Germany
USA trade laneGerman beer has a permanent place in US retail and on draft: Bavarian lagers and wheat beers, Pilsners, Kölsch and Altbier, Märzen for the Oktoberfest season and a growing alcohol-free segment. The importers are licensed beer importers and distributors, US owners of German-brewed brands, and restaurant and beer-hall groups that need draft supply.
Beer is a regulated product before it is a freight product. A shipment needs a TTB-permitted importer, an approved label, an FDA-registered brewery and Prior Notice, and a place in the state three-tier system — and then it has to travel without heat or frost damage. AGF moves German beer for licensed importers through WCA partner agents in Germany — AGF has no office there — with entries filed by our licensed customs brokers.
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Shipping Beer from Germany to USA
Bottles and cans ship in cartons on pallets, and draft beer in kegs. Beer is weight cargo: US road limits, not the container's volume, usually decide how many pallets go in a box. Hamburg or Bremerhaven to the US East Coast takes roughly 10–14 days on the water and 20–25 days to the West Coast, and breweries in southern Germany are a long truck or rail leg from those ports, which belongs in the plan.
Temperature is the quality question. Pasteurized lagers tolerate dry containers in the cool months; unpasteurized, bottle-conditioned and hop-forward beers, and anything shipping in summer, are better in a reefer — which can also keep a winter shipment above freezing on a long inland leg. Returnable stainless kegs are expensive to send back across the Atlantic, so many export programs use one-way kegs instead.
- Palletized bottles and cans; kegs for draft programs
- Reefer in summer and for unpasteurized or delicate beers; dry containers in cool months for stable lagers
- Loads planned to US road weight limits
- Seasonal beers shipped weeks ahead of the selling season
What Drives the Cost
- Reefer versus dry container, and the season you ship in
- Federal excise tax, with reduced rates available when the brewery assigns them to the importer under the Craft Beverage Modernization Act
- Customs duty under the Section 301 measure on EU goods, which tops the normal duty up to 10% in total unless the line is exempted — confirmed at quoting
- Kegs: returnable, with a return leg to pay for, or one-way
- The inland leg from the brewery to Hamburg or Bremerhaven
- State licensing, label registration and wholesaler margins in each market
HS Codes and Duty Notes
Classification guidance only — duty rates change and depend on your exact product. Our licensed customs brokers verify every code before you commit to an order.
| HS Code | Products | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2203.00 | Beer made from malt | Federal excise tax is collected at entry on top of customs duty. Container size splits the statistical lines, so declare bottles, cans and kegs accurately. |
| 2202.91 | Non-alcoholic beer | Beer under 0.5% alcohol is not taxed as beer, classifies separately and follows different labeling rules — check before printing labels. |
| 2206 | Other fermented beverages — some beer mixes, fruit beers and ciders | Beer mixed with lemonade or fruit juice can fall outside 2203 depending on its composition, which changes the duty line. |
Regulations and Compliance
TTB importer's basic permit
Importing beer for sale requires a federal importer's basic permit from TTB under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act. The permit belongs to the US importer of record, not to the brewery or the forwarder, and it must be in place before the first shipment — budget months, not weeks. We ship for permit holders.
COLA label approval
Each beer label needs a Certificate of Label Approval (COLA) from TTB before the beer can be released from customs custody. The US label must carry the mandatory statements, including the government health warning and the importer's name, so labels are printed or stickered to US specification at the brewery.
FDA facility registration and Prior Notice
Breweries are food facilities under US law. The brewery must be registered with FDA, and every shipment needs Prior Notice filed before arrival. Registrations are renewed every two years, and the current renewal window runs from 1 October to 31 December 2026 — a registration that is not renewed lapses, and beer from that brewery cannot be entered. Alcoholic beverages are exempt from the Foreign Supplier Verification Program, but not from registration or Prior Notice.
Federal excise tax and the Craft Beverage Modernization Act
Federal excise tax on beer is paid at entry. Under the Craft Beverage Modernization Act a foreign brewery can assign reduced tax rates to its US importer, which matters most for smaller breweries; the assignment has to be set up through TTB before the beer is entered.
The three-tier system and state law
Most states require beer to move from importer to licensed wholesaler to retailer, and many require brand or label registration before sale. Beer franchise laws in many states make it hard to change wholesalers once a brand is appointed, so choose distribution partners before the first container ships.
Door-to-Door Import Service
We confirm the importer's TTB permit, the approved COLAs and the brewery's FDA registration before booking. Our partner agents in Germany then collect from the brewery — or from several breweries for a mixed container — and load reefer or dry equipment by season, and Prior Notice is filed before arrival.
Our licensed customs brokers file the entry and pay duty and excise, and the beer is delivered to your licensed warehouse or wholesaler, temperature-controlled where it needs it. Seasonal programs are planned backward from the selling date: Oktoberfest beer sold in September ships in summer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I import beer from Germany to the US?
Do I need a license to import beer into the US?
Does imported beer need a refrigerated container?
What taxes and duties apply to German beer?
Beer is just one example. AGF ships whatever your business moves — on this lane and beyond. If your commodity isn't covered by one of our guides, tell us what you ship and we'll build the logistics around it.
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