The Bar Towel

Stopped in at Bear World in Watertown yesterday. I wanted to try as many different beers as possible, so I got a mixed six with:

Smuttynose Robust Porter
Flying Dog Road Dog
Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald
Southern Tier Porter
North Coast Pranqster
Ommegang Abbey Ale

I also picked up a 4-pack of Old Rasputin and a bomber each of Stone Smoked Porter and Anderson Valley Brother David's Double.

Ceecee wrote:Stopped in at Bear World in Watertown yesterday. I wanted to try as many different beers as possible, so I got a mixed six with:

Smuttynose Robust Porter
Flying Dog Road Dog
Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald
Southern Tier Porter
North Coast Pranqster
Ommegang Abbey Ale

I also picked up a 4-pack of Old Rasputin and a bomber each of Stone Smoked Porter and Anderson Valley Brother David's Double.

Yeah, but what bears were there, polar, grizzly?

Trip to Buffalo today, hit up Premier and Village Beer Merchant, with a stop for lunch at the Blue Monk. No duty paid! Woot.

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald
North Coast Old Rasputin
Jolly Pumpkin Luciérnaga, The Firefly
Ithaca White Gold
Firestone Walker Double Jack
Sam Adams 13th Hour
Troegs Flying Mouflan
Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast
Victory Storm King
Goose Island Pere Jaques
Anchor Christmas Ale

And I also got some Nightman Cometh from Amsterdam. All in all, a good day for beer.

andrewrg wrote:Trip to Buffalo today, hit up Premier and Village Beer Merchant, with a stop for lunch at the Blue Monk. No duty paid! Woot.

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald
North Coast Old Rasputin
Jolly Pumpkin Luciérnaga, The Firefly
Ithaca White Gold
Firestone Walker Double Jack
Sam Adams 13th Hour
Troegs Flying Mouflan
Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast
Victory Storm King
Goose Island Pere Jaques
Anchor Christmas Ale

And I also got some Nightman Cometh from Amsterdam. All in all, a good day for beer.

The Pere Jaques is great, I got some last time I was there.

Nice, glad to hear that. I'd never heard of it before, but I wanted to pick up a couple more 12oz bottles, and the label was pretty.

Quick stop in NF NY and picked up:

Stone Arrogant Bastard
Ommegang gift set with glass and Gnomegang, Three Philosophers and Hennepin
Great Lakes Christmas Ale also GL glass

Saranac Sampler with:
Lake Effect
Vanilla Stout
India Copper Ale
Bohemian Lager
Big Moose Ale
Chocolate Lager

My streak of bad luck continues. Just got back from Buffalo an paid another $100 in duty.

TheSevenDuffs wrote:My streak of bad luck continues. Just got back from Buffalo an paid another $100 in duty.

Which bridge?

Kish84 wrote:

TheSevenDuffs wrote:My streak of bad luck continues. Just got back from Buffalo an paid another $100 in duty.

Which bridge?

Queenston/Lewiston. I had a bad run at the Rainbow so I decided to switch it up last time. Now I am 0 for 2 at Q/L. I had 43 bottles. I thought he was going to let me though then he asked the dreaded question: "are they all normal sized bottles" and I think that is what did me in. I only had 4 bottles that were smaller than 650 ML.

TheSevenDuffs wrote:

Kish84 wrote:

TheSevenDuffs wrote:My streak of bad luck continues. Just got back from Buffalo an paid another $100 in duty.

Which bridge?

Queenston/Lewiston. I had a bad run at the Rainbow so I decided to switch it up last time. Now I am 0 for 2 at Q/L. I had 43 bottles. I thought he was going to let me though then he asked the dreaded question: "are they all normal sized bottles" and I think that is what did me in. I only had 4 bottles that were smaller than 650 ML.

You must have one of those faces that looks 'guilty' The times I crossed Rainbow I never got pulled over. Only ever used Queenston/Lewiston once and I never actually got to pass; got turned back at the border, and never made it out of Canada. Never used that crossing again.

