beer-delivery-which-states-currently-allow-shipment-directly-to-your-door

Beer Delivery: Which States Currently Allow Shipment Directly to Your Door?

Some states are now allowing beer delivery; is your state one of them? While beer delivery to your door is a thing now, there are still a few catches. But first, let’s explore what states allow beer delivery.

Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia allow direct beer and spirit shipments. These other states allow shipments, but with some caveats: Delaware, Massachusetts, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Virginia. Connecticut and New Jersey only allow direct shipments of wine, cider, and mead, but not beer or spirits. New Mexico ships wine and cider, while Oregon ships beer, wine, and cider. Arkansas allows wine and mead shipments.

Now, the caveats. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, in Arkansas and Rhode Island, the consumer must be present at the time of purchase, which means no online Drizly shopping. In Delaware, the shipments must be made to a wholesaler, then delivered to the consumer. Mississippi consumers can purchase at a winery and have their purchases shipped to a package retailer in-state. In Utah, you can have wine delivered through a subscription program, but it can’t be sent directly to your door. And in West Virginia, spirits must be sent to a retail liquor outlet for pickup.

All remaining states allow wine shipments. That’s Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado; Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas; Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota; Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania; South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah; Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

A lot to take in, but it seems like only some states are lucky enough to get a beer delivery directly to their door. Others can make due with wine, spirits, or cider.

More Demand for Craft Beer Delivery

People want their beer, and they want it on their doorstep within the hour. According to the 2022 Sovos ShipCompliant direct-to-consumer shipping report, there’s more demand than ever for direct-to-consumer beer delivery. But, as mentioned above, not every state is open to the idea.

Right now, only 14.8 percent of alcohol drinkers can have beer delivered to their door, while 96.7 percent can have wine delivered. The thing about getting craft beer delivered, specifically, is it would help boost the breweries, especially the smaller ones.

Sovos reported that 9 out of 10 craft beer drinkers would willingly order their beer from a delivery service once a month. That would be huge for a small brewery. Even if local sales are slipping, being able to ship beer over state lines would help breweries maintain their businesses.

Bart Watson, chief economist at the Brewers Association, said of the Sovos report, “Results from this year’s report give us an indication of just how much money is being left on the table for producers and states that forbid DtC beer shipping. Based on the findings, it’s clear that expanding DtC shipping would meet consumer demand and boost craft brewery sales.”