Happy new year everyone. We want to thank you for your continued patronage over the years and we look forward to making 2012 even better!

I have been checking tracking all day just to see where your packages are going and how long on average it has been taking USPS to get these shipments from my door to yours.  Here are some really weird routes the packages are going:

-From Homestead Florida > Albany, NY > Texas (why????)

-From Homestead, Florida > Macon Georgia > Hawthorne, Fl  (why take it all the way out of Florida just to turn around and bring it back?!)

On average it seems to be taking my sorting facility in Opa Locka, Fl an extra 3-4 days to even get the package on its way to its final destination, no matter what the shipping speed. Two express mail packages that should have taken one day to arrive took five.   This annoys me to no end, because it makes me look like I was just sitting on orders doing nothing, rather than working on 4 hours of sleep a night for 2 weeks straight  wrapping soap, printing labels, and packing orders.  I went to bed at 12, woke up at 4, and packed and wrapped will it was time to go to bed again.  I was shipping on average 200 orders a day. And gosh darn it, I think I did a remarkable job all by myself.  It was grueling work, but I was/am grateful, because some are not as fortunate as I am to have all of this.

I know the good people at the post office are working as fast as they can, I can't even stay mad at them for long (although I am pretty sure my postmaster does not like me for some reason, she gives me a hard time every time I show up with packages. Once she told me I could not ship something because the date on the label was from the day before.  What?!  "So why are we allowed to schedule a pick up for tomorrow for packages we printed and packed today?" I asked.  No answer….Some people love making up their own rules.)    

Looks like next year the deadline for Christmas shipping will have to be pushed even earlier, since I suspect that next year there will be even more job cuts with USPS (they cut 28,000 jobs this year,) and times in transit will be even longer.

Some packages are taking longer than others to arrive.  If you ordered after the 10th, your order may not arrive in time for Christmas. I had this notice posted for weeks before the holiday season started.  Even on Amazon it stated that the last day to order for holiday shipping was December 13th, and that was if the buyer picked expedited shipping.

Yes, I do feel bad that some packages have still not arrived.  I sympathize with you.  But I cannot control times in transit.  I have no control over whether USPS decided to hold onto a package for 4 extra days before moving it toward its destination.   This is just as frustrating for me as it is for those who have not received their order.  But please be patient.  Judging by tracking, at least 95% of my order have already arrived at their final destination.  Some remarkably fast, some so slowly it seems their package was tied to the back of a turtle.  But your package is in transit, and about all I can do at this point is watch tracking with you and hope for the best.  

***I am getting reports that some of you are not receiving shipment notification emails. Which is very odd, because the system sends out a notification to the customer's email address every time I print a new label. Never fear, simply email me via the CONTACT box in my shop with your name, the date that you ordered and your order number and I can forward your tracking information to you.***

Going by past years experiences I have found it is much easier and less time consuming to give regular updates via this blog than answering individual phone calls that delay order processing times. I want to make sure each person is taken care of, and that orders are processed as fast as possible so that you can have your bars in hand in a timely manner. This is still a very small company, despite our growing popularity. Hopefully next year, we will be able to hire phone support for this time of year. Please bear with me during these busy days.

Here is some important information that I think you need to know. You can always email me with your questions, I reply within hours.

November 7th: Last day to order for domestic arrivals by Christmas is December 10th. Last day for Canada is November 15th. Last day for International is November 4th. Please order your gifts early, we cannot guarantee when your order will arrive once it leaves our workshop as we have no control over times in transit.

Please calculate your shipping by going to "My Cart" and inputting your state and zip code for accurate shipping fee calculation.

Steps to checking your order status:

1. Log into your account and check to see if there is a tracking number, or check your email for tracking information (we send a shipment confirmation with each order. Look for an email from Stamps.com.)

2. If you do not see tracking, most likely your order is still processing and will be shipping out shortly. Keep an eye on your email for shipment confirmation.

3. Please note that orders ship approximately 5 days after we receive them due to the workload and the holiday rush, and that orders received after December 10th might not arrive by December 24th. These deadlines have been posted for weeks in order to give you ample time to order if your items were intended as gifts. I understand that some are just discovering our company and did not know about these deadlines, but hopefully these blog updates will enable you to plan accordingly.

Please also keep in mind that this is also USPS's busiest time of the year and their delivery might take longer than expected. I would suggest upgrading your shipping to Priority Mail.

Any wholesale orders received after December 7th will not be processed until the new year.

Update December 7th:

We are currently on a 4 business day lead time to ship your order. During these busy times, the best way to reach us is via email. Emails are answered within hours of receiving.

Last Day to order for domestic arrival by Christmas is December 10th. It is too late for international arrival by Christmas. Any domestic orders received after December 10th may not make it in time so please be aware of that and plan accordingly. If you received an email with shipment information it means your order is processing or has already shipped. Check your tracking regularly. Please give your order a few days to arrive after receiving that email. My other half was deployed yesterday for the next 8 weeks, so please have patience with me, I really appreciate it.

