Cold Weather Trading / Winter Shipping Thread

IMO its something to be aware of. I have had beers freezer and expand then warm and leak. I have done common shelf stuff over cold weather months. But keep one off and special brewery release bottles for moderate weather conditions. Not too hot or not too cold

 

On one hand and its not really worth the risk...on the other I have shipped through frigid temps and everything has been fine.

 

Insulate, more packing is better, ship early in the week. If it's 15 degrees don't ship.

 

see this post, but the entire thread is useful too:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/shipping-beer-in-winter.136681/#post-1973771

 

Sounds terrifying. I'll need a new hobby this winter lol

Thanks for the heads up!

 

IMO, you've just got to be rational about it and manage your risk. luck helps too. along with styro shippers and taping your caps/crowns. i've shipped bottles of lambic to @jarrgal in the dead of the ND winter without any negative effects. we tried to plan dates and times, but in the end, you're at the mercy of mother nature. i wouldn't do it again if i *knew * we were looking at high temps barely above zero, but forecasts are just that.

if you can't afford to replace/reship...don't do it. better yet, develop good trading relationships. even without cold temps, weird stuff happens, right @MWolverines66 ? Even when the worst happens, there's still light at the end of the tunnel.

 

As I have learned recently (as has @F2brewers unfortunately) strange things can happen in any weather. I shipped on a Monday, 24 hours of shipping, perfect weather, box lined with bubble wrap, bottles tapped and wrapped, and then in bags...and still somehow the box managed to get completely ripped open.

 

Ripped open?? That's just crazy! They happen to mention how? I try to make sure all flaps, corners and seems are taped shut with packing tape. Box winds up looking like a four square field.

 

This is true. FedEx claimed the box was "dropped" as it was being loaded on the local delivery truck. When I picked up the "box" at the local hub, it was in a plastic mail carrier box. The box pieces, packing material (including balls of yarn!) and broken glass could have passed for C-3PO after the Stormtroopers blasted him on Bespin and Chewbacca gathered his parts back together.

Fortunately only a growler broke (actually, it was pulverized with no pieces bigger than an inch or so), none of the other bottles were looted and FedEx carried it to my car (!), but it's true...you never know.

 

Haha yea the yarn was an interesting touch. Someone just sent me a box where everything was packed with like 15 balls of yarn, so I figured what the hell, it will provide some cushioning.

@creepinjeeper - Yes the box was ripped open, never experienced this before, and don't know how that could happen after I packed it so well. From the photo I saw, it looks like someone just took a bite off the side of the box.

 

I was just wondering if it looked like people ripped it open or got caught on some of their machinery.

 

Is just having it held at the local FedEx/UPS not an ideal solution for most of you guys? I've done that for dead of summer shipments, when it's 110 out.

 

I do the same when I'm either out of town or it's crazy hot outside. The FedEx ladies are really nice and seem to like me well enough.

Pretty sure they've caught onto what I'm shipping. I'm the olive oil czar of the Midwest!

 

Yea I do that as well, but for all of my boxes. I don't trust them delivering it to my apt in NYC and it remaining intact ha.

 

They said it fell on a corner of the box and hey heard glass break.

Even though the growler was in a plastic garbage bag with a tied top, it looks like the growler contents leaked out quickly and compromised the corner where it landed. That comprmised a seam on the side of the box and everyuing tumbled out.

The whole bottom was soaked through by the time I got it ~ 12 hours later. The damage looked consistent with the story followed by moisture damage. A 14x14x14 box with 8 bombers/750s won't hold up long if you dump a liter or two of liquid inside it.

The top of the box had been cut open along the tape, but was otherwise dry and in good shape as was the far side of the box. I think it's pretty rare to recover a box like this, in this state, with other contents intact, directly from FedEx.

 

With what I am reading from you, @mythaeus and a few others, it looks like FedEx really is more likely to deliver your box. Even if they find out it's beer.

 

I can't speak to "deliver" in this case. I made some calls and was told there were two options given the damage to the box:

• Have FedEx dispose of it
• Drive to the FedEx hub and pick it up myself

I chose the latter since the hub isn't terribly far from my normal route home.

I didn't get any dirty looks or threats to my account or 'you shouldn't be doing this, don't do it again' lectures. The guy actually looked sad when he brought the mangled mess out.

Plus, two other outbound boxes going through the same hub that I had dropped off that morning (and were actually at the hub when I got there) have moved along just fine.

Go figure.

 

being in alaska, i typically hold off on trades after about this time of year. however, i've recently moved much farther south (while still in ak) and it doesn't get remotely as cold. but... i once received a USPS flat rate box with 4 bombers in it when it was -40 out, the box sat for the better part of a work day (easily 6+hours) and all beers were fine. while there actually is some science to it, it seems to be incredibly hit or miss. but i'd echo everything said above: if it's not easily replaceable, wait until it's warmer to ship.

 

This humble brag is worse than people casually mentioning the latest whale they slayed.

 

Had to put a sweatshirt on this A.M. 67 degrees. It's freezing.