Trip Reports - Asking for Beer Travel Trip Reports

I've been involved in several discussions about other journalists who post on Flyertalk as part of the research for a story, so I'm now doing the same for a piece I've been assigned by Mid-Atlantic Brewing News, one of the five regional editions of the beer magazine Brewing News.

If anyone flys over the holiday period with beer in their baggage -- perhaps taking a gift of a favorite beer that's unavailable at your destination or bringing back some special brew from your trip -- I'd like to know what your experiences are, and whether the beer was part of your carry-on or if you traveled with it as checked luggage. I'm especially interested if you're carrying home-brewed beer through security or if you cross an international border with, for example, something like the Belgian abbey ales that are rarely exported commercially. If you'd prefer to send me an e-mail rather than post a message, my e-dress is in my profile.

And to answer at the beginning some of the questions that have come up when other reporters have posted similar requests here in the past:

*If you respond, I might quote you, and I might ask for permission to use your real name and city of residence.

*I might ask for more information via e-mail or request the chance to speak with you by phone. (It's even possible, if you live in the Washington, DC area, that I might ask to meet with you for an interview -- in which case, the bar tab is on my expense account.)

Thanks in advance for your help.
Gregg Wiggins
Mid-Atlantic Brewing News

Although it isn't exactly the holidays, I can tell you that I have often brought beer back to Alaska from the Lower 48. In particular, I haul back Red Tail Ale which I can't purchase up here.

As for traveling with the beer, I have NEVER checked it in as baggage. The airlines have always allowed me to carry it onboard. Of course, I haven't brought any back with me since 9/11 so it's hard to say whether this practice would still be allowed.

United once allowed me to carry two entire cases onboard. (Believe me, it was quite a workout carrying those cases through SeaTac out to the gates) I stored them behind the last row of First Class. I have also carried smaller amounts, as in the 12 beers I took with me to Scotland to introduce folks there to the fact that we offer much finer beer than just Bud and Miller over here.

the largest carry-on transport that I (being in the beer business myself) know of, from FlyerTalkers, is auh20's succesfull attempt to bring a whole case of Altbeer from the FlyerTalk-meeeting last nov-2000 back to the USA.

I have done this frequently in the past. As with Seat2a however, I have not tried it since September 11. I usually brought cases as a carry on. On two trips last year though, I filled the request of a buddy of mine from Portland who missed his Henry Weinhards. In both instances I filled those Rubbermaid tubs (big blue ones) with syrofoam peanuts, and stuck cases of Henry's in there. I'm headed to France in January, I know I'm going to be bringing back some wine - might have to bring back some of the amber stuff now as well, wonder how that will go . . .

Hi there,
As someone who quite likes his beer, I've given some thought to successful transport of it...

I live in the UK and like to bring back "odd" beers from where-ever I travel. Generally I like to bring back as much as possible and it's heavy! If I can check it, it avoids the need to carry it and running the risk of a GA during a flight change causing a problem. I use different methods to ensure that the beer survives the experience:

1) Metal cans
I have a bag with a 1/4inch thick wooden plate in the base and foam padding around the edges. I put the cans in with very little extra packing. Success rate (ie no cans broken open) is currently 100%

2)Glass bottles
For more obscure beers which generally are only in glass bottles I use a different method. A few years ago, I bought a plastic US mailbox from Wal-Mart. I have a thin bit of foam that lines the mailbox. Each bottle is put into a sock (seriously!) and the these can be stacked into the mailbox. The extra gaps are packed with socks or t-shirts to ensure nothing can move.
I have only lost 1 bottle this way in about three years of doing this with the mailbox.
Oh, this method works great for wine and liquor too but you can only really get one fullsize bottle at a time.


Hope you can enjoy your Christmas beer! :-)
Jason

I always bring back a few bottles of local craft brews when I travel anywhere in the world. Generally, I use a nylon fold up bag and fill the bottom with a couple of sections of the local newspaper for form a base. I then place the two six-pack cartons in and pad the ends with a T-shirt or with magazines or more folded over newspaper sections. This is then carried on with my second carry-on item, which means I must now check my roller bag if I am using it.

I have never had a problem going through customs anywhere in the world, nor with security, even post 9.11. Even though I may be over the official limit for such alcohol duty free import into Canada, I have never had to pay extra for up to a dozen bottles. [I believe one can bring in 3 litres of wine or beer.]

