Should I use a Keg or Preserves Jar?

Use Kegs for fruits (Wine = Base × 3) and Hops (Pale Ale). Use Preserves Jars for vegetables and when you need faster turnover. A Jar takes 4,000 in-game minutes (2.5 game days), while Wine takes 10,000 minutes (6.25 game days).

What is the Keg vs Jar formula?

Keg: Wine = Base Price × 3, Juice = Base × 2.25. Jar: Jelly/Pickles = Base × 2 + 50. Processing time: Wine 10,000 minutes (6.25 game days), Juice 6,000 minutes (3.75 game days), and Jelly or Pickles 4,000 minutes (2.5 game days).

Is Pale Ale the best Keg product?

Pale Ale is one of the best high-throughput Keg products because Hops process in 2,250 in-game minutes (about 1.41 game days). Starfruit and Ancient Fruit Wine usually win for total value, especially with Artisan and Casks.

Does Artisan profession affect Kegs and Jars equally?

Yes, Artisan adds +40% to ALL artisan goods including Wine, Juice, Jelly, Pickles, and Pale Ale. The Keg vs Jar winner stays the same, but profits increase significantly.

Keg vs Preserves Jar Calculator & Profit Chart

"Should I Keg this or Jar it?" The answer isn't always obvious. This guide breaks down the math with gold-per-day calculations for every major crop.

⚡ The Short Answer

🍇 Fruits

Keg for higher total value and aging

🥬 Vegetables

Jar for faster turnover and cash flow

🌿 Hops

Keg into Pale Ale when you can keep up

Open crop profit calculator Cranberries Keg vs Jar example

Interactive calculator

Keg vs Preserves Jar calculator

Enter any crop's normal-quality base sell price to compare finished value and machine value per day.

Crop typeBase sell price

Artisan profession (+40%)

Keg

Higher total

300g

about 32g added value/day over 6.25 game days

Preserves Jar

250g

about 60g added value/day over 2.5 game days

Decision: Keg gives the higher sale price; Preserves Jar gives more value per machine-day. Base crop used: 100g.

📊 Understanding the Formulas

🍷 Keg

Wine (Fruits)

Base × 3

⏱️ 6.25 game days (10,000 minutes)

Juice (Vegetables)

Base × 2.25

⏱️ 3.75 game days (6,000 minutes)

Pale Ale (Hops)

300g fixed

⏱️ about 1.41 game days (2,250 minutes)

🫙 Preserves Jar

Jelly (Fruits)

Base × 2 + 50

⏱️ 2.5 game days (4,000 minutes)

Pickles (Vegetables)

Base × 2 + 50

⏱️ 2.5 game days (4,000 minutes)

✨ Advantage: A 4,000-minute cycle gives faster machine turnover

💡 The Critical Metric: Gold Per Day

Gold/Day = (Processed Price - Raw Price) ÷ Processing Days

We subtract raw price because that's your opportunity cost. A higher-value Wine that takes 6.25 game days is not automatically better per machine-day than Jelly that takes 2.5 game days.

📈 Complete Comparison Table

Crop	Base	Wine/Juice	Jelly/Pickle	Keg g/day	Jar g/day	Winner
⭐ Starfruit	750g	2,250g	1,550g	240	320	JAR*
🍇 Ancient Fruit	550g	1,650g	1,150g	176	240	JAR*
🍈 Melon	250g	750g	550g	80	120	JAR
🎃 Pumpkin	320g	720g	690g	107	148	JAR
🌿 Hops	25g	300g	100g	196	30	KEG!
🌾 Wheat	25g	200g	N/A	160	-	KEG
🍓 Strawberry	120g	360g	290g	38	68	JAR
🫐 Blueberry	50g	150g	150g	16	40	JAR
🔴 Cranberry	75g	225g	200g	24	50	JAR
☕ Coffee (5 beans)	75g	150g	N/A	1,000	-	KEG

* Wait, Jar Beats Keg on Starfruit?

Yes, by gold-per-day. BUT most players prefer Kegs because:

• You have limited Keg slots → maximize value per Keg
• Wine can be aged in Casks to Iridium quality (+100%)
• Higher total output matters more than speed in late game

🍺 The Hops Exception

🌿 Hops → Pale Ale Pipeline

Hops Base Price

25g

Pale Ale Price

300g (420g Artisan)

Processing Time

2,250 minutes

Gold Per Day

183g/day

(263g/day with Artisan)

Per Plant Per Summer

17 Hops = 5,100g

(7,140g with Artisan)

⚠️ The Catch: You Need LOTS of Kegs

Each Hops plant produces 17 Hops per Summer. At 2,250 minutes (about 1.41 game days) per Pale Ale:

100 Hops plants × 17 Hops = 1,700 Hops
1,700 Hops ÷ (28 days ÷ 1.40625 days) = 86 Kegs minimum at continuous theoretical throughput

💡 Pro tip: Start collecting Oak Resin early! You need 1 per Keg.

⭐ Artisan Profession Impact

The Artisan profession adds +40% to ALL artisan goods. This doesn't change the Keg vs Jar winner, but it amplifies your profits significantly.

Product	Base Price	With Artisan	Bonus
🍷 Starfruit Wine	2,250g	3,150g	+900g
🍇 Ancient Fruit Wine	1,650g	2,310g	+660g
🍺 Pale Ale	300g	420g	+120g
🎃 Pumpkin Pickles	690g	966g	+276g
⭐ Iridium Starfruit Wine	4,500g	6,300g	+1,800g