Sharing mead with others

[New2mead]

Are you allowed to send bottles of your mead as gifts to friends? It's probably a state by state thing, but I'm just curious if there are any legal ramifications for doing so.

Awesome site! I'm on my 8th gallon of mead!

[TAKeyser]

As far as I know unless your licensed to ship alcohol you can not ship it to friends.

[New2mead]

Originally Posted by TAKeyser

As far as I know unless your licensed to ship alcohol you can not ship it to friends.

What about marinades?

[machalel]

really? you guys cant ship bottles to eachother?

[Soyala_Amaya]

Nope, can't ship alcohol...but you can mislabel it as cooking wine or marinade.

421 Definition

Intoxicating liquors are drinkable beverages that have 0.5 percent or more alcoholic content by weight and are taxable under chapter 51 of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Code.

422.1 Nonmailable Matter

422.11 Intoxicating Liquors

Intoxicating liquors having 0.5 percent or more alcoholic content are nonmailable. Taxable liquors with 3.2 percent or less alcohol, including those obtained under a prescription or as a collector’s item, also are nonmailable. The prohibition of the mailing of intoxicating liquors is contained in federal law (18 U.S.C. 1716).
422.12 Promotional Materials

Advertising, promotional, or sales matter that solicits or induces the mailing of intoxicating liquors also is nonmailable. See DMM 601.12.4.1.
422.2 Mailable Liquors

422.21 Products Not Categorized As Intoxicating Liquors

A product containing an intoxicating liquor is mailable if it conforms to the applicable requirements of the IRS and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and if it is not a taxable alcoholic beverage, poisonous, or flammable.
The following are examples of products that may be mailable:
Cold remedies.
Cooking wine.
Mouthwash.
422.22 Exempt Mailings Between Federal and State Agencies

Intoxicating liquor is exempt from the prohibition against mailing when it is sent between employees of federal or state agencies who have an official use for the liquor, such as for testing purposes. This exemption is based on the intent of the law to prevent liquor from being transported to prohibited jurisdictions for consumption and to ensure that all proper tax revenues are paid.

[tatgeer]

USPS will not ship alcohol.

FedEx will, with certain packaging requirements (I haven't done it, but I think the employee I talked to said 3" of padding on all sides)

I don't know about UPS.

[New2mead]

Originally Posted by Soyala_Amaya

Nope, can't ship alcohol...but you can mislabel it as cooking wine or marinade.


422.21 Products Not Categorized As Intoxicating Liquors

A product containing an intoxicating liquor is mailable if it conforms to the applicable requirements of the IRS and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and if it is not a taxable alcoholic beverage, poisonous, or flammable.
The following are examples of products that may be mailable:
Cold remedies.
Cooking wine.
Mouthwash.
422.22 Exempt Mailings Between Federal and State Agencies

Interesting. I think with an alcohol content of anywhere between 8-22% it could be categorized as a mouthwash. After drinking, my breath is a fresh as a beehive! Hmmm...

Has anyone tried doing a honey mead reduction?

Also of interest that a federal or state agency can ship it to each other for "testing" purposes.

Thanks for the info!

Anyone interested in joining a mouthwash/cooking wine club?

[Altricious]

Originally Posted by New2mead

Interesting. I think with an alcohol content of anywhere between 8-22% it could be categorized as a mouthwash.

I don't know about that... I find most alcoholic beverages great when I'm sick. That puts it firmly in the "cold remedy" category for me.

[JLindsey]

Pack it well and go with UPS. I use them for all competitions and have never had a problem.

[mmclean]

Originally Posted by JLindsey

Pack it well and go with UPS. I use them for all competitions and have never had a problem.

I declare all my meads as "Flavor Samples". I've never had a clerk bat an eye.

[Legitapotimous]

I have a friend with a bbq sauce business, I think it is time to make "meadinase" hah something like that..

[Chevette Girl]

I think it is a state-by-state thing but the federal mail has its own rules. I know here, there are different provincial rules and though shipping homebrew across the Can/US border is technically legal if it's legal in the state and province, a lot of it's completely up to the border guards, and they dont' actually know all the rules.

[skunkboy]

Originally Posted by tatgeer

USPS will not ship alcohol.

