Bringing bottled beer on airplane?

[Questioninggeller]

I wanted to bring a six pack of a hard to find (in the US) Danish beer from Southern California across the US to give it to a friend. Anyone know or experience the drop in air pressure causing the beer to foam up and seep out of the bottles in checked luggage?

 

[Rolfe]

Just don't try it with cans. I have some property that will never be quite the same again after twice carelessly packing a can of Irn Bru in my luggage. (It's OK if you put it in a "BioBox", but not everyone has one of these available!)

Don't know how much difference the greater fizziness of the soft drink makes though.

By the way, the cans were punctured inwards as if they'd been punched (in one place) by a screwdriver. Anyone care to explain the way the pressure causes that?

Rolfe.

 

[Crossbow]

I wanted to bring a six pack of a hard to find (in the US) Danish beer from Southern California across the US to give it to a friend. Anyone know or experience the drop in air pressure causing the beer to foam up and seep out of the bottles in checked luggage?

Do you know what kind of plane you will be flying? Some of the larger ones have pressurized baggage compartments.

But the safest thing may be to Ground Mail the beer so that there would not be any pressure problems.

 

[Hellbound]

By the way, the cans were punctured inwards as if they'd been punched (in one place) by a screwdriver. Anyone care to explain the way the pressure causes that?

I have a theory, whether it's right or not is arugable, but I have a theory anyway

When I deployed to Saudi several years ago, we shipped medical supplies in standard military containers. These cases are aluminum, watertight cases, and have a rubber seal around the rim between the lid and case.

Anyway, when the cases arrived and we went to unpack them, they could not be opened. We had to drill a hole in them to equalize the pressure before we could pry the lid off. As the pressure dropped in the airplane, the air inside the case leaked out. The air pushing up loosened the lid enough to let it out. When the baggage area was represurrized, though, the greater exterior pressure pushed the lid tighter onto the case, and the case became 'vacuum sealed.'

It could be a similar process with the cans; lower pressure allows a small hole to form and the contents leak out. Then the area is represurrized, the gas going back into the can bends the metal around the original exit hole. Just a thought, though. Dunno if it'd work that way (although it is very effective for sealed containers with lids).

 

[Art Vandelay]

Re: Re: Bringing bottled beer on airplane?

Do you know what kind of plane you will be flying? Some of the larger ones have pressurized baggage compartments.

But the safest thing may be to Ground Mail the beer so that there would not be any pressure problems.

"Ground" refers to the priority, not the method of transport. Sending something by "ground" does not guarantee that it won't be put on a plane.

 

[welshdean]

I've brought 72 x 2pint bottles of 'San Miguel' home (Cardiff) from Lanzarote. No problems. It was actually quite beneficial. My lift home from the airport was delayed for an hour or two in heavy traffic. I cracked a couple open and they were beautifully cold!!!

 

[anor277]

Just off topic I find it intriguing that security on airlines will allow any amount of bottles on board (wine, beer etc.) yet will confiscate the smallest nail file or pair of nail scissors. Two bottles of beer/wine smashed together makes a very frightening weapon as deadly as any box cutter.

On topic, I have transported numerous bottles of wine, beer (sealed with crown caps; Grolsch bottles give a better seal) on checked in luggage. There is more likelihood of the glass breaking than the bottle exploding.

 

[epepke]

I wanted to bring a six pack of a hard to find (in the US) Danish beer from Southern California across the US to give it to a friend. Anyone know or experience the drop in air pressure causing the beer to foam up and seep out of the bottles in checked luggage?

I've brought back canned and bottled beer at least a dozen times from Europe, and I've always put most of it in checked luggage. I have never had a single instance of seepage or breakage. Be sure to pack it extremely well, though.

 

[Crossbow]

Re: Re: Re: Bringing bottled beer on airplane?

"Ground" refers to the priority, not the method of transport. Sending something by "ground" does not guarantee that it won't be put on a plane.

Well, yes it basically does.

Since in just about every case it is more expensive to air ship things as opposed to ship things by surface transport; then shipping by 'Ground' (the cheapest mode) does virtually garantee that the object will not be shipped by air.

However, if one is really concerned about the issue, then one can readily determine if the object will be shipped by air or not by making a simple inquiry before the shipment is made.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Air may not have the lowest average cost, but I would think that there would be cases where it has the lowest marginal cost. Suppose you have half a plane load of next-day packages. Which is cheaper-- filling up the rest with ground packages, or sending the ground packages by truck, and sending out a half-empty plane?

