When is it too cold to ship?

My general rule is that if the overnight low temp is lower than 15 degrees, I won't ship. It's hard to tell how much exposure the package is getting to the ambient air temperature, but I'll assume it can reach the lowest temperature along the route.

20 degrees should pose no danger in normal circumstances, however during cold weather I only ship on Monday or Tuesday so it's not sitting around on a truck somewhere on a Sunday.

I have never had a beer freeze in route, but I'm sure it's been really, really close to that point before.

I think that once a beer freezes, it'll never taste 100% right after that, but I could be wrong. I've had a couple IPA slushies and they both left a little to be desired (accidental, not intentional)

 

Even 2-3 weeks in the fridge can, IMO change the flavor of a beer for the worse. (The first Maine Peeper I had from a pull was perfect, and I had another maybe a week or two later and it had lost a lot of flavor)

I imagine shipping beer through the extreme cold (low of 0-10 degrees) probably is going to have a negative affect on taste as well.

I wonder if the taste maintained for you? For stouts with a high alcohol percentage perhaps it's more likely but for a DIPA I worry it will lose subtle elements to its flavor.

 

I had some 6% ipa in a 12oz bottle freeze in a cooler in the trunk of my car in -1 degree low temp when I went to Wisconsin the day after Xmas. I thought the cooler would insulate it enough to protect it... much more than a shipping box would.

Another data point, but one that turned me off of trading in this weather. I know there are success stories out there, but to me it’s not worth the risk.

Cheers!

 

I don't trade much, but for the folks that do, are you going through withdrawal with this crazy long cold stretch? I don't feel like there is even any point to looking at the trade forums at the moment since I might not be able to ship out till April at this rate.

 

I think it depends on your location, what you are shipping, and where it is going, and even size.

I shipped another package this week - this time to CA. Again, all stouts. The day I shipped it was I think a high of 13, low of negative something. Going to Indy (about the same temp) or Chicago (actually warmer, somehow) before going to California (I THINK). I shipped USPS.

3 of the bottles were bombers, 10.5%, the others smaller but 12% or above. All glass, of course.

I'm quite confident (although a little nervous) that these will make it. Again, another datapoint.

If the 10.5% bottles had not been bombers, I would have been less inclined.

Also, this might sound silly, but I think not. All the bottles were placed on their side. That means that during any transpiration where they are traveling, the liquid should be moving back and forth just slightly more than if they were upright. That *should* further help prevent freezing, although I haven't done tests.

Shipped 2 day. We shall see!

 

Oh, and we initially wanted to ship (between both sides) some lower ABV beers, that were 7-9%, some cans some bottles. We put the kabash on that knowing that there was virtually no way they would survive.

I'm also more willing to allow a bottle cap to pop if a beer did Ice-through more than I am a can. That thing would explode.

 

Doing a 4 can trade- just put it in the mail. IPA/DIPA/stouts. Will be a good experiment! Will let you know how it goes.

 

Where was the destination of your box? Just curious

 

VA, 2-day shipping

 

I've been forced to basically stop trading as well - MN and WI have been in the same situation, with below zero temperatures overnight for a few weeks now. I'm not happy about it, but it's helping to curb my beer spending, I guess.

I took a gamble on Tuesday and sent a box of stouts to Massachusetts. I'm thoroughly regretting that now as the box will travel through the frozen midwest, only to arrive in MA when the temperatures drop there as well.

I have my fingers crossed, but I'm betting that at least one of the bottles (a much lower ABV fruited sour) I included will blow up. This will be a good object lesson, I guess. Never send anything that you can't afford to lose, never take a gamble on winter weather, etc. Similar to @Beer_Economicus , my bottles are also on their side... I'm curious to see whether that will be beneficial, detrimental, or of no consequence.

 

I'm told that all stouts survived the cold journey.

I really have no idea what the temperatures are like getting flown half-way across the country, but I seem to recall someone mentioning that beer would be fine - temps were fine.

I suspect this is due more to the circumstances associated with transportation and the fact that it was headed someplace warm than anything else. I mean - it would have had to have been exposed to solid 10 degree temps or below for a constant 12+ hours without moving to really make a difference.

In my case, I could not wait to ship because the individual is leaving the country. However, I did ask them to wait to ship until today (Saturday), because the package would then travel and make it to me Monday, with temperatures never reaching anywhere near as cold during their leg of the journey.

Your mileage may vary.

Another data point.

 

I received a box of Prairie stouts yesterday (all survived). The box I sent (stouts & IPAs) arrived in Missouri on friday with all beers intact. I was nervous about his package, but was relieved to hear it arrived safely.

Both packages spent their whole journey in sub freezing temperatures with no casualties. The box coming here to MA received the worst temperatures but included all 13%+ stouts.

 

I would wait, not worth the risk

 

Despite the storm in the northeast, White Ferrari and Interstellar Burst shipped from VA very much survived the trip! Cans intact and taste as well. I'm sure the day of from the draught at the brewery is best, but these were still very good. With good packaging, beer can survive a bit of cold. Nighttime temps in this area were in the single digits and it still worked out. On both ends.

I'm delaying my next two shipments until tomorrow just to be safe, but more data doesn't hurt.

 

Just to summarize:

I don't think anyone in this thread has suggested that anyone should charge in foolhardy, shipping at any point no matter what. That said, I think it has been shown that if circumstances dictate that you need to ship, you can in many situations.

I don't think anyone would ship anything super rare in these circumstances, even if we are making "normal trades".

 

The package to my trading partner in Massachusetts was finally delivered today - I shipped it last Tuesday, so it must have sat on a truck over the weekend. Even given the terrible weather and cold on the east coast, the only casualty from my box (as reported by my partner) was a small amount of leakage from a bottle of King Sue. I happen to have an extra in the fridge, so I'll be replacing the leaker very soon.

Surprisingly, the New Glarus Raspberry Tart I'd enclosed did not burst or leak. I thought for sure that would blow and look like a bloody messy in the box. That might have been funny, actually.

So the major bottles in my shipment all survived, as well as most of the extras. Relief. I still won't encourage you try something dumb like that. Leave that reckless shit to me.

 

I am having this exact issue with another trader. He checks in with me every week and I almost feel like he wants to ship while I am hesitate. He is from Chicago. I am from Cleveland. He just pinged me and says he wants to ship next week because its going to be in the 30's. I checked the weather forecast, and it is going to be mid-20s. Is there a risk or not? I am shipping mostly high ABV stuff (Prairie), but he is shipping IPAs.

https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/USOH0195:1:US
https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/USIL0225:1:US

 

I say ship, but that's just me

You are going to see this weather till spring. Resume trading in spring if you're that concerned because the weather isn't going to change much till then

 

I have been sitting on some trades now with people in different parts of country, including Mid-west. Been lookign at this: https://weather.com/maps/tendayforecast . I am going to ship tomorrow, looks like a good window over next week.

Window for you looks good too. Does the trade include IPAs? If not, there should be no rush. But it is winter and given locations of your trade, could be awhile before you getting a better window of weather.