first off, cheers to SanDiegoCraft Fan for another great fresh growler trade... Just finished a growler of Hoppy Birthday and feelin' real good. I have done a limited number of growler trades, but I am grateful to have always landed fresh, tasty brews, even after a full week of transport. I am sure the quality of the fill ensures a great seal, but I was just curious as to what others had thoughts on growler trades and their success. Moving on to Alpine Nelson...
mmm ok here is a dumb question, is this even legal or could it put me in some odd risk I am not aware of?
Shipping beer to certain states is already illegal. Fed Ex and UPS wont check boxes, they will take your word for it an just weight. It is against their rules to ship beer, USPS it is actually a crime.
I just sent out a growler of Bad Boy. Electircal tape around the cap nice and tight, garbage bag just in case of any leakage, packed in a carved out 6 bottle styro shipper. I sent it Fedex over night to keep it as fresh as possible. I hate to think of a growler sitting in a hot box for a week though.
I've done a ton of growlers back and forth. I've actually had astoundingly good luck - no breakages, no serious leakages, and I've only ever gotten one growler that I thought probably turned in the shipping. Packing is a bit of a pain in the ass because of the size, but they are no more fragile than a standard bottle. I typically do a bunch of bubble wrap, and then stuff it in a box (costco sized boxes of granola bars or whatever tend to fit great), then that box goes into the bigger box nice and snug. I then try to always ship them first thing in the week so they never sit in a warehouse over the weekend (though I do that with all beer anyway). Basically just be a bit more careful and you'll be fine. And accept the fact that the beer may not taste perfect after all that shipping.
Just sent two growlers in the same box. Spent a little extra and got the swing top growlers. Received a note that the box arrived yesterday and everything landed safe and tasted great. Used some of the molded styro around the bottles (had some lying around from a previous trade). Just need to make sure there is plenty of packing material.
