Ask A Brewer who wishes he was a Ninja

So I got an email from someone who reads the blog. It was a Q worth A'ing, so I figure its worth posting up for others. Here is the message I got...

-----Original Message-----
From: Darien Taylor
Sent: June 14, 2007 4:20 PM
To: ohyeah@beaus.ca
Subject: A Thank You and a Question From A Fellow Microbrewer

First I would like to thank you for the blog that you placed up on your site. A friend and I had the idea to brew beer just for fun to see what it would take. After having so much fun making our first batch we are planning on upgrading our equipment and buying more equipment so we can start a more continuous supply.While looking for information on the laws of microbrewing in Canada, we came across your website and your blog and we have been using it as an "instruction and information" website for the future (if this actually takes off). So on behalf of Chris Shephard (Shep) and I, Darien Taylor (Eli) of Sheli Beer I want to thank you for the information you have provided us from your blog and your website to help us turn this tiny thought in the back of our heads to an actual project.Now I read how you had people from overseas asking for labels and samples. What are the laws of sending a sample of beer across the country (We are located in North Bay Ontario and looking to ship a sample to some friends in Alberta)? Also what are the laws to send it overseas (such as to Australia)? Thank you again for everything you have unknowingly provided us and good luck on the future of your company.

And here is my response...

Hey Shep and Eli,

Thanks for writing such a nice email. It’s kinda cool to think that people other than just my mom [note: I do appreciate your readership too, mom] read the blog. Regarding your question... within the country my advice would be: legal schmeegal! I had the same worry, we needed to ship a sample bottle tothe LCBO for laboratory testing and when I asked the LCBO staffer they said something along the lines of "oh, just mark it as fragile and send it through FedEx". So I did. When we were building the business plans and working on test recipes I was still working in Toronto, and my Dad would send me a sixpack of sample bottles via UPS all the time. Just make sure you pack it real good with lots of bubble wrap. As far as overseas goes, I've never tried, but I think the same approach would be worth trying. I hope that helps and its great to hear that another brewery might be opening up soon!

So there you go...I feel so “Ask a Ninja” right now! And if you’re someone else who reads this blog fairly often, post a response so I know yer out there. It’s easier to write more if I know people are reading.