shipping beer from UK or Ireland to Calif.

I googled "mailing beer from UK" and found some UK mail order sites that don't ship outside of the UK. I didn't look up the Royal Mail rules, but even if it was possible it would probably be really expensive. What kind of beer are you looking for? Bevmo, Whole Foods, and sometimes Trader Joe's stock imports that might not be easy to find elsewhere.

The US Postal Service will not transport alcoholic beverages. So, to mail it, the answer would be no. You might be able to get private shipping companies, such as UPS or DHL to do so, but you would have to check with such companies directly.

Thanks Tina and Rick,

We have friends who asked us to mail beer (anything not available in the US), but sounds like that won't work. Guess we'll just have to visit Bev Mo when we get home.

Sandy

It will cost you waaayyy more than you paid for the beer to ship it....even if it is possible.

I shipped myself home some alcohol from Ireland in the summer and it definitely never arrived. From what I hear from talking to people after this happened to me, alchohol gets "lost" about 50% of the time (i.e., someone steals it). And yes, it was extremely expensive to ship.

A friend of mine living in Belgium brought me 6 different Belgian beers...Chimayyyy mmm...and he put them in his golf bag. (We played some golf at Lahinch in Ireland). I put them in my golf bag and wrapped them in my golf towels and some shirts...had all 6 when I got home. I mean all 6 were ok when I got home...I also carried quite a few Guinnesses in my stomach! :)

You might try getting items at Duty Free if you are actually traveling to Britain or Ireland, I do like the gold bag story though!

At least you can take a few (or more) bottles home in your checked bags, if you have room. I've taken wine, prosecco and beer home, just wrap really well and put in plastic bags...just in case. Nothing's ever gotten broken.

I think the best idea would be to contact a brewery whose beer you like - maybe sample it in the UK - and see if they can ship it over.

On the basis there is Californian wine in my local shop means it can be done.

Is there a Real Ale society in California that you could join/ contact who could advise you on anyone already doing this?

One problem is within the UK, it's accepted some beers do not travel well... why IPA was created to travel to India... so that's worth bearing in mind.