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[Boozebeard]

I am designating my stills to brew some drinks. It cancels immediately after unpausing, detailing that there is no distillable items. There are barrels full of plump helmets and other assorted brewable plants, with access to pretty much all dwarves. Any idea why they are refusing it?

[Garath]

did you set the stockpile to give to somewhere or set the still to take from a specific stockpile? Otherwise, any burrows active? Next, check pathing, stairs or ramps often go wrong

[Sutremaine]

Are your plants set to brewable in the Kitchen screen? Are dwarves trying to haul the barrels with the plants in them?

[knutor]

They brew with seeds not plants.  Make a quern.

[Sevrun]

A simpler question...  Is someone constantly hauling the barrel/pot back and forth to the farms to collect more of the plants?

I get this alert all the time for that reason specifically.

[SauliusTheBlack]

knutor: they brew with plants, and produce seeds.
The other options are far more likely. Also: if you have set a stockpile for barrels/pots to only give to the still, you also need a stockpile that has plants that gives to the still.

[Boozebeard]

Are your plants set to brewable in the Kitchen screen? Are dwarves trying to haul the barrels with the plants in them?

Ah, the plump helmets were set to no brew. I remember hearing that cooking your helmets would make it so they produced no seeds. For some mind numbingly dumb reason I assumed brewing meant in a stew, at the kitchen. Thanks!

[Seikatsukan]

A simpler question...  Is someone constantly hauling the barrel/pot back and forth to the farms to collect more of the plants?

I get this alert all the time for that reason specifically.

You can prevent this with a somewhat complicated method. You set a small stockpile near the farm which allows both the plant item produced and barrels, and another in the destination location that does not allow barrels, and you set the former to "give" to the latter. You waste a little space with an extra stockpile, but the farmers don't need to walk as far to pick up the plant barrel and your brewer/thresher doesn't cancel his/her duties. Of course, this is less effective with a legendary dwarf on the end of the chain, because those can sweep through no-containers-allowed stockpiles very quickly.

[Quietust]

They brew with seeds not plants.  Make a quern.

Please stop giving advice if you have no idea what you're talking about - all you've done here is confuse people.

[wuphonsreach]

I'm finding the 2-stockpile method up near the farms to be the best with the new system.  But I basically run a 4-tier system.  All of the stockpiles which accept plants in barrels are setup to "only accept from links".

(farm) -> (no barrel stockpile) -> (uses barrels stockpile) -> (main stockpile in middle of fort) -> (supplemental special purpose stockpiles) -> (workshop)

So, if I have a bunch of 3-6 tile farms, I will create a small stockpile near those farms which accept only those plants types and which disallow barrels.  If the total farmed area is 50 tiles, my next-door no-barrels gathering stockpile will be about 10-15 tiles.  Next to that is a small 10-15 tile stockpile that takes barrels, the same plant types, and which pulls from the first stockpile.  Next to that is a small 5 tile stockpile which accepts empty barrels (furniture, barrels & large pots).

Then I have a larger 5x10 up to 10x15 stockpile deeper in the fort that uses barrels, accepts all plant types, and which pulls from any farm-fed stockpiles.  It may also have a small-ish stockpile nearby that accepts all plant types, but takes no barrels, which also feeds this main stockpile.

The reason I use a "main" stockpile is so that I have a convenient location to draw specific plants off for specialized industry.  Since we can't (yet) name our stockpiles, you have to place in-game notes or just remember that "this is my main stockpile of plants".  For food, plant and drink distribution I will setup (3) largish (5x10 up to 10x15) stockpiles in the middle of the food-prep and then pull from that to the rest of the fort.  One stockpile accepts all plants, one accepts all drinks, and the third only accepts prepared meals (stockpile, food, turn off everything, hit 'u' to allow prepared food, set the stockpile to maximum barrels).

Then I setup a small 3x3 or 5x5 area by the still which pulls plants of the proper types, in barrels from the main stockpile.  I'll also setup a 3x3 up to 5x5 area by the still which accepts barrels/pots.  Both of those give to the still.

I try to avoid situations where I have longer "give/take" chains.  Out past about 6 chained stockpiles and I have trouble remembering what pulls from what and why.  So I try to classify the stockpiles into "gathering/source/inputs" (which feed the "main"), "main", and "end-use" (which feed workshops).

[knutor]

(farm) -> (no barrel stockpile) -> (uses barrels stockpile) -> (main stockpile in middle of fort) -> (supplemental special purpose stockpiles) -> (workshop)

Why do you do that, to easily see if your stocked up or something else?  Without having to exam ea barrel or stock list is nice, I guess?  But that extra (no barrel stockpile), doesn't make sense to me from a proficiency standpoint, unless there is a bug in accessing barrels.  And does this (supplemental special purpose stockpile) have barrels, or is it no barrel, too? 

I've been using the default stockpile settings, full of barrels for everything and making wooden pots, instead of stone pots and wooden barrels.  Not sure if it makes a difference, but they are lighter, and my hope is that they use them to pick wild plants with, that's my reasoning.  Haven't seen it happen yet.

I'm still a dabbler track layer.  My builders would rather stand around, instead of haul a resource, it appears.  Knutor

[Garath]

the no barrels stockpile is so any crops are immediately harvested and don't have to wait for all the barrel back and forth carrying, so they don't wither in the field. I think

[wuphonsreach]

the no barrels stockpile is so any crops are immediately harvested and don't have to wait for all the barrel back and forth carrying, so they don't wither in the field. I think

Yeah, it seems to fix the issue where crops wither in the field.  With a no-barrel stockpile right beside it, and no other stockpiles nearby that accept crops (except via links), your crops will always get moved to the stockpile.  Even if all barrels are busy or being moved.  It's twice the work at the setup to define the two stockpiles and keep them in sync with what you've planted, but after that it works just fine.  Instead of a 6x10 stockpile, I make a pair of 3x10 stockpiles next to each other.

It's one less thing to go wrong with getting crops off the field after they've been picked by the farmers.

Having a stockpile next to each workshop, giving to the workshop, also works wonderfully to make sure that you only make obsidian furniture or prickleberry wine.  Or that your cook doesn't accidentally cook your seeds.

[Garath]

you'd have to toggle seeds to be used in cooking, so that's unlikely to happen accidentally. Not to mention that their value is so low the meals will be pretty worthless, as bad as tallow roasts. Point taken though.

[Sutremaine]

Seed and tallow roasts do make good cook training though.