Help with beer gift in Rochester, NY

[midnight armadillo]

Hey, I'm looking to send a gift, preferably of high quality beer, to a friend up in Rochester, NY.

My google skills have failed me. There are the beer-of-the-month things which would be perfect but require a minimum of 2-3 months and won't show up til June. Can anyone make a suggestion? I might have to fall back on that if nothing else works. thanks!

:beer: :toast: :beer:

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Surely there's a DUer or two in Rochester

who would go buy the beer and deliver for you? I would, but I don't live there.

Don't know about places that deliver beers. Lots of wine places I know of you can order from, but not beer. I'd think there'd be at least one, but alcohol laws are really weird in this country all over the place as to the shipping/purchasing/sale/state-line-crossing of beer vs. wine vs. liquor, so perhaps it's not legal to ship beer except as a "beer of the month" club kind of thing. Who knows? I don't. :shrug:

Sorry, this is a long post and ultimately not very helpful.

[mac56]

2. I've shipped a few homebrew samples via UPS over the years.

UPS can reject the package if they know it's beer, but generally takes a "don't ask - don't tell" approach. Very secure packaging, with lots of padding and plastic around each bottle, is the key. (Grocery store produce bags, securely taped, seem to work.) I label the box "GLASSWARE - EXTREMELY FRAGILE" and have never had a mishap. Kind of labor intensive, but good results.

[midnight armadillo]

3. I didn't know they shipped

That might be the easiest thing to do. I found some a few places, finally:
http://www.liquidsolutions.biz
and
http://www.beeronthewall.com

but wow are they pricey. Good selection of beer though. I might just hit the big ole liquor store (Blanchard's) in Allston, MA and put together a half-case or so and trust the UPS gorillas don't throw it off a bridge on the way to Rochester.

[mac56]

5. I can't stress enough the importance of very thorough packing & padding.

You have to pack it so well that no "sloshing" can be heard when the box is shaken. It takes some time, but is doable.

[Not Me]

4. I used to live in Rochester...

There is a great store called "Beers of the World"...a 'net lookup should get you the number. I don't know if they deliver or not, but they should have gift certificates.

Another option is a gift certificate from MacGregor's Pub. (They actually have three around the city.) They have a great selection of choice beers and some seasonal mircrobrewery beers and ales.

Hope this helps.