I too brought back a nice sampling of less available German and other central European beers in bottles and cans from the Altbeir in Dusseldorf a year ago November [including those purchased on a side trip to Berlin].

The biggest hassle is the weight of the carry bag, since most of what I bring back is in bottles [few honest craft brewers would can their brew, naturally].

Great little journal you're associated with. Quite enjoy picking up the various regional editions on my travels across NAmerica.

I usually bring back a few beers from my trips, and the weight of the carryon was getting to be too much(20 half liter bottles? What was I thinking?). So, last year, I went out and bought a hard backed rolling carryon, and it's the best investment I can think of. Its maiden voyage saw it bringing home a 3 liter bottle of Heineken, in the cargo hold, in one piece.

Gregg,

I don't have any beer stories to share, but I wanted to compliment you on how you began this thread. It's the first time I have ever seen a journalist on FT explain who they were, why they were asking, what might be done with the info etc.

I have declined a response each time I have been approached by a journalist on FT. I will continue to do so, but FWIW, I would make an exception for you.

Best regards,
-eastwest

(edited for typo)

[This message has been edited by eastwest (edited 12-27-2001).]

With everything going on in the world today, this silly reporter wants to know about transporting beer when virtually any beer in the world can be had here in the U.S.

Hard (but not impossible) to believe.

Furthermore, did it ever occur to anyone that this guy doesn't really want to know about transporting beer, but, rather, transporting liquids in beer bottles, and how customs treats that?????

I think we need to be a bit judicious with this kind of information. After all, if someone had asked a month ago if their tennis shoes would be inspected we would have all said "no."

Just my .02

I'm sorry if you find this "silly," LLZ, but it is a fact that less than 20% of the world's commercially available brands of beer can be purchased in the United States. That includes many of the most interesting brews, such as the example I used earlier of ales made in the Trappist monasteries of Belgium, some of which are sold only on-site or in a nearby town and are hard to find in Brussels, much less Baltimore.

Even within the U.S. there are many beers from regional or "micro" breweries and brewpubs which are not distributed beyond a certain geographic area -- just try to find an Alaskan Smoked Porter in Richmond or a Tuppers' Hop Pocket Pils in Juneau -- so the geographically-challenged fans of such beers have to travel with them or rely on travelling friends. (Certainly the biggest example of this was the cachet that Coors beer acquired in the eastern U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s when it wasn't sold east of the Mississippi River. The very plot of that era's movie "Smokey and the Bandit" revolves around the efforts of a truckdriver played by Burt Reynolds to deliver a trailer-full of Coors to a party in an eastern state.)

There's also the question of how a homebrewing hobbyist can take samples of his latest efforts, no different than bringing a batch of home-baked cookies, when visiting family and friends. That's an example of bottles of beer which no one can buy.

As for the security issue you also raised about someone with evil intent finding out how to carry a bottled liquid aboard an airplane, my conversations with staff in the D.C. public affairs office of the Federal Aviation Administration confirm information that is publicly available on the website www.faa.gov. (http://www.faa.gov.) Bottles are legal carry-ons and there are no plans to change this.

Some (me too!) may question the wisdom of allowing a breakable glass container with who-knows-whatever through security while keeping nail clippers out, but that policy discussion is not what my story is going to be about. To reveal some of my findings early, other than the obvious problem that large quantities of full beer bottles are HEAVY, no one I've spoken or e-mailed with has had any extra difficulty bringing beer aboard an airliner post-September 11 so the message about the legality of bottles seems to have gotten out to the checkpoints and screeners.

Since it's legal to carry beer on an airplane (but let me stress that it's not legal to drink your own in-flight) and since sometimes the only way to obtain a supply of otherwise-unavailable beers is to personally bring it with you aboard an airplane, the point of the story I'm working on is how my readers can best do this.

Finally, LLZ, thank you. I was planning to put a quick self-serving post on here to bring the message to the top of the queue and, hopefully, get a few more responses. You've saved me that trouble.

(edited to fix a typo)

[This message has been edited by greggwiggins (edited 12-27-2001).]

