Artisan Goods are some of the best products to make and sell in Stardew Valley. They're typically easy to produce and sell for a good bit of gold. Additionally, many of these goods can be given to villagers around the valley to boost your friendship.

One of the best Artisan Goods you can make is Pale Ale; this alcoholic drink is made from Hops and sells for a pretty penny. In this guide, we're going to take a look at everything you need to know about Pale Ale, including how to make it and how much it sells for.

Updated on April 08, 2024, by Eva Csaki: Whether you need to help Pam quench her thirst in her personal quest, you want to complete your collection, or if you're off on a townie's errand, you will need to make Pale Ale eventually. With no clue as to what Pale Ale is made of in its description, brewing a glass can be confusing. We've revisited this guide to add more tips and tricks on how to make Pale Ale, where you can use it, and who in Stardew Valley enjoys this alcoholic treat.

Obtaining A Hops Starter

The prices in this section's image are higher because they're out of season.

The first thing you'll need to start producing Pale Ale is some Hops. This crop is grown from a Hops Starter, which can be purchased from Pierre's General Store for 60g in the summer. JojaMart will also sell Hops for 75g (60g if you have a membership).

Growth Time

Hops will grow on your main farm in summer.

To get the most out of your Hops, opt to plant a few Hops starters in the Greenhouse or on Ginger Island. Hops will continue to produce after they are fully grown, so they offer a great return on your investment.

Without fertilizers or other perks, Hops take 11 days to grow, producing Hops on the 12th day after they're planted, and every day after that (yes, every day!).

However, if you have the Agriculturist Profession or fertilize the starters with Speed-Gro, that time can be cut down. Below, you can check out the growth time for various fertilizers and Professions.

Hops grow on a trellis, so leave space to walk through your crops, so you can water and harvest them. If you have an upgraded Watering Can or Junimo Huts to harvest your plants, you won't need to leave any space between your Hops. Consider these upgrades for later.

If you want to destroy a Hops Starter that you have already planted or that is already fully grown, you can hit the trellis once with an Axe or Pickaxe.

You will not get your Hops Starter back after destroying it.

Making A Keg

To turn the Hops you grow into Pale Ale, you'll need a Keg. You'll learn the recipe for this item at Farming Level 8, but you can also receive one as a reward for completing the Artisan Bundle in the Community Center. This applies to the remixed bundles as well.

To craft a Keg, you will need the following materials.

• 30x Wood
• 1x Oak Resin
• 1x Copper Bar
• 1x Iron Bar

You can raise your farming level by doing farming activities, such as planting, watering, and harvesting. Additionally, you gain experience by petting and obtaining products from farm animals. To level further, you can purchase farming-specific Books of Power from the Bookseller or find them in the environment.

Brewing Pale Ale

After you've grown your Hops and obtained some Kegs, making Pale Ale is incredibly easy. Simply hold the Hops in your hot bar, and interact with a Keg, which will place the Hops inside.

It'll take about a day and a half of in-game time to turn Hops into Pale Ale.

You can find the effects of Pale Ale below. Note that this drink comes in four different quality variations, each providing slightly different stats.

Aging Pale Ale

Like the other alcoholic beverages in the game, you can age Pale Ale to make it higher quality and increase its sale price.

To do this, you'll need Casks, which you unlock after upgrading your house to have a Cellar.

For a closer look at house upgrades, check out our full guide here.

Upgrading your house by adding a Cellar will cost you 100,000g but no materials. Talk to Robin at her Carpenter Shop after upgrading your house the second time – adding the Nursery – and ask for the Cellar upgrade.

The Cellar upgrade comes with 33 Casks automatically, but you can make more if you wish. You'll automatically earn the recipe for Casks when you upgrade to a cellar; below, you can find the material needed to make this item.

• 20x Wood
• 1x Hardwood

You can place Pale Ale into a Cask the same way you place Hops into a Keg. Just interact with the Cask while the Pale Ale is in your inventory.

Aging Pale Ale to higher quality levels will take longer depending on the quality level reached.

Fully aging Pale Ale from regular to Iridium Quality will take 34 days. That's more than an entire season!

For more information on Casks, head to our guide on everything you need to know about Casks.

You can remove Pale Ale from a Cask at any stage in the aging process by hitting the Cask with an Axe or Pickaxe. However, removing the Pale Ale will remove any progress that was made from the current quality level shown on the Cask (the star on the front) to the next level.

That means that if you remove a Silver Quality Pale Ale from a Cask before it has reached Gold Quality, any progress towards Gold Quality will be deleted. Replacing the Pale Ale in your Cask will restart the aging timer for that level.

Sale Prices Of Pale Ale

The amount of gold you'll earn for selling Pale Ale depends on product quality and chosen Profession.

Pale Ale's quality will increase the price up to double the base price when it reaches Iridium Quality. Thus, the 300g base price would max out at 600g for an Iridium Quality Pale Ale

If you have the Artisan Profession, the sale price of Pale Ale will increase by 40 percent.

Hops Starters are extremely cheap, and even base quality Pale Ale sells for five times the price you spent if you bought the seeds at Pierre's in-season.

This makes Pale Ale an amazing return on investment, regardless of product quality or your Profession.

Hops continue to produce every day after maturity, and Pale Ale only takes one and a half days in a Keg — two things that make this Artisan an appealing option for making money.

The table below shows the sale prices from regular Hops all the way up to Iridium Quality Pale Ale with the Artisan Profession:

No value was calculated for Aged Pale Ale, because aging an Artisan product only increases the value of the product by increasing the quality. Thus, the price of Aged Pale Ale is the same as a regular Pale Ale. The only difference, after aging, is the product's name (Aged Pale Ale).

Gifting Pale Ale

Just about every NPC in Stardew Valley likes to receive Pale Ale as a gift. Pam is the only villager who loves Pale Ale.

For obvious reasons, all the children in-game hate Pale Ale. We're not quite sure what the legal drinking age is in Stardew Valley, but we're pretty confident Jas, Leo, and Vincent are too young.

Penny and Sebastian also hate receiving Pale Ale. They are the only two marriageable candidates who do not like this gift, so if you're looking to win yourself a spouse in either one, best avoid handing them Pale Ale.

Reaction	NPCs
Loves	Pam
Likes	Abigail Alex Caroline Clint Demetrius Dwarf Elliot Emily Evelyn George Gus Haley Harvey Jodi Kent Krobus Leah Lewis Linus Marnie Pierre Rasmodius (The Wizard) Robin Sam Sandy Shane Willy
Hates	Jas Leo Penny Sebastian Vincent

read more

Because of how easy it is to acquire, and its across-the-board satisfaction rating from Stardew Valley's inhabitants, Pale Ale is a great item to gift!

How To Complete The Pam Is Thirsty Quest

One of the earliest quests the game tasks you with is making or finding a Pale Ale. The quest is called Pam Is Thirsty and you'll receive it by mail on Summer 14.

All you need to do is bring Pam a single Pale Ale. You'll receive 350g and a full friendship heart with Pam once you complete this quest.

This is the only time that Pale Ale comes in handy for a quest; the rest of your ales can be sold for profit!

Pam's favorite gift item is Pale Ale. If you're looking to increase your relationship with her, whether for an achievement or just for fun, Pale Ale is one of the easiest gift items to obtain and give her. Bring her a glass or three, and you will be best friends in no time!

You can give Pam the quest item and a second Pale Ale at the same time. Doing so will give you an even greater friendship boost. This helps when you're trying to complete the six friendship-related achievements in the game.