Bringing Beer Back To Australia From Belgium

[Stuster]

By the looks of that haul I would say you have had a very good holiday.

Very, very good.

Look, I'm afraid all those beers will be infected. Nasty stuff full of brett, lacto, pedo, and who knows what else... Don't even open them in your home or they'll infect your brew gear forever. I'll be around tomorrow to collect them for you and dispose of them safely.

:lol:

Planning on using the dregs for this and that I have planned. All I need now is a good supply of aged hops.

 

[barls]

hey stu the kastel is great so smooth.
what year is the thomas hardy ale

 

[Thirsty Boy]

You *******...

My wife just got back from a work trip to Germany. She spent time in Munich with a day in Bamberg. Needless to say there was an order in for 2.25L of the best beer she could find (she is a beer drinker with a very good palate) - except; in Paris, the 24kg baggage limit that her premium economy, booked after the 1st of December ticket promised.... turned magically into a 20kg limit, excess baggage at 90/kg

Previous instructions being ignored... clothes and shoes were not sacrificed for beer and the 6 bottles from 6 Bamberg breweries were abandoned.

I was absolutely devastated, not only because I didn't get the beer, but because she was running late for her flight and didn't even have a chance to drink the damn things in the check-in queue rather than ditch em. She gave them to some airport flunky - so at least they didn't go in the bin

On the bright side, I did get some nice glasses including a nice 1L stiefel from Klosterbrau. So she has marginally avoided being tossed out into the street.

I maintain my jealous hatred of your successfully imported beer... damn you.

Thirsty

 

[Stuster]

That's a shame, TB. There seem to be different luggage in different airports/airlines at the moment. At the new terminal 5 Heathrow the new rule is one bag per person, maximum 23kg. There were four of us with six bags so there was some hasty rearrangement. We were certainly not the only ones in the same situation. However, it was two bags per person for carry on so it worked out fine.

I also managed to bring back a Westmalle and a Rodenbach glass. Since it's dry February for me now, I wonder which one is best for orange juice. :huh:

 

[Josh]

Good to see you got all those beers in Stuster. And a good lesson for all wanting to bring beer in. I have now abandoned the posting plan and will dump heavy shoes at the check-in instead of beer.

 

[reVoxAHB]

Hey all,

Just in from a trip to the States and I'm pleased to report I was not charged duty on a collection of beers brought into Australia. B)

I had each bottle bubble wrapped and simply packaged for easy access. I also rocked up with a complete list of beers including % of alcohol by volume with totals, and a customs declaration form ticked that I was over 2.25L allowance.

3.845L 10 Beers in total

1X Lefthand Brewing Porter 355ml (12 fl. oz) 5.0%
1X New Belgium Brewing Fat Tire Amber 355ml 5.2%
1X Odell IPA 355ml 7.0%
2X Dogfishhead Raison D'Etre 710ml (2x355ml) 8.0%
2X Dale's Pale 710ml (2X355ml) 6.5%
1X Great Divide Oaked Espresso Imperial Stout (Yeti) 650ml 9.5%
2X Stone Oaked Arrogant ******* 710ml (2x355ml) 7.2%

We flew in on the new A380, and with over 800 passengers to be processed at once, I was under the impression they wanted to shoot most of us outta there as quickly as possible. Hard to say if they'd have taken the time to compute duty$ coming on an empty flight, at a non-busy time of day, etc.

I spoke with two seperate officers in different areas (who both examined my card and questioned me about the beer) and both were like, no worries just go on thru the exit no need to even declare. One of the officers asked, "Are the 10 beers like a sample pack?" to which I replied, "Well yes, I suppose they are like a sample pack".. he was like great, checked OK on my card and said have a nice day.

So maybe the key phrase, or pass-phrase if you will is, "Sample pack". It sounds less menacing than 10 bottles

Thanks Josh for the advice, PM's.

Cheers,

reVox

edit: corrected A380, not A830

 

[winkle]

Hey all,

Just in from a trip to the States and I'm pleased to report I was not charged duty on a collection of beers brought into Australia. B)

I had each bottle bubble wrapped and simply packaged for easy access. I also rocked up with a complete list of beers including % of alcohol by volume with totals, and a customs declaration form ticked that I was over 2.25L allowance.

3.845L 10 Beers in total

1X Lefthand Brewing Porter 355ml (12 fl. oz) 5.0%
1X New Belgium Brewing Fat Tire Amber 355ml 5.2%
1X Odell IPA 355ml 7.0%
2X Dogfishhead Raison D'Etre 710ml (2x355ml) 8.0%
2X Dale's Pale 710ml (2X355ml) 6.5%
1X Great Divide Oaked Espresso Imperial Stout (Yeti) 650ml 9.5%
2X Stone Oaked Arrogant ******* 710ml (2x355ml) 7.2%

We flew in on the new A830, and with over 800 passengers to be processed at once, I was under the impression they wanted to shoot most of us outta there as quickly as possible. Hard to say if they'd have taken the time to compute duty$ coming on an empty flight, at a non-busy time of day, etc.

