23a:Alcohol

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v50.15 · v0.47 · v0.34 · v0.31 · v0.28 · v0.23.130.23a This article is about an older version of DF. More Info · V

Alcohol is one of the staples of the dwarven diet; it quenches their thirst and gives them positive thoughts. Healthy dwarves will drink alcohol exclusively when it is available. When dwarves are forced to drink water, they begin to work slowly as a result of their alcohol dependency. Note that in Dwarf Fortress, milk is not actually drinkable - it is only used to make cheese or be cooked into prepared meals directly. Dwarves drink only alcohol and water.

Alcohol can be brewed at a still, brought with you from the embark screen, or traded with visiting caravans.

Sobriety has no place in the fortress.

Brewing

To brew alcohol at a still requires a brewable plant and an empty barrel. Every unit of plant produces 5 units of alcohol. Brewing enough alcohol for even a medium-sized population requires a lot of barrels; be sure to keep plenty near hand.

A single stack of plants will be brewed in one go, and the resulting booze will be placed into a single barrel - a stack of Plump Helmet [5] will produce Dwarven Wine [25], and will only occupy a single barrel. Skilled growers, who tend to harvest larger stacks, can therefore reduce the number of barrels required to store alcohol, which in turn minimizes the required stockpile size. Brewing (unlike cooking) also yields plantable seeds.

Consumption

A healthy adult dwarf consumes approximately 18 units of drink per year^[Verify]. Each drink consists of the dwarf walking to a booze barrel (one not currently being drunk from), upending it over his alcohol-intake orifice (mugs are for simpering humans), and liquoring up. Because dwarves tipple so frequently, the main liquor stash is often the second-most heavily populated area of the fort (right after the main meeting area) and dwarves spend much time walking to and from it. So: The booze should be both secure and accessible. An easy way to achieve this is to designate a booze-exclusive stockpile in the dining hall or statue garden. Fresh booze will be delivered directly to the party, and then a barrel-exclusive furniture stockpile by the still will return your 'empties' straightaway.

Cooking

Since a single brewable item will produce five units of alcohol, and each unit of alcohol can be cooked directly into food, it is profitable to brew any plants you intend to cook. In this manner, you may produce five times the food you would from simply growing and then cooking your crops. Be wary though, as you need to ensure enough remains behind for drinking. Note that some consider this an exploit.

Happiness

Dwarves get happy thoughts from drinking. The intensity of this buzz depends on the value of the alcohol (including how full the barrel is) and whether it matches the dwarf's personal preferences.

Wounded dwarves

Wounded dwarves will not drink alcohol; they must be given water by a caretaker with a bucket. Therefore, a fortress cannot survive on alcohol in the absence of drinking water, unless dwarves are abandoned when wounded.

A permanently crippled dwarf, bedridden for life (whether from severe nervous system damage or from a severed limb), will never again drink alcohol, and upon inspection will have the thought "He needs alcohol to get through the working day, and he can't remember the last time he had some!" You may wish to put these poor dwarves out of their misery.

Fire

Players are advised to keep their alcohol stocks away from fire, as booze will very quickly boil away in red clouds.^[Verify]

Brewable plants

Grown inside

Ingredient	Beverage Produced	Beverage Value
Pig tail	Dwarven ale	2
Cave wheat	Dwarven beer	2
Sweet pod	Dwarven rum	2
Plump helmet	Dwarven wine	2

Gathered Outside

Ingredient	Beverage Produced	Beverage Value
Rope reed	River spirits	2
Fisher berry	Fisher berry wine	2
Longland grass	Longland beer	2
Wild strawberry	Strawberry wine	2
Bloated tuber	Tuber beer	2
Prickle berry	Prickle berry wine	1
Rat weed	Sewer brew	1
Muck root	Swamp whiskey	1

Not Brewable

Plants that cannot be brewed include:

• Quarry bush
• Dimple cup
• Blade weed
• Hide root
• Kobold bulb
• Valley herb