 

[exarch]

Originally posted by Rolfe
Just don't try it with cans. I have some property that will never be quite the same again after twice carelessly packing a can of Irn Bru in my luggage. (It's OK if you put it in a "BioBox", but not everyone has one of these available!)

Don't know how much difference the greater fizziness of the soft drink makes though.

By the way, the cans were punctured inwards as if they'd been punched (in one place) by a screwdriver. Anyone care to explain the way the pressure causes that?

Are you sure it wasn't an airport security person who did that?

For starters, a can on an airplane would be overpressurized, with pressure equalizing as soon as there is an opening through which the drink could flow (or squirt) out.
Pressure in a can also causes it to rip, it doesn't create tiny punctures. Throw an unopened beer or sodacan into a fire (and run like hell ) to find out what happens if a can explodes.
Also, I don't think the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere rising again would cause air to flow back into the can with enough pressure to bend the edges of a puncture inward.
It sounds more likely to me that the weight of other luggage on top of yours squashed the now half empty can or something, and probably caused the puncture in the first place.

As for bottles of beer, I brought mine along in my carry-on luggage without much problems. I also preferred my carry-on luggage to checked luggage for matters of delicate handling and glass breakage ...

 

[Rolfe]

The first time I thought it might have been an accident. But the second time, with absolutely identical damage to the can, made me suspect it was caused by the depressurisation. And on neither occasion were the contents of the bag disturbed in any way (apart from being soaked in Irn Bru).

Another can posted to Tennessee in one of the screw-top canisters used for posting potentially dangerous biological specimens (which are supposed to resist explosive decompression) arrived intact.

Rolfe.

 

[exarch]

So they were packed inside your luggage in both cases? Packed in a towel or something or just next to other stuff? And both cans ended up with a puncture mark? Where? The side of the can? In the middle or near the bottom or the top?

This is a very intriguing phenomenon. Was it a can of Irn Bru both times? Does the same thing occur with other brands of drinks too?

So many questions ...

 

[Rolfe]

Yes, Irn Bru both times. One regular-sized can going to Tennessee, and one small in-flight size the stewardess had given me as an extra on a Gatwick/Glasgow flight, and I'd forgotten about it and shoved it in my holdall, and it was still there to get zapped in the hold on the return leg. I can't say I wrapped them deliberately - especially the second time, it was a pure accident, I wouldn't have deliberately packed it after the first experience.

Both punctured in much the same place, in the middle of the side of the can, the puncture at the bottom of a pretty deep dent. And the surrounding underwear soaked. Fortunately the small can didn't have enough in it to get as far as more delicate items elsewhere in the bag.

Rolfe.

 

[Michael Redman]

Hand carry it like you would any other precious item. Why let it out of your sight (and control)? Plus, if you end up stuck on the plane for some reason . . .

You can guarantee something is shipped by ground of you tell them it is (or actually include in the shipment) something that is prohibited on an airplane.

 

[Soapy Sam]

I know it's a tad off topic, but this has always bothered me.
You know airlines refuse to fly unaccompanied baggage on passenger flights?

So how do they manage to lose the stuff all the time?

 

[Rolfe]

Aw, Alistair, when I saw you'd posted I was so sure you were going to tell me how this was some mystical property of Irn Bru I was falling foul of....

Rolfe.

 

[exarch]

Originally posted by Soapy Sam
I know it's a tad off topic, but this has always bothered me.
You know airlines refuse to fly unaccompanied baggage on passenger flights?

So how do they manage to lose the stuff all the time?

This could become a really interesting terrorist lottery. Bring a bag with a bomb to the airport, and hope they accidentally send it some place else so it's not on your plane when it goes off

I must admit I was worried last January, when my plane from Vegas to Chicago had a problem and I missed my connecting flight. Somehow my luggage made it to London with me on the correct plane. In the short time between the arrival of the plane from Vegas and the departure of the plane to London (less than 20 minutes), they managed to load the luggage of everyone going to Europe on the correct plane, while sending everyone else's luggage to the reclaim area. I was really impressed by the way the airline-people handled that entire situation so swiftly. And that includes the little emergency counter they set up to give everyone new tickets.