I spoke with two seperate officers in different areas (who both examined my card and questioned me about the beer) and both were like, no worries just go on thru the exit no need to even declare. One of the officers asked, "Are the 10 beers like a sample pack?" to which I replied, "Well yes, I suppose they are like a sample pack".. he was like great, checked OK on my card and said have a nice day.

So maybe the key phrase, or pass-phrase if you will is, "Sample pack". It sounds less menacing than 10 bottles

Thanks Josh for the advice, PM's.

Cheers,

reVox

Dude, you'll love the Yeti. :icon_drool2:

 

[Beermatt]

Hey all,

Just in from a trip to the States and I'm pleased to report I was not charged duty on a collection of beers brought into Australia. B)

I had each bottle bubble wrapped and simply packaged for easy access. I also rocked up with a complete list of beers including % of alcohol by volume with totals, and a customs declaration form ticked that I was over 2.25L allowance.

3.845L 10 Beers in total

1X Lefthand Brewing Porter 355ml (12 fl. oz) 5.0%
1X New Belgium Brewing Fat Tire Amber 355ml 5.2%
1X Odell IPA 355ml 7.0%
2X Dogfishhead Raison D'Etre 710ml (2x355ml) 8.0%
2X Dale's Pale 710ml (2X355ml) 6.5%
1X Great Divide Oaked Espresso Imperial Stout (Yeti) 650ml 9.5%
2X Stone Oaked Arrogant ******* 710ml (2x355ml) 7.2%

We flew in on the new A380, and with over 800 passengers to be processed at once, I was under the impression they wanted to shoot most of us outta there as quickly as possible. Hard to say if they'd have taken the time to compute duty$ coming on an empty flight, at a non-busy time of day, etc.

I spoke with two seperate officers in different areas (who both examined my card and questioned me about the beer) and both were like, no worries just go on thru the exit no need to even declare. One of the officers asked, "Are the 10 beers like a sample pack?" to which I replied, "Well yes, I suppose they are like a sample pack".. he was like great, checked OK on my card and said have a nice day.

So maybe the key phrase, or pass-phrase if you will is, "Sample pack". It sounds less menacing than 10 bottles

Thanks Josh for the advice, PM's.

Cheers,

reVox

edit: corrected A380, not A830

FYI- Sample pack is not gonna mean s#!T, Customs has got bigger fish to fry and that's more of a reason to not bother taking the Duty/GST from you. Beer unlike wine is charged on % of Alcohol and because most beers are under 5% the Officer probably figured it was not worth $10 to waste his and your time. Obviously it could be higher with 9% + beers from belgium but either way, don't worry about Duty/GST cos it's never gonna be much when you get to sit down to a fully imported beer for probably half the cost than from an aussie shop.........When I go I'm bringing it all back baby!!!!

Cheers :icon_cheers:

 

[Bubba Q]

FYI- Sample pack is not gonna mean s#!T, Customs has got bigger fish to fry and that's more of a reason to not bother taking the Duty/GST from you. Beer unlike wine is charged on % of Alcohol and because most beers are under 5% the Officer probably figured it was not worth $10 to waste his and your time. Obviously it could be higher with 9% + beers from belgium but either way, don't worry about Duty/GST cos it's never gonna be much when you get to sit down to a fully imported beer for probably half the cost than from an aussie shop.........When I go I'm bringing it all back baby!!!!

Cheers :icon_cheers:

Actually, generally speaking the duty rate for wine with an alcoholic content of more than 1.15% is 5% plus $69.16 per litre of alcohol.

Beers made from malt dont have a flat rate of duty applied to them, only a per litre of alcohol rate (varies depending on the classification of the beer)

 

[petesbrew]

Geez, I just declare everything suss when I'm coming back in.
Usually we're through quicker than those who don't declare stuff.

 

[microbe]

+1 to that pete

I'd rather declare stuff that I don't have to and have them wave me through than get randomly pulled out and have stuff that I should've declared.

Cheers,

microbe

 

[reVoxAHB]

Curiosity got the better of me where I contacted Josh asking roughly how much duty I'd have paid, or would pay on a slab coming in Australia.

He replied, "Just did a mock assesment on 8L of 7% beer from Belgium.
That would be one case of 330ml bottles of 7% beer.
Duty and GST payable is $28.15."

I wound up leaving behind 12 odd bottles (well, they were left with a good mate so they didn't go to waste). Had I known duty is somewhat negligable (well, affordable) I would've brought them in.

Anyway, good to know for future reference. You'll also want to watch out for the new weight restrictions/luggage allowances and distribute accordingly. Josh suggested 5 layers of clothes worn on plane, to give luggage room for beer. Smart man :beerbang:

Thanks again Josh,

reVox

 

[Josh]

The problem for me will the fact that I am spending a few days in Bangkok before we get home. So sitting in BKK airport with 5 layers of clothes on for a few hours might get steamy.

