Bringing Beer Home From Cali

Discussion in 'South Atlantic' started by EersandBeers, Jan 30, 2014.

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  1. EersandBeers

    EersandBeers Zealot (695) Jan 16, 2013 West Virginia

    So, the girlfriend is going to be in Sacramento / San Fran area next week. I am insisting on her finding some Pliny and anything else I can come up with from there (suggestions welcomed). Does anyone have experience with bringing beer back on a plane? From what I understand it isn't a problem for your checked luggage. However, how should it be done? Packaging wise? That is what I'm trying to figure out. Can't be anything overly complicated, don't want to burden her with that. I know she can wrap it in clothing and all but I thought maybe there was a trick that somebody has used before that I'm not thinking of. Thanks all.
     
  2. MatthewPlus

    MatthewPlus Pundit (876) Jan 2, 2013 Idaho
    Trader

    Run a search in the Beer Trading General/Help forum and you'll pull up a number of discussions on this.

    I pack beer in my checked baggage nearly every time i fly and have never had anything break. Just use your clothes to wrap and arrange the bottles the same way you would in a box. Most importantly, make sure it's tight. And it's never a bad idea to put your booze into zip-lock bags in case you do have an accident, that way your clothes dont smell like gueuze or whatever.
     
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  3. DrinkDrankPunk

    DrinkDrankPunk Initiate (0) Jan 9, 2014 Virginia

    I just came back from Texas with about 8 bottles (6 750ml and 2 22oz). I went down there with just a carry-on bag. What I ended up doing was finding a box while I was down there and buying some bubble wrap. I individually wrapped each bottle twice in bubble wrap and then rolled it up in a pair of pants or shirt. I ended up putting the rest of my clothes in the box and having no carry-on (cos you have to check the box/bag which costs about $25.) Everything made it home in one piece, so that's what worked for me.
     
  4. EersandBeers

    EersandBeers Zealot (695) Jan 16, 2013 West Virginia

    I'm trying to make it as easy on her as possible so I don't have to "hear" about it. hahaha. I planned on just having her wrap it in clothes. I like the bubble wrap idea though.
     
  5. DrinkDrankPunk

    DrinkDrankPunk Initiate (0) Jan 9, 2014 Virginia

    I'd suggest it. You can pick it up almost anywhere like CVS or Walgreens for $2.
     
  6. GABrew

    GABrew Initiate (0) May 5, 2013 Georgia

    I fly a couple times a month and have brought beer home on many occasions, especially when I'm out on the West coast and come across a lot of good beers we don't get in GA. Here's what I do if I plan on bringing beer back with me... Bring a handful of athletic socks and a bath towel or two. If I think I might be picking up a lot of items, I will bring an extra suitcase packed with all the socks and a couple towels. Then I lay the towel in the bottom of my suitcase, place each bottle in its own sock, put a layer of bottles in the suitcase, then fold the towel over and put another layer down, and so on. You just have to be careful to keep the bag under 50 lbs, so you don't get hit with heavy bag charges by the airlines. And as others have mentioned, make sure everything is tight and can't shift. I've brought home bottles, cans, and growlers, and never had a single problem with breakage. I brought this haul back in 2 suitcases from a trip to Northern CA and the Russian River brewery last year.

    [​IMG]
     
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  7. Lucasdog

    Lucasdog Initiate (0) Dec 22, 2009 North Carolina

    I have come back with beer many times from Cali. It's always been in my checked luggage. I would send her out with some packing tape to put around the caps just in case. Other than that, the only way a bottle is going to break is if it hits against another bottle so just make sure that the bottles are packed very close together so that they don't have a chance to bang against each other.
     
  8. EersandBeers

    EersandBeers Zealot (695) Jan 16, 2013 West Virginia

    Awesome guys. Thanks for all the info.
    She's going to be thrilled hahahahahahahaha
     
  9. baconmcnuggets

    baconmcnuggets Initiate (0) Mar 11, 2013 Florida

    It's not going to help here if I mention that I've had to throw away two suitcases because of breakage and total suitcase annihilation, huh? (I endorse the plan of putting each bottle in a Ziploc bag.) Other times I've been completely fine; however, I find the baggage handlers are less inclined to totally destroy shit if you pack it in a box, bubble wrap and all, and bring the box back with your luggage. The BEST thing to do is allow absolutely NO wiggle room in the suitcase. If anything shifts, it could be bad news.

    Also, if your luggage gets randomly searched, depending on the state, you could have to deal with some inconvenience. Buddy of mine was coming back from NoCal with a bunch of RR stuff very recently and his bag got screened - they paged him over. The beer was allowed to go through, no problem there, but they made him pack it all a very certain way (and spring for a ton of $5 bottle-transporter bags. Which are actually kind of cool. But still.)

    Kind of a crapshoot what direction you could end up going in. But WORTH. DOING.
     
  10. EersandBeers

    EersandBeers Zealot (695) Jan 16, 2013 West Virginia

    She's worried about all her shit getting ruined. Hopefully I will get lucky and they won't throw it all over the place. This could all go very well or absolutely terrible. I wouldn't hear the end of it if she got searched! hahahah
     
  11. baconmcnuggets

    baconmcnuggets Initiate (0) Mar 11, 2013 Florida

    Eh, hand her a few garbage bags. either pack the bottles or her stuff in those and tape em up. (I had to send a pair of very expensive but beer-soaked satin pumps to the dry cleaner. Trust me, take the extra precaution.)
     
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