I recently (mid-December) played my annual role as 'The Beer Santa' for a co-worker in the DC area. Flying from SEA, I transported a dozen beers (ranging from 22 oz Alaskan Smoked Porters to a variety of local seasonals unavailable on the East Coast). I carried them on (I don't trust most airlines with my baggage, let alone something as valuable as good beer!) and had no problems whatsoever getting through security in SEA. On the way home, I carried eight beers in my carry-on, including several homebrews in unmarked bottles. The security folks at IAD didn't even look up from their screens. A medium-sized Eddie Bauer duffle bag and some careful packing (each bottle got wrapped in its own sock, and then wrapped in t-shirts, etc.) ensure that the bounty makes it from the left coast to the right coast intact. Such travels reminds one that beer is heavy stuff -- and makes me appreciate my relatively svelte laptop all the more!

It is often illegal to bring alcoholic beverages across state lines, even if only for "personal use." Obviously, these laws are enforced more strictly in states with higher excise taxes on alcohol.

Pre 9-11 I brought some of my homebrew on a flight in my carryon. It was packaged in Grolsch bottles and except for the rare self pouring specimen I never had problems. This batch somehow ended up mostly saturating my clothing and toiletries. Markedly limited the wardrobe for that trip and reduced the amount of homebrew I had to share with friends.

PS When will you come to NM Greg?

I have to agree about the 20% statement. Here in Georgia, we can't buy brews over 4.5% alcohol. That rules out a lot of the foreign and some domestic brews. Sadly, a effort to rescind this stupid restriction was shot down in flames last year. Like a few extra percentage points of alcohol is going to cause trouble when 180 proof grain is readily available.

I brought my boss back a six pack of ale from the Red Rock brew pub in SLC last April. I was a little worried about it but I had broken it down in my carryon. The security screener was funny. Stopped it under the X-Ray for a bit, scrunched up his eyeballs and then grinned a bit as he realized what the pattern of bottles in my bag was...

Nowadays, if security doubted what I was carrying, I'd consider it my patriotic duty to drink one for them, just to verify it's authenticity.

Re LLZ’s incredulity, I can vouch for Gregg who, when I mentioned a possible pub-crawl in London, was very generous with his suggestions and insights. He concluded that, being a beer journalist, he was disappointed that he and I wouldn’t be in the UK at the same time.

IMHO, before casting aspersions on a fellow FT-er by guessing at his/her true “agenda”, it would seem appropriate to review a number of his or her posts. Had you taken the time to do so, LLZ, perhaps you wouldn’t have been so quick to call Gregg a “silly reporter”. Just my two pints.

FWIW Gregg, when I used to fly across as a student in the 70’s, I was amazed that Brits would be bringing back cases of Bud and Coors. I guess that the grass is always greener. Barry

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Jailer:
FWIW Gregg, when I used to fly across as a student in the 70’s, I was amazed that Brits would be bringing back cases of Bud and Coors. I guess that the grass is always greener. Barry</font>


I've noticed the same behaviour with candy. When I go to Europe, I stock up on the dark chocolates, etc. When my co-workers come over here, it's off to Costco for huge containers of jelly beans, now-or-laters, blow-pops and other junky stuff!

Thank you Jailer, for your comments. The next time we're both in London the first pint is on me.

Thank you Eastwest, for your willingness to make an exception in my case. You should know that I phrased the original request the way I did after seeing some of the issues you and others raised when some of my colleagues from the Wall St. Journal and NY Times posted questions here as part of their research.

and thank you erdoc; I'm going to be in NM sometime during the last half of January -- expect an e-mail in a few days when I firm up some details.

Of course, I also want to thank Shareholder, Will Fly to Fish and all of the other folks who've helped by posting their comments, responding to my e-mails, and taking the time to speak with me on the phone. (Is this starting to sound like an Academy Award speech?)

I'll be sure to post my story when it runs in Mid-Atlantic Brewing News.

And a followup post to comment on jailer and GeorgeBurdell's remarks about the "grass being greener" in other climes.

I still remember my bemusement when I first visited Australia in 1988 and found a big sale display in a duty free shop at Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport.

They were offering a special price on that exotic imported beer Lone Star. (Of course, I guess on that side of the Pacific, "the national beer of Texas" IS exotic.)

Aussies, of course, have the same reaction when they find out that Fosters is a big deal north of the equator -- even though what's truly "Australian for beer" (the best selling brand in AUS) is the unexported to North America Victoria Bitter. Both, by the way, are brewed by the same company.