Game Rules

Each recipe follows a curve: it starts weak, climbs to full value at "ready," keeps climbing to its best value at "peak," holds there for a while, then slowly decays if you leave it too long — but it never goes to zero. You choose when to pull each batch.

Every recipe comes in a Forgiving and a Delicate version of the same wait time. Forgiving recipes hold their peak value for most of their own length and can never sell for less than their ingredient cost, even neglected. Delicate recipes pay noticeably more at peak but hold it only briefly, and if left too long can decay below what you paid for the ingredients — a real bet, not a free lottery ticket.

See the recipe table below for every recipe's ingredient cost, value the moment it's ready, and value at peak (base value × 2.8). 'Holds for' is how long it stays at peak value before decay starts.

It doesn't spoil to nothing — value decays slowly (halving on a set schedule) toward a floor. Forgiving recipes' floor is always above their ingredient cost, so playing it safe can never lose you money outright. Delicate recipes' floor can sit below cost, so leaving one too long is a real loss.

These are "signature" recipes — each new cellar you open unlocks exactly one of them, which no other cellar of yours can brew. They're the longest, highest-paying ferments in the game.

Yes, multiplicatively, not on top as a flat add-on. A mature mother culture can boost peak value by up to +60% on your very first cellar — so peak value can reach as high as base value × 2.8 × 1.6 = ×4.48 — and that ceiling rises further with every mother you retire. It only affects peak value; ingredient cost and the decay floor never change, so it can't turn a Forgiving recipe into a losing bet.