Mash Bill — Frequently Asked Questions

Real-time aging, barrels and labels, reminders, saving your distillery, and how your data is handled.

What is Mash Bill?

Mash Bill is a single-player idle tycoon game for iPhone in which you run a bourbon distillery. Choose mash bills, cook, ferment, and distill new-make spirit, fill barrels and rick them in rickhouses, then sample, blend, bottle, and sell your releases. Reinvest in stills, barrels, and rickhouses as your distillery grows.

Do my barrels keep aging when the app is closed?

Yes. Aging is the heart of the game, and it runs on the real-world clock. While you're away, Mash Bill keeps your production running, ages every barrel, sells from your distributor shelves, runs grain contracts, judges competitions, and finishes construction. When you come back after five minutes or more, a return summary shows what changed.

Does Mash Bill need an internet connection?

No. Mash Bill runs entirely offline, from the first launch onward. There is no account, no login, and no server — even catching up on offline progress happens on your device using its clock.

Does Mash Bill collect any of my data?

No. Mash Bill contains no analytics, no crash reporting, no advertising, no remote configuration, and no third-party SDKs. Your distillery and settings are saved only on your iPhone, and nothing is ever sent to us.

Are there ads or in-app purchases?

No. Mash Bill has no advertising, no in-app purchases, no subscriptions, and no tip jar. The cash in your ledger is earned by playing, and you can never spend real money inside the game.

How do I make my first release?

In Stillhouse, tap Queue mash and choose Traditional. The cooker, fermenter, and still run on their own. When spirit reaches the new-make tank, tap Fill barrel, then sample the barrel in Rickhouses. Add it to Blending, choose a bottling proof, review the label checks, name your release, and bottle it. Then fill the beginner order in Market. The in-app guide walks through each step.

What affects how a barrel ages?

Where you rick it, how heavily it's charred, its entry proof, the rickhouse's construction and climate, and how long you wait. Bottom floors generally lose less spirit; top floors develop oak flavor faster. Every barrel has a flavor peak — wait past it and quality can fall, while the angel's share slowly reduces volume. Sampling is free, so check your barrels often.

What are label classes like Straight Bourbon and Bottled-in-Bond?

They're quality designations your releases can earn. Straight Bourbon needs every source barrel to be at least 2 years old and unfinished. Bottled-in-Bond also needs at least 4 years, exactly 100 proof, one distilling season, and one distillery. Small Batch, Single Barrel, and Barrel Proof have their own rules. Blending shows exactly which classes a blend qualifies for before you bottle.

My production stopped. What's wrong?

Usually one of five things: you're out of a grain your recipe needs, no fermenter is free, the new-make tank is too full for the next still run, you have no empty barrels or rick slots, or the queue is empty. Each grain contract also shows why it's waiting. Open How to play and read When production seems stuck for the fix for each one.

Can Mash Bill remind me when something needs attention?

Yes, if you want it to. Turn on Local reminders in Ledger → Settings and choose which ones you want — barrel milestones, orders, judging, and possible production stalls. iOS will ask for notification permission. Reminders are scheduled on your iPhone; nothing is sent to a server.

What happens if I change my device's clock?

Moving the device clock backward pauses progress until the clock catches up again. If you need to, Settings → Resync clock resumes from the current time without granting any extra progress.

Will I lose my distillery if something goes wrong?

Mash Bill saves automatically and keeps three rotating backups on your iPhone, so it can recover from a damaged save. You can also use Settings → Export save to keep a backup in Files or move your distillery to another device. Importing a save keeps a pre-import backup in case you want to go back.

What is Pass It Down?

Mash Bill's legacy system. Once your current generation earns 50,000 reputation, you can pass the distillery down: money, buildings, barrels, and stock reset, but you keep your distillery name, unlocked recipes, medals, and archives, earn Legacy points that boost future generations, and may keep one barrel aging in the Founder's Cellar. It's entirely optional.

Does Mash Bill involve real drinking or real brands?

No. Mash Bill is about making and selling whiskey, not drinking it. There's no drinking or intoxication in the game, and every distillery, brand, buyer, and label is fictional. It's made for adults who enjoy tycoon games and whiskey culture.

Which iPhones does Mash Bill support?

Mash Bill is designed for iPhone in portrait orientation and requires iOS 17 or later. It fits screens down to the iPhone SE (2nd generation).