I will be closing up shop for the holidays on December 19th. Our kids will be on winter break and I am in need of much R&R with them. All the orders that I receive up until the 19th will be processed and shipped out. You will still be able to place orders, but shipments will resume on December 27th. Thank you. Happy Holidays!

Update December 9th:

Any bars that are currently out of stock will not be back in stock until the first week of January. If a bar from your order goes out of stock before I pack it up, I will either substitute it with a similar bar or double up on another bar that is already in your order. Great news! We were featured on E! News (unexpectedly) on Tuesday night. Thanks E! News, there is nothing like free advertising on a major network to get the word out.) Which means I received a HUGE! wave of orders that I am working to get out the door. I am processing and shipping orders daily, so please be patient and check your email for tracking information to see if your order has shipped. All orders receive shipment confirmation that contains tracking. Moving as fast as I can and all pending orders will be en route by 12/15/11. Thank you for your patronage and patience!

Update December 11th:

Currently on a 3-4 business day lead-time to ship. All orders received December 6th and before have already been processed and are en route. All orders received after December 6th thru December 10th will ship on Wednesday the 14th. Orders received the 11th through the 13th will ship December 15th and December 16th.

Update December 12th:

I just received an email with updated tracking for a lot of orders. If your order was placed December 5th or later, you can expect it to arrive within a few days from now. I will be processing orders placed from the 7th until the 10th tonight.

Update December 14th:

The following bars are out of stock until our end of the year restock. They will be available again in January:

1664

American Hops

Blacker The Berry

Blithering Idiot

Blue RIbbon

Choc Bock

Coffee and Chocolate

Draught

Ego

Extra Stout

Gentleman's Bay Rum

H.B.I.C Brew (we will reintroduce this in Fall of 2012, very limited edition.)

Honeymooners

Honey Porter

How Stella Got Her Brew Back

Imperial Dragon

IPA

Limewood

Merrymint

Moon on the Rise

Santa's Ale

Scrooge's Brew

Sex Panther

Smashing Pumpkin

Pumpkinwood

Rio

The Original Stock

Update December 16th:

All orders that have not already shipped will be shipping out today and tomorrow. I would suggest to start checking your tracking periodically starting on Sunday. I thank you for your patience and and understanding, and for your patronage!

Earlier this year we worked on Smashing Pumpkin for Shipyard here.  We just finished making Smashed Blueberry Ale Beer Soap for Shipyard. They smell so amazing! We have a limited quantity left over available in our Etsy store and on our online store.

Our Bay Rum bar is now made with Carlsberg Euro Pale Lager.

We are working with Pabst Blue Ribbon and Urban Outfitters to bring our beer soap to your local Urban Outfitters store. When Urban Outfitters first contacted us to work with them, they said they wanted to use Pabst beer (since they are already co-branding with Pabst for other projects) and that they wanted the soap to smell exactly like beer.  We knew that would be a challenge!  But we love challenges!

We spent a few weeks trying to get the perfect scent combination, and finally, we hit the nail on the head.  This bar smells exactly like malt liquor, hops, fruits and spices.

We also designed an awesome stamp for Pabst!  Pabst let us into their uber super secret vault of old vintage images and told us to pick the best image we felt would look great for packaging. You can see an example below.

This collaboration is still being worked out so we are hoping to see the soap in stores hopefully by Summer of 2012!

Check out our new bars. The IPA and The Hipster are quickly becoming this season's favorites!

New additions

We have a winner! Poster #13, you won the 8 bars! I will contact you for your address!

We have 8 new soaps that we can't wait to share with you! Which is why The Beer Soap Company is giving away 1 of each bar to one lucky winner!  That's right, one lucky person is going to get 8 bars of our fantastic beer soap!!  Keep them all for yourself, or share with your buddies.  Winner will be picked randomly via Random,org.  You can view the new bars by clicking HERE.

Please do one of the following to enter:

1. Follow Us On Facebook – Click Here

2. Post about one of our items,  or a link to our website on your Facebook Page or Twitter account.

3. Post below and tell us what your favorite product is on our website!

4. Tweet about one of our products from any of our stores on Twitter!  Website   Artfire  Etsy

You can enter multiple times and come back and enter every day until Saturday.  Each action about counts as one entry! Make sure to post in the comments below and let us know which of the 4 actions you did so that you entry can be counted!  Winner will be announced Saturday afternoon so you have until Saturday morning to enter.

Click below to view our new soaps!

My old printer would never print labels this sharp. Glad I got rid of it. Shipyard sent us the logo design and we printed the labels in house. These smell amazing! Shipyard requested for the bars to smell like beer. We created a scent that smelled like both pumpkin and beer.  We had been playing with a beer scent for awhile. I was really shocked to smell how delicious the bars smell.

Finishes bars:

Bulk soap boxes posted on Facebook. Over 10 lbs of soap for $30 a box.  http://www.facebook.com/thebeersoapcompany