Contract brewing allows more experienced players to give a boost to newer players by selling their excess brewing capacity. In addition to a small fee collected, the experienced player also gets credit for brewing new labels under the contract.
Each contract is made between a 'buyer' and a 'seller'. Each participant in a contract may enter in only one contract at a time. Both participants must be active in the pub to enter into a contract,
basically you must cut the deal in the bar. I would think that an exchange of brews would be entirely appropriate when working out such delicate negotiations! Contract brewing's effect on quality and
ABV are discussed later in this article.
The contract seller
The seller must be at the Brewery level or higher. Players at the Brewery level can only participate as sellers, they cannot buy contracts from other brewers. The seller has excess brewing capacity and will sell
that capacity to a buyer for a fee. The equipment used by the seller for the contract is 'spare' equipment that every large brewer has in abundance. To that end selling a contract will have only a very
small impact on their own brewing capacity. Basically each contract sold will add 15 minutes of cleaning time to the seller's core equipment. The seller must remain online the entire time that the contract is underway to
fully execute the contract and receive the fee. In addition to the fee paid, the seller will also get credit for brewing the buyer's label. Entering into a contract grants a
Professional Association between the buyer and seller that grants a beer quality increase to both.
The contract buyer
The buyer must be at the garage or micro level. Players at the garage and micro levels can only participate as buyers, they cannot sell contracts to other brewers. The buyer has insufficient capacity to meet customer
demands and will contract with a seller to increase their output. The buyer will brew their own beer labels under the contract using their own recipes and equipment. The contracted equipment augments the batch and increases
the capacity of the batch. The buyer essentially gets additional beer to sell at a reduced cost. The quality and ABV of the batch are in the control of the buyer (label owner). Entering into a contract grants a
Professional Association between the buyer and seller that grants a beer quality increase to both.
The process
Entering into a contract starts with the participants finding each other in the pub. If a player at the brewery level (who has not already entered into a contract) is in the pub then they are open to solicitation from one or more buyers
to enter into a contract. The buyer takes the next step by requesting a contract from the seller (both in chat and by selecting the seller from a list of available sellers) to initate
the process. The seller can then look at a list of all contract requests from different buyers and select one. Once the seller selects a contract and notifies the buyer of the selection in chat then the contract is deemed 'accepted' and the buyer can
begin to brew beer. The buyer starts the brewing process and will see a notice at the start of and during the process that this is a contract brew. Once the buyer starts to brew the contract is considered to be 'active' and
neither the buyer or seller can withdraw (except by logging off which always cancels the contract). The contract is considered fully executed when the buyer pitches yeast. At this time the contract fee is paid by the buyer to the seller
and both players can enter into a new contract although the buyer will have to wait for their equipment to be cleaned before brewing again. The seller can enter into a new contract immediately.
The costs and benefits
At the garage level a contract batch will yield 180 beers (3x) instead of the usual 60. The cost of the contract is a $48 fee paid from the buyer to the seller at the time of execution. The cost of the batch will increase to twice (2x) what the
batch would have cost if no contract is in place. The buyer does NOT incur any additional base material costs for the increased output, the additional materials are included in the fee paid to the seller and in the efficiency of having
access to better equipment supplied by the seller. The exception is that if you do not have enough materials on hand and they are bought for you during the brewing process then these new and expedited supply costs are also doubled.
No additional base material supply costs or inventory usage for the extra 120 beers
At the micro level a contract batch will yield 360 beers (1.5x) instead of the usual 240. The cost of the contract is a $96 fee paid from the buyer to the seller at the time of execution. The cost of the batch will increase to 150% (1.5x) what the
batch would have cost if no contract is in place. The buyer does NOT incur any additional base material costs for the increased output, the additional materials are included in the fee paid to the seller and in the efficiency of having
access to better equipment supplied by the seller. The exception is that if you do not have enough materials on hand and they are bought for you during the brewing process then these new and expedited supply costs are also increased.
No additional base material supply costs or inventory usage for the extra 120 beers
Contract brewing has no effect on ABV. However in recognition of the advanced skill levels attained by the seller, and the value of the student who teaches the teacher, both buyer and seller are granted a
Professional Association which improves each players beer quality for the next 24 hours. The Association will never result in a lower quality beer.
