Shipping to a Competition

The local shipping store picked up my package to the Dixie Cup. This year, for the first time, instead of "Yeast samples for evaluation," I put "kitchen supplies and bottles." Apparently, the "bottles" thing caused the folks at the store to open the box, then call me to tell me that it is illegal to ship beer. So I picked up the box, drove across town to another shipper and put "Yeast Samples for Evaluation" on the label, and off it went.

The manager of the first shipper told me they could only ship wine from a winery. And I thought, the vintners have a good lobbyist. According to the manager it is illegal to ship alcohol, except wine, via UPS and FedEx. So none of the hundreds of thousands of breweries and distillers in the US can ship their product, but every single one of the wineries in the country can get around the no shipping of alcohol ban?

Maybe it's time the homebrewers of this country get together and let their elected officials know we would like to ship our beer to contests without having to use euphemisms on the label.

Or, maybe I should just have a beer and get over it.