Most orders are shipped within 1-2 business days of receiving payment. The only exceptions to this are if I happen to be out of town when you place your order, or in the event that extreme weather conditions (either very hot or very cold) cause me to delay the shipment. In either of those cases, I will always contact you to let you know what is going on and what you can expect. The most important thing to me is that you get your beer safely and in good condition. I have learned the hard way that beer does not like polar vortexes.

Most of the time the beer will be shipped from just outside of Nashville, Tennessee where I live. In rare circumstances, I may ship some orders during some of my travels. For example, if I am visiting Portland, Oregon for a couple weeks as I do a few times a year, I may ship some beers that I have acquired or stored there.

80% of the shipments I do are through FedEx, either Ground or Home Delivery depending on whether the delivery address is a Commercial or Residential address. In the other 20% of cases I will ship via USPS Priority. Each case is different and I generally evaluate between cost and delivery time, and in certain cases even the weather becomes a factor in the decision.

Both FedEx and USPS Priority allow me to add an email address for shipping and delivery updates. I will add the email address you provide with your order to your shipment so you should begin receiving updates from FedEx or USPS as soon as your package is in their system. Sometimes I may personally email you the tracking # if we are emailing about something or other at the time your order is shipped, but for the most part I will just enter your email address and let the shipping companies send you the updates.

For the most part, this site is limited to people who live and/or have shipping addresses in the US. There are a very few exceptions to this who are people who live in Europe and with whom I have shipped to successfully in the past. In those cases I am happy to continue so ship to them. If I have not shipped to you before, then we can discuss whether or not I will be willing to do so and I will evaluate each request separately.

The shipping rates on the site are automatically calculated for shipping in the lower 48 US states, commonly referred to as ‘CONUS’ which is short for the Continental US. If you have entered an international shipping address, or live in Alaska or Hawaii, the shipping costs will almost always be significantly more and I will have to pass along the extra shipping cost. After you have placed your order, I will send a follow-up email notifying you of the additional shipping costs to add to the total on your invoice.

When shipping internationally, I exclusively use USPS Priority Mail International, and sometimes I will recommend the Priority Mail Express service which usually costs 15% – 20% more but will get it there within approximately 3-5 business days rather than 6-10 business days for regular Priority. With an order that is very valuable, I feel it is often worth it to minimize the risk of loss. On international orders, I cannot guarantee safe delivery so you do assume some amount of risk, although I have not yet had an order lost or damaged (although some have been delayed). The customs procedures are different in every country and often unpredictable so it is hard to guarantee a shipping time other than the estimate provided by the USPS.

When shipping internationally a customs form is always required listing the contents and value. I will never label the package as containing beer or alcohol of any kind, but generally describe the contents on the customs form as glassware or cookware, or both, and normally mark it as a “gift”. If you want me to, I generally list a much lower value than what you paid for the beer to reduce the VAT or other customs duties that you may be charged upon delivery. However, this will mean that if the package is lost or damaged there is no way to recover more than the value that is declared and insured for. USPS Priority International comes with up to $200 USD of included insurance, and I will insure the package for any amount you ask me to if you are willing to list a higher value on the customs form and pay the extra customs fees. In rare the event of loss, I will file a claim on any insured package, and will send you whatever refund I am issued as soon as I receive it.