Cold Weather Trading / Winter Shipping Thread

Personal experience from this past weekend:

• Weather in Chicago on Sunday / Monday was highs ~20, with overnight lows close to zero.
• Package of Loons from Belgium sat with USPS for the weekend and was delivered on Monday (to my doorman, so not left outside)
• All bottles were absolutely fine - fridge temp to touch, but nowhere near too cold.

I can only assume the package transited via o'hare airport and was in warehouses / somewhat warmed spaces over the weekend, as with only 5% ABV, the overnight lows should have frozen the bottles solid.

It 100% depends on if the bottles are kept indoors during transit, and left outside on the porch

 

We've posted so much in this thread about beer freezing, but I have to wonder; what about the bitter cold affecting the strength of the glass bottle? Would it make the bottle brittle? I pack to the point where some would say I overpack. Even then, would it (the bitter cold) make a difference on a box that would survive an "accidental drop" in normal temps? I'm cautious when it comes to the cold so I do have a trade, ready to ship, on hold right now because it's so darm cold here in Chicagoland. Any thoughts?

 

Glass does not become more brittle from that level of cold, or even at arctic temperatures.

 

I think a lot of you are excessively paranoid. Beers are normally at room temp or at least warming up before they get put into an unheated area for an extended length of time. Let's also not forget that our packages are normally well insulated from the cold courtesy of the cardboard box and either styrofoam, bubble wrap, or packing peanuts. Bottles are made of glass which is also slow to change temperature and the specific heat of water which is the majority of what's in a beer bottle is also slow to change temperature. It takes a lot of energy and time for a beer to reach equilibrium with its environment and when you add a couple inches of insulation it makes it take even longer. Let's also not forget that pizza companies have been using cardboard to keep your dinner hot for delivery and take out for years. I think it would be interesting to put a thermometer in a package during the winter to see how low it can really go inside of a box.

the biggest issue with shipping in cold weather is that when beer gets cold it stays cold for awhile courtesy of that same insulation.

 

I think the biggest thing for shipping in winter is shipping on a Monday or Tuesday to ensure it's not sitting for a day or two over a weekend. It doesn't matter how insulated a package is. If I take my beer box and put it in a walk-in freezer for 24 hours, you can bet it's going to be at complete equilibrium with the environment in that time. Everything in shipping is going to take a long time. If it's traveling across the country in cold temps it will be exposed for hours. The trucks are not heated.

 

As a resident of a state that gets frigidly cold, your post is somewhat technically correct, but beer WILL freeze en route if it gets cold enough.

One can ship in 10 degree cold or, it's just not very wise (much less paranoid!). Sure, a lot of beer, perhaps even most of it, will survive, but I personally am not going to take that chance. Everyone who ships all winter has a story about busted up bottles or frozen beer, or mysteriously losing a shipment, probably to broken glass. There was a rash (I believe last winter) of packages that froze up during a cold snap last year.

Let me put it this way: ship now when nighttime temps reach zero, or wait a week when it's going to be 20 degree warmer? That's a no-brainer to me.

Nothing personal; I just don't like to minimize the risk of beer freezing. It's going to be close to -20 here Saturday!