Ordering German Beer Online in the US: What Ships and What Does Not

If you have ever tried to order a case of Paulaner to your door the way you would order anything else, you already know the frustration: German beer is imported and distributed, but almost nobody ships it directly to a consumer, and the reason is less about the beer than about US alcohol law. This page sorts out what is actually legal, what the importers themselves offer, and where the real online path runs, as part of my Bavarian Beer Guide.

The legal picture, state by state

The National Conference of State Legislatures keeps its own running summary of direct-shipment-of-alcohol statutes, and its finding is blunt: only eight states allow direct shipment of beer, as opposed to wine only, to consumers by statute, Delaware, Massachusetts, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Virginia, with Oregon separately permitting cider as well. Delaware’s version is not even a pure direct-to-consumer model; shippers there must route through a licensed in-state wholesaler and retailer rather than mailing straight to a home. DC allows a capped shipment, one case per location per month¹.

The same document frames most of the rest of the country plainly: the majority of states that allow any direct shipment at all restrict it to wine, leaving beer out entirely. An earlier search turned up a longer, different list of “beer-friendly” states, but it never appeared on a page I could fetch and confirm, so I am not repeating it here; if you see that longer list elsewhere, treat it as unconfirmed.

Resi says Check the retailer’s own shipping page for your specific state before you order anything. Neither of the two retailers below publishes a full state list on the page I could read, and the law here changes by state legislature, not by what a website’s marketing copy implies.

Who actually imports what

Before you go looking for a shipper, it helps to know who legally brings each label into the country, since that is who controls where it lands on shelves. Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr are imported by Paulaner USA, based in White Plains, New York, which describes itself as representing “three breweries across Germany and China with over 1,100 years of combined brewing experience”². Hofbräu München’s US beer comes in through Hofbräuhaus of America, LLC, based in Las Vegas³.

Weihenstephaner has been imported by Total Beverage Solution, in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, since 2006, per the importer’s own trade site, though that page does not spell out exclusivity or pack sizes in its body text⁶. Erdinger’s US portfolio changed hands most recently: US Beverage, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, became the exclusive US importer effective January 1, 2024, and names the styles it now carries as Weissbier, Non-Alcoholic, Kristall, Dunkel, Pikantus, Oktoberfest and Brauhaus Helles⁷. None of these importers, again, sell to individual customers directly; each one exists to stock the retail shelf, not your doorstep.

Why the big importers will not just ship it to you

Paulaner USA’s own Beer Finder tool is framed exactly as a retail locator: “Complete the search form to find where you can purchase Paulaner beers in your area.” Nothing on the page offers a direct-to-consumer shipping option². Hofbräuhaus of America runs the same kind of tool, its own Beer Finder for retail locations, plus a separate wholesale-only ordering portal for authorized business partners, not individual buyers³.

That pattern holds across the importers: they exist to get German beer into stores and bars, not into a box addressed to your house. If you want Paulaner, Hofbräu, Erdinger or Weihenstephaner specifically, the importer’s own site will tell you where to buy it locally, not sell it to you directly.

The retailers that actually ship

CraftShack‘s own shipping page states flat-rate shipping to all lower-48 states, explicitly excluding Alaska, Hawaii, international addresses, APO/FPO addresses and US territories. It enforces a $35 order minimum before checkout, and some states require the delivery address to be a business address per the site’s own language. A signature from someone 21 or older is required at delivery, and the site states that its vendors cannot accept returns on alcohol purchased in error, citing state alcohol-return regulations⁴.

Tavour‘s own shipping-policy page names only its Kent, Washington warehouse and states no order minimum, but it also does not publish which states it ships to on the page I could read. Its own legal language shifts all compliance responsibility onto the buyer, stating plainly that it assumes no obligation to obtain permits on a customer’s behalf and advising buyers to check their own state’s rules before ordering⁵.

Neither retailer’s own page states whether specific German imports, Paulaner, Hofbräu, Erdinger or Weihenstephaner among them, are in stock at any given time; both run a curated, rotating inventory. Treat either as a channel that sometimes carries German beer, not a guaranteed source for a specific label.

Radler, if the shipping question is moot anyway

If none of this pans out for your state, the easier fix might be to stop chasing the imported bottle and mix your own. Resi’s own drink of choice at Oktoberfest and in the beer gardens was never the beer itself: “It’s a refreshing mix of half beer and half lemon soda, so it also looks like regular beer, but less potent.” The one thing most people forget to budget for is what goes in eventually has to come out, and plenty of visitors learn that lesson in a long bathroom line, or worse, on the way home. My Oktoberfest Party Beer List and Bavarian Beer Guide both cover what US stores actually stock if you would rather buy what is already on the shelf than fight a shipping policy.

Resi says If you can get a domestic wheat beer or even a light lager locally, a Radler needs nothing imported at all, just your beer of choice and a lemon-lime soda in equal parts. It is the one Bavarian drink you do not need a single specialty shipment to make correctly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I legally have German beer shipped to any US state?

No. Only eight states allow direct beer shipment to consumers by statute, per the National Conference of State Legislatures, and most states that allow any alcohol shipment restrict it to wine.

Does Paulaner or Hofbräu ship directly to customers?

No. Both importers’ own sites offer a retail store locator, not a direct-to-consumer shipping option; Hofbräuhaus of America’s direct ordering portal is wholesale-only, for licensed business partners.

What is the minimum order for CraftShack?

CraftShack states a $35 order minimum before checkout on its own shipping page, along with lower-48-only shipping and a business-address requirement in some states.

Does Tavour publish a list of states it ships to?

Not on the page I could read. It names only its Washington State warehouse and places compliance responsibility on the buyer.

Is Radler a real substitute if I cannot get imported German beer shipped?

Yes, in Resi’s own view. It only needs a beer you already have access to and lemon soda in equal parts, no import required.

Why do so many search results list different shipping states than what I found here?

Several widely repeated state lists could not be confirmed on any page actually fetched for this article; verify directly with the retailer before ordering.

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