The Great Belgian Experiment

Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum

Help Support Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I once sent a stubby of my porter to a friend in the states by air mail - $35 :eek:. I think the only feasible way for us to put entries in your comp would be by surface mail. Top work on the experiments, though, keep us informed.
All the best
Trent
PS When is the comp? I will be in Vancouver in August visiting the Out-Laws for a few days, and may be able to bring over a bottle or 2 to enter. If the dates are on the newsletter, I will check it out this arvo after work.
 
Excellent question. Members of our club have found a method for shipping beers to competitions that is almost always guaranteed to work: ship the beers with no paperwork in the box, and mail the entry forms/fees separately. Declare the beers as "yeast samples for analysis" and put a note in the box with the beers stating "paperwork to follow in a separate shipment." I don't know about the Australian mail system, but around here Canada Post and the american post office will not ship alcohol. In fact, it's illegal. Yeast samples are okay though. :) Declare a value for the shipment of $1 per bottle, no more, no less. Courier companies (some of them) will in fact knowingly ship alcohol, but it's never a good idea to declare this on the package. The issue is that the driver has the ultimate say over what they deliver and can refuse alcohol with no questions asked. And they don't have to return your package either.

It's very important not to have any paperwork in the box that will give away the fact that what is in the bottles is beer. When customs officials open the box, and they will, they'll definitely turf the shipment if the contents of the box don't match the customs declaration. You should mark each bottle with the beer style, but not in words - use the BJCP style number/substyle letter. For instance, if you were entering a traditional bock, put "5B" on the bottle. Either tape a piece of paper with "5B" to the bottle or write it on the cap, but mark it somehow. When customs finds this box marked "yeast samples for analysis" and finds two bottles with a cryptic "5B" on each they have no reason to suspect that these are not yeast samples for analysis. If they open the box and find beer competition entry forms, your shipment hits the garbage.

Mail the paperwork separately and not at exactly the same time so the people behind the counter at the post office don't get suspicious. For entry fees, a cheque will be fine. It will take much longer than a money order to clear, but it's also much cheaper than a money order.

Packing: Courier companies get very angry indeed if a package starts leaking foul smelling black liquid over other packages. Tightly wrap each bottle in kitchen cling film. This will help to hold the shards of glass together should the bottle break. Place this inside of a ziplock plastic food bag - only one bottle per bag. Liberally use bubble wrap, styrofoam, newspaper, etc. to make sure that the bottles aren't able to bang into each other. Place these packed bottles into an inner box, which itself is lined with a plastic bag. Once this inner box is packed tightly, seal the plastic bag. Two layers of plastic help to ensure that even if a bottle does break, it shouldn't leak out of the box.

The inner box should be packed into an outer box. The outer box doesn't have to be a lot larger than the inner box as the goal is to double up the cardboard to prevent punctures in transit. Put the note saying that the paperwork is in a separate letter on the inner box.

Does this help?
I'm interested in entering if only to see if it gets there or not.

Work for Aussie Customs and there's no dramas shipping a beer or two here.
 
Work for Aussie Customs and there's no dramas shipping a beer or two here.

Luckily for you, Australia wasn't settled by puritans. Over here, alcohol can still be quite taboo depending on the circumstance. Not so much in Canada, but in the US for sure.

Our most gracious sponsor, Alley Kat, had a really bad experience with a courier. The courier company happily accepted their shipment (and payment) for a box marked 'yeast samples' which was being sent to a commercial competition in the US. A week later they got a call from a courier driver somewhere in either Tennessee or Georgia. The driver said 'I suspect this shipment is beer, not yeast samples, and I'm not delivering it.' And that was the end of the shipment. They tried to ask for it to be returned, and they refused. Then they asked for a refund, and were again refused. It all came down to a driver who either 1) objected to alcohol on moral or religious grounds (quite likely) or 2) was thirsty (also quite likely, in which case pretending to be morally offended served as a convenient way to quench their thirst). Unfortunately according to the courier's internal rules, this was perfectly acceptable: drivers have ultimate say over whether a package gets delivered or not.

I've ordered quite a number of things from Beer, Beer and More Beer in California (I think). All their packages come marked as 'kitchen supplies', as they learned about couriers and the USPS the hard way.
 
Luckily for you, Australia wasn't settled by puritans. Over here, alcohol can still be quite taboo depending on the circumstance. Not so much in Canada, but in the US for sure.

When I lived in Vancouver people would say to me "your prime ministers a drunk isn't he?"
and I say "umm, no that was the last one"
"oh yeah, your prime minister swears all the time"
"yep. that's the one".
"Someone told me you can *drive* into a bottle shop in Australia and get beer! That's not true is it?"
 
