]

There was a great article on packing beer in Zymurgy several years ago that is still good advice. You should check it out. http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/a ... r_Beer.pdf

UPS is your best bet for a shipper. Fedex has a policy not to ship beer. If you don't declare the liquid in the package and it leaks during shipment they will assume that it is some unidentified hazardous material and bring in a hazmat team to clean it up. After it is cleaned up, the Fedex lawyers will be in touch with you to collect the full cost of cleanup and, of course, their legal fees.

UPS just dumps it in the trash and tells you not to do it again.

I've been buying and selling art pottery on the internet for years so the local UPS office is familiar with my packing methods so they never bother to check. When I started shipping beer, I just declared "collectable bottles" and they never raised an eyebrow.

Wayne

[PSUHomebrewer]

Actualy the mail will accept yeast samples, heck at work we recieve hiv, flu, salmonella, and some other nice nasty bacteria and viruses though the mail. The key though is you have to ship it properly, meaning your price goes up and theres a lot more rules and regulations. To ship it you would have to class it as a UN item, id guess UN3373 which is biological substance catagory B. By using this i dont see why you cant ship "yeast samples" by mail, and in practice it is the proper way to ship. The issue is if you are shipping it this way they can require you to disclose what your sending which you could then probably use the name of your yeast/bugs but make sure you go to the leagle weight limit on the amount you declare so your volume isnt questioned.

If my memory is actualy correct i think we got a fungus though us mail a few weeks ago.

But Fedex and UPS is much less hassel but still could give you just as much greif.

[Stinkfist]

There was a great article on packing beer in Zymurgy several years ago that is still good advice.

hahah a several years ago? I was in elementary school then....lol