Too cold to ship?

I have not shipped nor have I had anyone ship to me in about a week. We have ranged from -12 to 20 degrees where I am and it's not worth the risk.

 

http://images.fedex.com/us/packaging/guides/Perishables_fxcom.pdf

Little bit of info here on the voyage your box will take and what it might be exposed to. Those insulated meal delivery boxes seem like they might help a little bit.

How to Protect Products From Freezing You can help protect your products from low temperatures or freezing by using “heat sinks,” which help maintain desired temperatures. Gel coolants make good heat sinks. • Place your products inside an insulated container and surround them with room-temperature (about 72 F) gel coolants to reduce the risk of freezing. • Fill all void space with dunnage such as loose fill peanuts to prevent product movement. • Ship the insulated container inside a corrugated box.

• Avoid shipment of perishable items on days that will require transit on a weekend or over a holiday period.

 

This is where I think USPS priority mail would be the one to choose for shipping. If you ship on a Monday it should get there on Wednesday. Less chance of freezing since it's constantly moving and I'm assuming in a more temperature controlled environment. Or am I wrong?

 

I had several box going back to MN via USPS recently. The recipient usually gets them in 2-3 days, but last week he called USPS directly with the tracking info and had them hold the box until the bad weather passes. They prefer this as who wants to try and deliver boxes at -6!! Boxes were sent on a few days later and arrived without any problems.

 

I just shipped 4 double IPA from Minneapolis yesterday headed for Massachusetts. I also shipped 3 imperial stouts from Minneapolis to South Carolina yesterday. I'll have an update to post by Thursday on how that went since temps in Minneapolis all week are in the single digits.
I've shipped and received items in very cold temps previously with only one instance where a package did not arrive to me presumably because a bottle had seeped (fed Ex sent it back to sender - it was a * transaction so I never found out what happended).
I get nervous to ship or receive items when the temps are below 20 degrees. The risk is certainly elevated in those conditions.

 

Same thread from last year

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/when-is-it-too-cold-to-ship.552963/

Some data points in there

 

I use USPS all the time. However if it's close by , like you said 6hrs, people who like using ups and FedEx use these shipping companies because it's as cheap and sometimes quicker. However I like using USPS especially across country because it's cheaper and gets there quicker. Ups and fedex ground take a week to go across country, sometimes longer. I know USPS sometimes takes longer but it's rare. It's good to have options though.

 

I have received a box with broken beer from USPS. They put the box in plastic bag and delivered. They included a hand written note apologizing for the damage. The shipper didn't hear anything from them. Doesn't prove much, most likely depends on the postal worker.

I have sent well over 200 boxes using USPS. Never had any issue. Check out the thread about preferred shipping methods. Lots of opinions regarding all the shippers available for you to see.

 

I've told the story before how I sent my buddy in Hawaii a couple bombers. The box arrived at his doorstep wrapped in a clear garbage bag with a tire tread over the box crushing one of the bombers. No one ever said a thing.

 

Question for any

I think you have your answer with some of these responses. In other thread I had a bottle leak , half of it, into the box and was still delivered. They had also wrapped it in a plastic bag. No notes and wasn't opened at all. I did have a package get lost and I was able to get reimbursed for the shipping plus $50 insurance.

 

That's just the best.

For me it depends on a number of factors:

• Temp (anything into low 20s and below is a no go)
• How long in transit (1 day maybe, multiple days no)
• What I'm shipping (high ABV Vs anything not high ABV)
• Is it replaceable? If not, I tend to get much more conservative.

Just shipped a box today to WI. 1 day trip and today was the window to do it for the forseeable future. Will report back.

 

I had a USPS box arrive yesterday (so it sat somewhere over weekend and holiday Monday). When I left for work in the AM it was -12. Got into the teens during the day and was pretty sunny. Mail usually arrives around 1pm. I got home from work at around 5pm and brought the box inside.

It was all fine and nicely chilled and ready to drink. It was IPA/DIPA in the 6-9% range.

Just posting for data points. Sunny day probably helped even though the temps were pretty low. Front porch stays in the sun most of the afternoon.

The best way to go about it is, if you do not feel comfortable and are at all worried about freezing beer (on way to you or from), wait to ship.

 

I only ship on Mondays and ask my Florida buddy to do the same. UPS is a 4 day journey for us, so the extra weekday is a security measure. Don't want boxes getting stuck on freezing cold OR boiling hot delivery trucks over an entire weekend.