This sounds like a great experiment, can't wait to read the results!
Also the club sounds great, the website is packed full of info. Cool set up!
 
"Someone told me you can *drive* into a bottle shop in Australia and get beer! That's not true is it?"

:blink: At the risk of being exposed as a fool......

Really? There are drive-in liquor stores in Australia? :blink:

Change 'want' to visit Australia, to I 'HAVE' to visit Australia! :party:

Here's a picture of the experiment once the fermentation settled down. Yes, I know the tub is ugly, but I didn't pick it - it came with the house. I had to put the works in the tub to avoid washing the floor.

ten_18.jpg
 
I had to put the works in the tub to avoid washing the floor.

ten_18.jpg

Someone help, Dora the Explorers has fallen and has snapped her neck. ;)
Nice tub by the way. Had one the same in my old place except it was black. Damn you 80's designers.

DK
 
:blink: At the risk of being exposed as a fool......

Really? There are drive-in liquor stores in Australia? :blink:

Practically every second bottle shop is a drive through! I think the general rule is if you're a local pub, you tack a drive through bottleo onto the side. The large chain stores tend not to have drive throughs (though some do).

I stopped by one of several I pass on the way home from work (I think I pass four or five) at 11pm and was greated at my car by Midori girls in very short Midori dresses. Though they were pretty convincing, I opted instead for beer.
 
Someone help, Dora the Explorers has fallen and has snapped her neck. ;)
Nice tub by the way. Had one the same in my old place except it was black. Damn you 80's designers.

DK
:lol: Very good DK. With observation like that, you could have my job.
 
MArk
Not only do we have drive thru bottlo's, but all the passengers in the car are allowed to DRINK! Over in Canada and the US, it is SERIOUS shit if anyone in your car has an open alcohol container, it is even illegal to carry a closed bottle anywhere the driver can possible reach it.
Only 2 years ago they closed the loop-hole that allowed you to drink a beer while driving the car, providing you were under the limit (which is 0.05 here, rather than the 0.08 or .1 in Canada and the states, or it used to be). Used to freak my visiting american friends out, driving around after work, drinking a beer. No more of that, I am afraid, but its nice to be able to be drinking yourself silly as a passenger on a long trip up north for waves, or out to the pub! NEVER drove over the limit though, just to clarify, I really frown on that sorta behaviour.
All the best
Trent
 
MArk
Not only do we have drive thru bottlo's, but all the passengers in the car are allowed to DRINK! Over in Canada and the US, it is SERIOUS shit if anyone in your car has an open alcohol container, it is even illegal to carry a closed bottle anywhere the driver can possible reach it.
Only 2 years ago they closed the loop-hole that allowed you to drink a beer while driving the car, providing you were under the limit (which is 0.05 here, rather than the 0.08 or .1 in Canada and the states, or it used to be). Used to freak my visiting american friends out, driving around after work, drinking a beer. No more of that, I am afraid, but its nice to be able to be drinking yourself silly as a passenger on a long trip up north for waves, or out to the pub! NEVER drove over the limit though, just to clarify, I really frown on that sorta behaviour.
All the best
Trent
A bloke at work once had a couple of beers on the long drive up to the Central Coast. Police pulled him over for a random breath test. They asked him when the last time he had a drink was and he replied "when I saw your lights in the mirror". He blew under the limit and carried on home.
 
MArk
Not only do we have drive thru bottlo's, but all the passengers in the car are allowed to DRINK! Over in Canada and the US, it is SERIOUS shit if anyone in your car has an open alcohol container, it is even illegal to carry a closed bottle anywhere the driver can possible reach it.
Only 2 years ago they closed the loop-hole that allowed you to drink a beer while driving the car, providing you were under the limit (which is 0.05 here, rather than the 0.08 or .1 in Canada and the states, or it used to be). Used to freak my visiting american friends out, driving around after work, drinking a beer. No more of that, I am afraid, but its nice to be able to be drinking yourself silly as a passenger on a long trip up north for waves, or out to the pub! NEVER drove over the limit though, just to clarify, I really frown on that sorta behaviour.
All the best
Trent

I'm completely speechless. I had no idea the laws were so different. You're completely right about the 'within the driver's reach' part. The only safe (non-confiscateable) place you can transport alcohol is with it locked in the trunk. Even out of reach in the back seat it's fair game for a ticket. It depends on the province, but you can also have your car confiscated for open liquor. No getting it back, either. Same punishment for 'johns' picking up prostitutes. Depends on the cop/judge, but an opened case of beer (i.e. the cardboard ripped open but no open cans/bottles) can be grounds for an open liquor ticket.