FedEx will, with certain packaging requirements (I haven't done it, but I think the employee I talked to said 3" of padding on all sides)

I don't know about UPS.

All of the mead that I have ordered has shown up carried by FedEx so far.

[TAKeyser]

Originally Posted by skunkboy

All of the mead that I have ordered has shown up carried by FedEx so far.

Yeah, but you are talking Meads from people authorized to ship the stuff. Everything I've ordered has arrived from Fed Ex as well, but I thing the original post referred to him shipping his mead places.

[hepcat]

I'm really enjoying sharing my mead!
My boss at work offered to buy a bottle! But it was his birthday yesterday so I gave it to him. And I gave a bottle to a lady I work with, drank a bottle with an old friend last weekend and gave them another one to keep. And only one of the above people had ever heard of mead before.


And I'm going to trade another bottle with a girl at work, for something she has that I want.

[HunnyBunz]

Originally Posted by hepcat

And I'm going to trade another bottle with a girl at work, for something she has that I want.

That sounds interesting!

[hepcat]

Originally Posted by HunnyBunz

That sounds interesting!

Not what you're thinking, lol.
Although Ken Schram does call mead a very effective 'panty remover' in his book.

[skunkboy]

Originally Posted by hepcat

Not what you're thinking, lol.
Although Ken Schramm does call mead a very effective 'panty remover' in his book.

Generally accepted homebrewer nomenclature is lpr, "liquid ... "

[hepcat]

Originally Posted by skunkboy

Generally accepted homebrewer nomenclature is lpr, "liquid ... "

LOL

[Medsen Fey]

Originally Posted by New2mead

Are you allowed to send bottles of your mead as gifts to friends? It's probably a state by state thing, but I'm just curious if there are any legal ramifications for doing so.

From a Federal standpoint, the law for home wine reads:

27Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms12006-04-012006-04-01false24.75Section 24.75Alcohol, Tobacco Products and FirearmsALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURYLIQUORSWINEAdministrative and Miscellaneous ProvisionsTax Exempt Wine§ 24.75Wine for personal or family use.
(a) General. Any adult may, without payment of tax, produce wine for personal or family use and not for sale.
(b) Quantity. The aggregate amount of wine that may be produced exempt from tax with respect to any household may not exceed:
(1) 200 gallons per calendar year for a household in which two or more adults reside, or
(2) 100 gallons per calendar year if there is only one adult residing in the household.
(c) Definition of an adult. For the purposes of this section, an adult is any individual who is 18 years of age or older. However, if the locality in which the household is located has established by law a greater minimum age at which wine may be sold to individuals, the term “adult” will mean an individual who has attained that age.
(d) Proprietors of bonded wine premises. Any adult, defined in § 24.75(c), who operates a bonded wine premises as an individual owner or in partnership with others, may produce wine and remove it from the bonded wine premises free of tax for personal or family use, subject to the limitations in § 24.75(b).
(e) Limitation. This exemption should not in any manner be construed as authorizing the production of wine in violation of applicable State or local law. Except as provided in § 24.75(d), this exemption does not otherwise apply to partnerships, corporations, or associations.
(f) Removal. Wine produced under this section may be removed from the premises where made for personal or family use including use at organized affairs, exhibitions or competitions, such as home winemaker's contests, tastings or judgings, but may not under any circumstances be sold or offered for sale. The proprietor of a bonded wine premises shall pay the tax on any wine removed for personal or family use in excess of the limitations provided in this section and shall also enter all quantities removed for personal or family use on TTB F 5120.17, Report of Bonded Wine Premises Operations. (Sec. 201, Pub. L. 85-859, 72 Stat. 1331, as amended (26 U.S.C. 5042))
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1512-0216)[T.D. ATF-299, 55 FR 24989, June 19, 1991, as amended by T.D. ATF-338, 58 FR 19064, Apr. 12, 1993; T.D. ATF-344, 58 FR 40354, July 28, 1993]

I take that to mean I can ship mead to others for tastings. I hope I never have to argue that in front of a judge as it will be costly to do so. UPS and Fed-Ex may ship them for you, but I follow a strict don't ask - don't tell policy.

Your state law may be vastly different and you may want to check.

Medsen - not an attorney