TheSevenDuffs wrote:I thought he was going to let me though then he asked the dreaded question: "are they all normal sized bottles" and I think that is what did me in. I only had 4 bottles that were smaller than 650 ML.

Dude, I always say yeah I got some groceries and a case / a few cases of beer. To make it seem offhanded it helps if you had SOME legit recreational reason to visit other than "beady-eyed beer freak." Why not go walk off your 2-beer buzz at some local attraction after lunch.

Of course if they ask how much the total haul is worth you may be euchred.

Yes, this border thing really blows for getting good beer home - which is why (to fly under radar) I'd rather travel more often and bring less per trip! It pays for itself and it's more enjoyable.

TheSevenDuffs wrote:I had 43 bottles. I thought he was going to let me though then he asked the dreaded question: "are they all normal sized bottles" and I think that is what did me in. I only had 4 bottles that were smaller than 650 ML.

dude, that means you had 39 bottles at 650ml or larger - over 3 cases - plus a handful of smaller ones. i never get through with much more than a case on a same day crossing. in addition, if all you have is beer, your chances of going in and paying duty go up significantly because you generally also have to tell them the total value of the beer. game over.

i'm very strategic in how i answer the questions and what i've got in the car. you must be honest with them, but there's no harm in playing to their assumptions. in general, if you tell them you bought beer, they're assuming you're picking up a cheap-ass case of swill for $8, so their duty cut is going to be tiny and not worth the hassle...

a few tips:

1) always have something else in the car other than beer. a 5 minute trip to the grocery store or that bestbuy you always pass is always a good thing.

2) always round to the nearest half case. as soon as you give them some random number they're going to get suspicious and asking more questions. you want them thinking you got that cheap 24 or 30 cans of swill.

3) the longer the trip, the more you can get away with.

4) even better if you've got multiple people in the car... more people = less volume per person.

when they ask what you bought, I always answer with the total dollar value for the car and a quick summary of what it entails (including the beer). the last time I crossed (3 of us) it was "a total of $450 in the car including some groceries, clothes, dvds, and 3 cases of beer". right away they're thinking my wife was off shopping and the guys grabbed a few cheap 24's and they wave you through. in this case it was an overnight, but i've had the same thing many times in the past. if it's the same day trip, $100-150 and one case per person will usually get through clear. they don't need to know that that's $120 of beer and 2 dvds, and 90% of the time they don't ask or don't care. sometimes they're even kind enough to tell you that you need to be over 48 hours to get a free case - always play dumb. "oh gee, i thought it was after 24 hours" or something similar. you'd be surprised how easily it works.

i also find the busier the crossing, the less likely you're going in for duty. if they've got 200 cars behind you in line, they're going to ask less questions and move you through faster. so sometimes the busy crossing is worth a little time if you think you're on the border between getting through and getting stopped.

in general, no matter the quantity, if they ask you the dollar value of the beer you're paying duty. so if all you're crossing with is one person, 3.5 cases of beer, and a declared $300+ value, you're damn sure you'll be going in and forking over that roughly $30%.

@ Grub. I was expecting to pay duty. I was just hoping that he would not ask for the volume of the bottles (I very rarely get asked that question). You are probably right that I would have been better off to grab some groceries. I was just aiming for a quick trip, which back fired on a number of fronts.

As for the amount of beer - yeah, I normally don't have that much with me on a day trip but I had a bunch of stuff that I was picking up that was there and it didn't make sense to leave without some of it. I only purchased 8 bottles aside from the ones that I knew were there.

Oh well, live and learn.

TheSevenDuffs wrote:@ Grub. I was expecting to pay duty.

hehe, then it's not really a "streak of bad luck", is it?

grub wrote:

TheSevenDuffs wrote:@ Grub. I was expecting to pay duty.

hehe, then it's not really a "streak of bad luck", is it?

I try to keep my expectations low. I've been waved through with 2 cases on a day trip before, so there is still a certain element of bad luck here.