In the US, it really depends on the jurisdiction. One friend was on his way into Denver to watch the mile high nationals (drag racing), doing 90 mph in a camaro with an open beer between his legs. Got pulled over by a state trooper in Colorado who asked where he was going. "Denver". "To the mile high nationals? Try to keep it under 80." And he walked away. Another friend was having a drink from a can of Bud on the road into Las Vegas when a trooper pulled up beside him and saw him take the drink. He just kept driving. In both cases I've heard that they tend to look the other way when you're inbound. The line of thinking is that you're going to spend lots of money while you're there, so 'minor' things like alcohol and speeding get overlooked. Keep in mind the gun problems they have when you consider this. Speeding on your way out of Nevada, apparently, is a big mistake. You're on the way out anyway, so they're really liberal with the tickets - going so far as to pull you over for going 1 mph over the limit.

When I lived in Kelowna (BC) I was floored at what my neighbours did on Friday afternoons - drink beer in their driveways. Where I'm from, Saskatchewan, you're guaranteed a visit from the RCs for doing that. I remember my best friend calling me one afternoon. I told him he'd never believe what was going on. My neighbours on either side of my house were standing in the street, drinking beer, and flicking arrows into the carport of the guy who lived across the street. Target practice for bow hunting season. If anyone did that back in Saskatoon, the SWAT team would be there in minutes. There, it was just another Sunday afternoon. :beerbang:
 
Yeah, pretty rough area around Kelowna :p
The mrs grew up in Vernon, so I know the kind of riff raff that is around there :lol:
My american friends, when they came to visit, used to be floored by the fact you could not only drink in the street, but actually do so right out the front of the police station, without them even questioning what you were doing! I took alot of pics of them chugging away in front of the main doors to the cop shop (across the road from where I lived). It really is amazing how different the laws are, especially when the 2 of our countries are so close culturally. I have been pulled up several times for drinking in public in the US, just bunged on my thickest Aussie accent, played dumb, and still received the worst punishment I could think of - "Wow, so you are really from Oss-tray-lee-a? Say Fosters - Australian for beer" Ouch! :eek:
All the best
Trent
 
Playing the Aussie card does work a treat - on the way out of the local bottlo I put a couple of 6 packs onto the front passenger seat of the pickup, walked around and as I was about to get in, the trooper parked about a couple of bays down drawled "Uh.. Sir??". Seeing it was a copper, I walked over... "Sir, do you realise it is a misdemanour to have an open alcohol container in your ve-hick-le that carries a $500 fine?"

*gulp*

"Nah maate, I didn't. I've just got here from Or-stray-lee-ah"... Conversation ensues, copper recommends I put it in the tray, I walk away.

And it goes both ways - we might have drive-thru, but they have it everywhere else. Go do your groceries -oh, pick up an Arrogant ******* in the beer aisle. Got a headache? Go to the local pharmacy, pick up some aspirin, and while you're at it, grab a 6 pack. And pretty much any time too. Swings and roundabouts.

It is kinda odd that they don't though - there's drive-thru everything else; ATM's, pharmacies...
 
When I was in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania a few years back visiting my aunt

They had some weird laws for alcohol sale - something about not being to sell spirits and beer from the same premises

We bought some whiskey from a really nice shop in one of the mega malls and then had to go to another shop - a dodgey shack looking place to buy beer (like we were committing some offense)

Weirded me out

And that 21years before alcohol was pretty silly

I just wiki'd it and here are the rules for all states

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_...States_by_state

The US sure is a weird place

Cheers
 
Regarding what Trent said... I'm not sure if you've got different laws in NSW, but in WA, street drinking is illegal, meaning drinking outside of your home or a liscenced bar, and yes this includes in your car (after all the road is the street). I've been in/driving cars several times and have been pulled over for people drinking in the passenger seats, as well as being pulled up as a teenager drinking while walking in the street. Every single time the police have confiscated and tipped out open drinks/stabbed goonbags. I guess it comes down to how laxed the cops are.
 
It is?

Bugger!

Thanks for the comprehensive advice too, newguy. I'd like to throw a couple bottles of beer in for fun but I suspect it might be some expensive fun.
 
When I was living in Arkansas we couldn't buy beer on Sundays. So we drove to Missouri.

Funny thing was that you could get a stinking great gun any day of the week.

We also couldn't drink beer at work, even on a friday afternoon - crazy stuff.
 
SPS my company is american owned, beers on a friday was the first thing they stopped, softdrink only, no one bothers to turn up now. there's also pretty strict rules on our sales people using the company's money to buy beers at the pub for potential customers, very un-australian :p

-Phill
 

Latest posts

Back
Top