 

[ricardo]

Hi,


First time poster after some advice. I'm emigrating from the UK to Australia later this year and would like to bring my beer collection with me on the shipping container, roughly between 50 - 100 beers. I've tried contacting customs to see if i'm allowed to and how much i would have to pay (gave info on alchohol volume and bottle size) but they haven't replied back. I just don't want to be stung with outragious demands when i get there, Does anybody know of anybody who has attempted this who could offer some advice. Any advice would be appreciated


Many thanks

 

[mckenry]

Hi,


First time poster after some advice. I'm emigrating from the UK to Australia later this year and would like to bring my beer collection with me on the shipping container, roughly between 50 - 100 beers. I've tried contacting customs to see if i'm allowed to and how much i would have to pay (gave info on alchohol volume and bottle size) but they haven't replied back. I just don't want to be stung with outragious demands when i get there, Does anybody know of anybody who has attempted this who could offer some advice. Any advice would be appreciated


Many thanks

This has info you'll need. Could be expensive.
Australian Customs Tobacco and alcohol products

 

[ricardo]

This has info you'll need. Could be expensive.
Australian Customs Tobacco and alcohol products

many thanks for the reply, i did find the below examples from the Aussie postal service but am absolutley hopeless with the maths on working out how much i pay. i did try and it worked out at about 20 a bottle on the wee heavy. this can't be right if you take into account the $100 Aus bottle of wine example

a few examples of beer i hope to bring are;

5 x Goose Island Bourbon County Stout at Aus $10 a bottle 350ml 13.5 %

2 x Alesmith Wee Heavy at Aus $15 a bottle 750ml 10%

5 x Stone Ruination at Aus $6 a bottle 330ml 7%

All prices are estimations on the current exchange rate, this is the example i got from the Aussie postal service



http://
What is the duty rate for Alcohol and Tobacco?
The duty rates for alcohol varies depending on its exact specifications, however to give you a general idea most Wines and Spirits attract a duty rate of 5% of the value of the goods PLUS $69.57 per litre of alcohol content and most Beers made from malt attract a duty rate of $41.06 per litre or alcohol content by which it exceeds 1.15%. Note: In addition to duty and GST, most wines also attract Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) which is calculated at 29% of [the customs value (CV) PLUS the duty PLUS the Transport and Insurance (T&I)].

Tobacco duty rates also vary but again to give you an idea, the most common rate is $415.86/kg of tobacco content.

Wine Calculation Example: The duty payable on a 700ml bottle of Wine valued at $100 which has an alcohol content of 13.5% would be calculated as follows:

• If the Customs value (CV) of the Wine = $100.00
• Then the Customs duty @ 5% of the $100 (CV) = $5.00 (Payable)
• The Litres of Alcohol (La) content is 0.7L x 13.5% = 0.0945 La
• Therefore the duty rate of $69.57/La x 0.0945 La = $6.57 (Payable)
• Hence for that bottle of wine the total duty payable = $11.57

Beer Calculation Example: The duty payable on a Carton of 24 x 375ml bottles of Beer valued at $50 which has an alcohol content of 4.9% would be calculated as follows:

• If the Customs value (CV) of the Beer = $50.00
• The dutyable Litres of Alcohol (La) is 4.9% - 1.15% = 3.75%
• The Litres of Alcohol (La) content is 24 x 0.375L x 3.75% = 0.3375 La
• Therefore the duty rate of $41.06/La x 0.3375 La = $13.86 (Payable)

 

[brettprevans]

*turns josh away from computer screen so he cant see this post*
*cough* hid them in your luggage and play dumb if caught saying you only knew about duty free *cough*.

 

[Josh]

*turns josh away from computer screen so he cant see this post*
*cough* hid them in your luggage and play dumb if caught saying you only knew about duty free *cough*.

Actually, if you declare them and tell the Customs Officer stamping your passport that you brought in a few beers from home, you might well get through without paying anything.

That being said, do the calculations so you know what the worst case scenario would be.

In a shipping container or LCL, you might get it in with no dramas at all. But again, do the sums "just in case" you have to pay.

 

[brettprevans]

Actually, if you declare them and tell the Customs Officer stamping your passport that you brought in a few beers from home, you might well get through without paying anything.

That being said, do the calculations so you know what the worst case scenario would be.

In a shipping container or LCL, you might get it in with no dramas at all. But again, do the sums "just in case" you have to pay.

josh you werent meant to look at the post!!

but yeah he's right. coming back from wellington i had 5 NZ beers that i bought in NZ (not duty free alc) and some NZ confectionry for the kids. declared it all and they didnt care.

 

[eamonnfoley]

I just make sure i drink a heap when I am away and dont bother with the hassle of bringing beer home. But I do love to grab glasses and souvenirs!