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→Fermentation Methods
Brewers prefers cool fermentation and aging temperatures to discourage [[Acetic_Acid | acetic acid]] production, but peak fermentation temperature can creep up to 84°F in the foeders <ref name="craftbeertemple"></ref>. Ambient warehouse temperature is consistently 55-60°F, allowing de Grade to skip climate control <ref name="beervana"></ref>. Beers are fermented and aged on the lees and the ambient microflora is never repitched into subsequent beers <ref name="thesourhour1"></ref>. The berliner weisse/gose-inspired beers complete fermentation in as little as three months <ref name="thesourhour2"></ref>.
Approximately 15% of production is set-aside for off-flavor rectification or to <ref name="thesourhour2"></ref>, and a bare minimum of 5% of production will be dumped<ref name="beerandbrewing"></ref>. Brewers see intense [[Butyric_Acid | butyric acid]] and [[Isovaleric_Acid | isovaleric acid]] character early in fermentation but expect flavor resolution around the one-year mark. However sometimes these off-flavors are persistent and the beer is dumped. Any beers demonstrating acetic acid are immediately discarded <ref name="thesourhour2"></ref>, including the barrel <ref name="craftbeertemple"></ref>.
Overall, spontaneous fermentation character is consistent year round but intra-batch variation (from barrel to barrel) varies widely. It is rare to dump an entire batch, often just individual barrels from a batch. Rogers has intentionally left barrels exceed the four-year mark to see how they will evolve. His willingness to gamble at times is a direct desire to make the best beer possible <ref name="craftbeertemple"></ref>.
Rogers' greatest goal is to produce drinkable beer with character <ref name="thesourhour1"></ref>. He craves depth of flavor, funk, and nuance - not just aggressive acidity or fruit <ref name="thesourhour2"></ref>. Blending is a collaborative process at de Garde. Rogers tries to utilize everyone in the brewery for input and admits to being occasionally "outvoted" on blend compositions. He has a deep respect for the nuanced palate of his wife, Linsey <ref name="thesourhour2"></ref>. Beers are blended just before packaging and are neither filtered nor pasteurized. For beers spending less than one year in oak, wine yeast is added to the blending tank just before bottling. This helps supplement the ambient yeast to out compete the high ambient bacteria population <ref name="thesourhour1"></ref><ref name="talkbeer"></ref> (post 733541).
Rogers believes that the bottle conditioning process is one of the most fragile states of spontaneous beer production <ref name="thesourhour2"></ref>. De Garde originally packaged beers in 750 ml Belgian-style amber bottles with a crown but have since moved to amber champagne bottles with a cork and crown. The brewery would eventually like to package beers in cans to allow for greater portability and lower cost, further emphasizing Rogers' goal to produce the least expensive beer he can <ref name="thesourhour2"></ref>. Ideally, Rogers would like to target a $10 4-pack of 16 oz cans <ref name="talkbeer"></ref> (post 361517). He aims to price de Garde beers so that it does not require a special occasion to enjoy but rather creates one <ref name="talkbeer"></ref> (post 190063). Brewers target a carbonation level of 3.0 volumes but given the variability of spontaneous fermentation they realize that beers could end up between 2.0-4.0 volumes <ref name="thesourhour1"></ref>. They experienced some early issues with over-carbonation for this reason <ref name="talkbeer"></ref> (post 185909). A large percentage of bottles undergo a second ropy phase, once again hinting at the presence of ''Pediococcus'' in de Garde beers <ref name="thesourhour2"></ref>. The Berliner Weisse/gose-inspired beers spend between 2-8 weeks in bottles before being released <ref name="thesourhour2"></ref>. Rogers recognizes there is going to be a natural blend-to-blend and bottle-to-bottle variation with spontaneous beers and that it's not a flaw rather just part of the process. He believes you lose the greatness of spontaneous beer if you try to produce the same thing every time <ref name="bierversuche"></ref>.
==Recipes==