Contract brewing allows more experienced players to give a boost to newer players by selling their excess brewing capacity. In addition to a small fee collected, the experienced player also gets credit for brewing new labels under the contract. Each contract is made between a 'buyer' and a 'seller'. Each participant in a contract may enter in only one contract at a time. Both participants must be active in the pub to enter into a contract, basically you must cut the deal in the bar. I would think that an exchange of brews would be entirely appropriate when working out such delicate negotiations! Contract brewing's effect on quality and ABV are discussed later in this article.
The contract seller
The seller must be at the Brewery level or higher. Players at the Brewery level can only participate as sellers, they cannot buy contracts from other brewers. The seller has excess brewing capacity and will sell that capacity to a buyer for a fee. The equipment used by the seller for the contract is 'spare' equipment that every large brewer has in abundance. To that end selling a contract will have only a very small impact on their own brewing capacity. Basically each contract sold will add 15 minutes of cleaning time to the seller's core equipment. The seller must remain online the entire time that the contract is underway to fully execute the contract and receive the fee. In addition to the fee paid, the seller will also get credit for brewing the buyer's label. Entering into a contract grants a Professional Association between the buyer and seller that grants a beer quality increase to both.
The contract buyer
The buyer must be at the garage or micro level. Players at the garage and micro levels can only participate as buyers, they cannot sell contracts to other brewers. The buyer has insufficient capacity to meet customer demands and will contract with a seller to increase their output. The buyer will brew their own beer labels under the contract using their own recipes and equipment. The contracted equipment augments the batch and increases the capacity of the batch. The buyer essentially gets additional beer to sell at a reduced cost. The quality and ABV of the batch are in the control of the buyer (label owner). Entering into a contract grants a Professional Association between the buyer and seller that grants a beer quality increase to both.
The process
Entering into a contract starts with the participants finding each other in the pub. If a player at the brewery level (who has not already entered into a contract) is in the pub then they are open to solicitation from one or more buyers to enter into a contract. The buyer takes the next step by requesting a contract from the seller (both in chat and by selecting the seller from a list of available sellers) to initate the process. The seller can then look at a list of all contract requests from different buyers and select one. Once the seller selects a contract and notifies the buyer of the selection in chat then the contract is deemed 'accepted' and the buyer can begin to brew beer. The buyer starts the brewing process and will see a notice at the start of and during the process that this is a contract brew. Once the buyer starts to brew the contract is considered to be 'active' and neither the buyer or seller can withdraw (except by logging off which always cancels the contract). The contract is considered fully executed when the buyer pitches yeast. At this time the contract fee is paid by the buyer to the seller and both players can enter into a new contract although the buyer will have to wait for their equipment to be cleaned before brewing again. The seller can enter into a new contract immediately.
The costs and benefits
At the garage level a contract batch will yield 180 beers (3x) instead of the usual 60. The cost of the contract is a $48 fee paid from the buyer to the seller at the time of execution. The cost of the batch will increase to twice (2x) what the batch would have cost if no contract is in place. The buyer does NOT incur any additional base material costs for the increased output, the additional materials are included in the fee paid to the seller and in the efficiency of having access to better equipment supplied by the seller. The exception is that if you do not have enough materials on hand and they are bought for you during the brewing process then these new and expedited supply costs are also doubled.
Garage level contract summary...
At the micro level a contract batch will yield 360 beers (1.5x) instead of the usual 240. The cost of the contract is a $96 fee paid from the buyer to the seller at the time of execution. The cost of the batch will increase to 150% (1.5x) what the batch would have cost if no contract is in place. The buyer does NOT incur any additional base material costs for the increased output, the additional materials are included in the fee paid to the seller and in the efficiency of having access to better equipment supplied by the seller. The exception is that if you do not have enough materials on hand and they are bought for you during the brewing process then these new and expedited supply costs are also increased.
Micro level contract summary...
Contract brewing has no effect on ABV. However in recognition of the advanced skill levels attained by the seller, and the value of the student who teaches the teacher, both buyer and seller are granted a Professional Association which improves each players beer quality for the next 24 hours. The Association will never result in a lower quality beer.