Buying Beer, Part 5: Breweries to Visit When Traveling

It is illegal to ship alcohol across state lines via the United States Postal Service. Additionally, while it's not illegal to try to ship alcohol by private carriers such as FedEx and UPS, their stated policy is that they will ship alcohol only under contract for licensed wholesalers, dealers, distributors, manufacturers and importers. If an individual ships alcoholic beverages and gets caught, the bottles will be confiscated. So, there’s a risk of both wasted time and lost dollars if that happens. That's better than facing criminal charges, but it's still upsetting.


 Buying Beer, Part 6: How to Set Up a Beer Cellar

Here’s a dirty little secret: Many beer collectors, even beer professionals, end up settling for a cool, dark cabinet or even a box for their beer collection. (By the way, if you're aging beer, don't forget to label it with the date it should be consumed. Electronic label makers, such as the Brother P-Touch series, are perfect for this.)
Buying Beer, Part 7: What the Chefs Drink

Hardcore beer collectors often go for those with big flavor, like barrel-aged stouts and IPAs. These, however, are not the beers of the working class. When people are hot, sweaty, tired and busy, the last thing desired is a strong, thick, high-alcohol beer.


Buying Beer, Part 8: Best Bang-for-the-Buck Beers

If you still don’t have at least a small collection of beers that you love by now — well, the only possible explanation is that you're not old enough to drink. Please accept our congratulations on your upcoming 21st birthday and go read something else now.