What seems to work the best are boxes that provide a separate compartment for each bottle. Wine boxes with the dividers intact are good, with bubble wrap or foam placed at the bottom of compartment to depth of about 3 inches. Then the bottle can be placed in a compartment and secured with more stuffing material around the neck. Try not to use the compartments around the outside for bottles. Instead, fill with more stuffing material providing a protection zone.

Using a six-pack holder can work; however, it is best to put only three bottles in each holder staggering the bottles so no two bottles are next to each other. Fill the unused slots with stuffing material. Bag each six-pack in plastic to make sure the bottles stay in the holder. Pack the holder in a box leaving at least 2-3 inches of space all around the holder for packing material. Combining a six-pack holder with a box made of styrofoam works well too.

Another method that works well is a box in a box. The beer is packaged securely in a box that is just a bit larger than the bottles it contains like a long neck 12-pack box with stuffing material around the necks of the bottles. This box is then packaged inside another box that is large enough to create at least a 2 inch space for packaging material like foam or bubble wrap.

When choosing packaging materials keep in mind that styrofoam peanuts or angel turds can get quite messy. It would be good to create several "pillows" of the material by bagging the peanuts in plastic bags and then using that to stuff spaces around the boxes and around bottle necks.

Another great method is to make interlocking foam dividers that fit between and around the inside edge of a large box as shown below. Make sure you have a foam pad on top and bottom to provide at least 2 inches of protection all around.

Use a rubberband to attach the Bottle ID form to each bottle. Put the entry form and check under the packaging material. Don't place your entry forms just below the top flaps of the box or on top of the packaging material. All too often this results in a cut check or entry form.

Be sure to clearly print the destination address as well as your return address on the box with waterproof ink. Always mark which way is "up" and mark that the contents are "fragile".