Topic

Is Distilling worth the effort?

Near as a I can figure, 14 currants worth of grain, potato or corn makes 1 hooch with a street value of 15 currants.  At auction, it's going for 11 currants, and because of the way they round, hooch is actually a loss at vendors.

So, where market pressures on herbs have made a nice little microcosm of, say, the RL diamond trade, it seems like distilling is a sucker's game.  I'm actually contemplating unlearning both Distilling and Cocktail Crafting as a result.  Drinks remain cheap at auction, so it's hard to see why it's worth the effort there as well.

Posted 12 months ago by Yarrow Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I'd say it's not worth the effort xP Selling 14 plain grain will net you 14 currants, while one hooch sells for 12 at the tool vendor, and less on auction. So. If you like producing your own stuff, knock yourself out. Otherwise, you might not need it after you've got the badges, if you're into that sort of thing :P

    I'd warn against unlearning everything though :) Distilling is needed for potions and tinctures which are sure to be needed for a lot of other new things :) And further new skills could require drink making and distilling/tincturing/potionmaking etc. :) It's almost safer to just know everything :P
    Posted 12 months ago by Liza Throttlebottom Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm just storing it all at the moment; but it'll get used at some stage or I'll just donate the lot ;)
    Posted 12 months ago by Mschif Subscriber! | Permalink
  • the quest was designed to put massive stockpiles of hootch in the market.

    That supply will dry (see what I did there) up eventually and prices rise, slightly.
    Posted 12 months ago by ICountFrom0 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • If you have Cocktailcrafting and a high level of Animal Kinship, you can get grain from chickens for effectively much less than 1 currant each and then make it into drinks which are worth more than the cost of what went into them.

    I don't make drinks for sale at auction.  I make them to drink to get the buffs or to sacrifice at shrines.  So they're worth more to me than the amount I could sell them for at auction or to a vendor.

    No item in glitch has just one value, whatever the auction prices might seem to tell you.  The value to you depends on your style of play.
    Posted 12 months ago by Tiresias Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It may not be a money-making venture, but the adorable animation and sound effects on the still are totally worth making a bunch of hooch I don't need for anything.
    Posted 12 months ago by Niqster Subscriber! | Permalink
  • If your goal is currants, distilling is probably not the way to go about it.  I'm with Niquster though.  What's not to love about an animated still that cranks out jugs of hooch?  I even drink my hooch sometimes becasue I think the Smashed buff is funny.  I play for fun, not currants. :-) 

    Drinks are cheap enough at auction that it doesn't much matter whether you auction or sell to the tool vendor, but they are generally worth more than the raw materials cost.
    Posted 12 months ago by Lucille Ball Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Its HOOCH! Who needs a reason! Make it and drink *hiccup* !
    Posted 12 months ago by BlackWolf Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I just got it because the idea of making moonshine amuses me, and also because the Still is one of the best-looking items in the game.
    Posted 12 months ago by Zurin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I never think of it as an effort...
    Posted 12 months ago by Rook Subscriber! | Permalink
  • My walking-around kit includes 5 bundles of grain, since you never know when you just might a few hundred flour. I just squeeze as an idle task while waiting for the mail frog etc.

    So popping a few grain into the hoochifier aint no big.
    Posted 12 months ago by Sturminator MoOre Subscriber! | Permalink
  • What effort?
    Posted 12 months ago by Impspindle Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I plant potatoes at my house and use that to fuel it. that way I make money.
    Posted 12 months ago by Beta #2 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • If no one made it, the auction prices would go up considerably, and when they got too high, lots of people would make it because it's too expensive.  This would probably flood the market, bottoming out the price, at which point we could make this thread again!  

    It's an active investor's dream, but otherwise I think it's more about the fun value and the satisfaction of using all homemade ingredients.
    Posted 12 months ago by Magic Monkey Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I harvest a LOT of grain from squeezing chickens. I used to just sell the excess off to the vendor for 1c each, but now I make hooch for tincs/potions and sell whatever i don't use. Not sure if it turns a profit or not, but it is a convenient (and fun) way to empty my bags of grain after a chicken run!
    Posted 12 months ago by N2ZOrtolanaBlue Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I squeeze chickens constantly because of the insane music block dropping rates, so I do keep a set of four stills running in my house constantly, but I think I'll only keep that up until I have the 3000 badge :P Then I'll have three thousand hooch, as I'm storing the products on my floor, and will probably never run out.

    At that point I'll probably just go back to selling the grain or feeding it to bats. Distilling is not in and of itself, based on simple value of ingredients vs. product, worth doing for simple profit. It's worth only the value of converting grain into hooch and making some epic noised and animations. If you don't have a need or want for hooch then, yeah, not worth it anymore. If you love funny noises and whirring machinery then maybe distilling is something you'll want to keep :P

    I DO suggest keeping a still around the house though... They look pretty epic :)
    Posted 12 months ago by Liza Throttlebottom Subscriber! | Permalink
  • i like distilling and stocking up on homemade hooch. It makes nice welcoming gifts for neighbors. I like leaving them on doorsteps. 
    Posted 12 months ago by Ermine the Unwise Subscriber! | Permalink
  • As far as effort-vs-outcome they're a pretty easy way to get a big boost for donating. Especially if you have your own garden or encounter a lot of chickens.
    Posted 12 months ago by Tyskkvinna Subscriber! | Permalink
  • That is true. You get a very small percentage increase on brewed hooch vs. donated grain. Something like 6% more favor, and the distilling is basically free minus the price of the still.
    Posted 12 months ago by Liza Throttlebottom Subscriber! | Permalink
  • One hooch gives 15 favor
    The grains required to make that hooch give you 14 favor.
    Posted 12 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Yup. That's what I was driving at :P

    Edit: I think you mean 1.5 and 1.4 favor though xP
    Posted 12 months ago by Liza Throttlebottom Subscriber! | Permalink
  • if you get into potionmaking, it becomes cost effective, because then you don't have to buy hooch. If you use grain from squeezing chickens, then it is no cost other than energy. I agree, though, for pure profit its not much of a plus.
    Posted 12 months ago by Pixie Ninja Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm not super-duper efficiency-oriented, so I don't really care how "worth it" it is. I have 4 stills, and I keep them running pretty well non-stop, just to have a massive backstock for drinks and essences and the like. But I mostly just do it because I want to.
    Posted 12 months ago by Djabriil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I grow potatoes, feed some to piggies to make more seeds, and make hooch with the rest.  Other than the energy required to harvest/water/plant/hoe, the rest of the process is essentially free.
    Posted 12 months ago by Sir Trollsworth Subscriber! | Permalink