Is it legal to ship beer in the US?
The short and direct answer would be “No” unless you have the proper license and paperwork to do it. Shipping any alcoholic beverage is against the policies of most shipping companies—all kind of liquid products on glass bottles; it is considered dangerous for shipping.
From: Home Brew Academy
If there is not a law against it, it is not illegal. It's illegal to ship alcohol via USPS. Shipping it via FedEx is against their policy, but afaik no more illegal than a private person giving homebrew to another private party for free in their own car. A brewery selling and shipping interstate without a license is another matter entirely. As has been mentioned, that is a tax issue.
Yes, it's legal to ship beer. It happens everyday.
But to do so legally, you must be properly licensed. And have the proper shipper's accounts with FedEx / UPS.
What are the consequences for someone (you or me) shipping beer, and then getting busted? Is there a fine involved? Does the federal or state government care about this?
And why does FedEx / UPS make such a big stink about it? If it's not illegal, why do they not allow consumers (you and me) to ship beer? It would be a good revenue source for them, and we know they would welcome that.
And it's not just a simple "open an account" with them. You must be properly licensed by the authorities.
If you get busted for shipping liquids / alcohol / beer, etc. on FedEx, in violation of their company policy, can they file legal charges against you?
And this…
Today 3/18 I get a letter in the mail from the Pennsylvania state police bureau of liquor control enforcement. Letter basically says the department has conducted a criminal investigation regarding direct shipment of malt beverages to PA. There’s a number for a licensing bureau that I can contact if I want to become licensed. Clearly I’m not licensed to ship alcohol so the last paragraph reads failure to comply with PA law could subject you to criminal enforcement action taken by the state police. There’s a number that says please contact to discuss in further detail.
The above taken from another beer forum.