Question about interstate shipping rules

As a wine person long before I got into beer, I have wondered the same thing myself. Big states (like CA to IL as you mention) seem to have no issues, but smaller states or more regulated states do.

The best I have understood it is that certain states have agreements with other states to permit the sale and shipment of alcohol, but because it is state by state, some don't have everything in place and the retailers can't ship to you.

Also, I think part of it is that certain states require you to have a license to ship alcohol into their state, so if the license is expensive or a pain to maintain retailers don't bother with all states.

Edit: found this interesting article
http://winefolly.com/update/whats-deal-wine-shipping-laws/

It would appear that the simple act of shipping through the state of Utah creates problems - if your order is on a truck driving across Utah, the driver is committing a felony... This article is actually a fun (and ridiculous) read! Looking at a map, this makes a lot of sense - shipping around Utah must be expensive / difficult, and bonded shipping is expensive.

 

I feel your frustration. I can offer this as a partial explanation on why some retailers who can ship to states that allow delivery don't.

I think the rules can get pretty complex. As an example. I live in NH and they do allow beer to be shipped to residents from out-of-state shops. But the shops have to get a license (aka pay the fees) from the state of NH, they have to collect the NH state tax on the beer being delivered and pay the NH government that tax on a quarterly basis. I might not have the rules exactly right but that is the gist of them. Meaning it sounds like a huge f*cking hassle for the out-of-state shops to comply with all the rules and pay all the licensing fees. I'm guessing many states that allow beer to be shipped in have similar laws/rules.

 

You probably won't find any consistent rule. The rules, as you recognize, vary from state to state. For example, the PA law is a bit ambiguous so some shippers will and some won't. Near as I can figure they can ship it to me, but once I take possession I'm breaking the laws about possession of untaxed beverages. Some places won't gamble on that though and don't ship to PA.

So the best you can do is find out what Illinois allows and then rely on the shipper to know what their home state does or does not allow. Also you can't use rules/laws for wine to extend to beer. In almost every state, the state laws that govern wine differ from the laws that govern beer. So there doesn't seem to be any consistency, except in states where its all illegal...

Correction: One pretty consistent thing at both state and federal levels is that you have to have proper licenses to sell alcoholic beverages. Another consistent thing (at this time) is you can't legally use the USPS to ship alcohol anywhere.

 

Retail shipments are sometimes tenuous. But as for samples and trading, the US Mail, Fedex, and UPS seem wide open. I recently successfully shipped some "BBQ sauce" northward.