Shipping fresh homebrew

[fretlessman71]

Is there a reason I should or shouldn't send beer that I've just bottled in the mail? I have a sweet stout that I'll probably be bottling in the next two weeks, and I'd like to send some of it to people I owe beer to here on the board. Is there a period where shipping and moving around is ESPECIALLY dangerous to homebrew?

[S.F.B.]

I haven't shipped home brew that was just bottled. It has usually been in the bottle for at least 30 days.

[fretlessman71]

Know any reason why it might or might not be a good idea? Too volatile?

[Professor Frink]

I sent some pumpkin ale priority mail (USPS) 5 days after bottling, (12/16), from Mpls to Baltimore. I was extremely worried about the temperatures it would be exposed to, especially the frigid temps in Minnesota. I told my Dad (it was a Christmas present) to wait until 1/16 to refrigerate/drink any. I'll be able to to tell you in 9 more days how it carbonated or if it carbonated. I'm still kinda worried about it, flat beer isn't a terribly impressive Christmas present.

[OldHooky]

Since it gains carbonation with time, I would think right after bottling would be best. Just a guess. But as a warning, on our trip to Florida, I had two bottles explode(both of them broke the bottom of the bottle) from just riding in my van. But I bottled too soon. Probably wouldn't have happened if I left them in the secondary a while longer.

[bierboy]

Here's a good reason. It is illegal to send alcohol through the US Mail. You can, however, ship it via UPS. If they ask any questions you can label the package as "Yeast samples for evaluation purposes."

[Beaver]

Couldn't the change in air pressure on a non-pressurized cargo plane do bad things?

[Tweek]

I would be more worried that you may have infected something in the bottling process and you are sending your friends bottle bombs. I like to wait until my beer is fully carbonated and done before I give it to friends. just my .02

[Fast_Eddy]

My .02......

According to the very wordy author (Terry Foster) of Classic Beer Styles "Pale Ale" lots and lots of beer was shipped after fermentation but before carbonating. The beer was called something like "Traveling Ale" or "Traveling Beer" or something similar. IPA's(they had a long journey to make after all) were shipped this way often and they conditioned(and carbonated) while in transit.

[paul84043]

I agree with Tweek, the biggest reason would be to be sure that your beer is "good" before sending it to someone else...
I have yet to overcarbonate a batch, but I have one that never carbonated.
I would want to test it personally before shipping to someone else.

As for using the mail....I figure as long as you package it well enough that even if it does break, the liquid will still be fully contained, and aren't sending an entire case with bottles clanging together, they never need to know what's in it.

In some states, it's illegal to ship alcohol of any kind using any carrier. (Like the one I live in...)
It's BS, church and state should not mix.

I still owe a few bottles to a couple of members of this board, but have been so busy with christmas (and being completely broke from said holiday) I have yet to make it to the post office.

[fretlessman71]

I suppose it's the sort of thing where I could say, "DON'T OPEN THAT BEER! LET ME SEND YOU MORE!" if something went horribly wrong with it, isn't it? I think I'd rather send out the Stout in a week or two than the porter I made, which IS a little on the sour side. I guess they can always serve as an example of what can happen to your beer when you don't sanitize properly.... :(