Should I be worried about de Garde?

I did not expect someone to get called "dilettante" on BeerAdvocate; I think I'd have a hard time brushing that off without a snappy retort. You're a better man/moderator than me, John.

 

My apologies. It was my intention to help call out some obnoxious bullshit, not create more. Been following along long enough to know who's who and what's what, but that doesn't mean I've figured out how to express myself perfectly to this crowd.

I hope we can all agree that whatever we think of any possible changes to its portfolio de Garde remains a brewery worthy of our support. Trevor and company are good people and they are still doing something very special out there in Tillamook. The fads will come and go, but I don't see that ever changing.

I also hope we can avoid giving credence to those whose who only come here every couple months to badmouth somebody from behind their keyboard. I may be new but I'm pretty sure that's not "what this place (BA) is about." It should be called out for what it is.

 

I’m amazed at how many recognizable breweries are < 1000 bbls YTD. Some exceptions may have notable out of state distribution, but some of the locals I know don’t and have a staff of 2 or 3. Not all of them are brewpubs or have a similar companion business.

 

These numbers always do me a heckin bamboozle, because I tend to think of a brewery as a certain size, and the numbers don't back me up.

 

Yeah, when I see the yearly numbers in New Brewer, I'm still surprised at how small so many of the line-up-for-the-hype breweries are.

 

This is a good response. Plus, at the end of the day, nobody really gives a shit what we think and one person coming on this site to shit-talk a brewery, pub, etc. changes nothing. Hell, if I had my way, there'd never be another hazy IPA produced and people who create long lines for special releases would be put in jail. But, thankfully, people have other priorities and I'll drink some beers and avoid others, I'll visit some establishments and swear off others. But at the end of the day, people other than me will prefer what I don't like and we'll all be the better for it. I'm just glad this site's a place that will tolerate my shit and let me have a bit of fun talking about a thing we all love --- good craft beer. Cheers, my friends.

 

I rarely see bottles of de Garde for sale. In the last 2 years, I've seen bottles for sale once on the eastside of Seattle. If they are struggling to sell the beer, perhaps they could distribute more of it.

Floodland isn't on store shelves, Fair Isle isn't on store shelves (yet?), Holy Mountain is rarely on shelves. Despite the competition in this city, not much of it is fighting for shelf space.

 

I appreciate where you're trying to go with this post and agree that what is said here rarely if ever makes a difference in the world. But it is not without consequences.

I know from following this place over the years that a handful of our favorite local brewers used to be active in this forum. They aren't anymore. They could've had any number of reasons for abandoning the site, but it's not unreasonable to speculate that at least some of them grew tired of having to defend themselves and their businesses from the occasional potshot and that other bullshit. And it's too bad, because their voices, knowledge, and insight are sorely missed.

What's said here and how people choose to behave may not matter a whole lot from a business perspective, but it still factors in determining who's willing to stick around. Those who troll and shit-talk need to take a hard look in the mirror.

 

And in my almost 12 years on this site it’s been my experience that newbies who parachute in to scold and tone police others don’t stick around all that long either.

 

And, somewhere in the middle is where things went off the rails. Of all the brewers/owners that have been active here over time, none have taken legitimate criticism personally. Yes, we've had a few "contributors" rail against a brewery/brewer, but, while it's easy for us to let it slide, can't say I'd let it go easily, were I an owner/brewer.

Certainly, I've voiced my thoughts directly, and publicly, to some of the industry folks who've joined us. I surely hope that I've voiced those thoughts clearly, honestly, and with the understanding that most of us are here, of a common interest.

Small as the sample size is, a teensy group of shitlords can cause an expanding virus.

 

Facebook is the place where the shit talking and trolling happens nowadays. BA is a much better moderated space compared to Facebook.

 

Except this is NOT an opinion:

It is stating AS FACT that they reformulated their beers because of quality issues without citing any evidence that's actually true. That is slander, not an opinion. And if it were true that dG had "admit they had to reformulate their beer," why has not one other dG fan on this site (or on other beer sites, or on Instagram, or facebook) heard about it?

It sounds like this guy soured on dG (no pun intended) for whatever reason, and is trying to make them sound like they don't know what they're doing. If he/she/they want to make those assertions, fine, but back them up with evidence. I will give thc420 credit for stirring the pot though. Hell, they got me to log in for the first time in months! Mission accomplished!

 

I see DeGarde hit shelves in so cal every so often but nobody gets more than a case and it goes quick. I think they just can't churn out much to really make consistent distro networks. I haven't had their top tier stuff in awhile but even their lower tier stuff still impresses me.

 

With the move and a focus more on 2+ year aged lambic inspired beers, I don't think there should be any concern whatsoever.

They had to have dumped a lot of beer that they otherwise would have been more willing to hang on to if they weren't moving. Not only is it a ton of labor to transport beer that has been aged in a multitude of barrels to a new facility but it disrupts the beer and can create an opportunity for lots of bad fermentation off flavors.

It's not like they had a cellar full of barrels at the new facility while they immediately emptied stuff at the old facility.

Their cooperage capacity is around the same as the old facility too so I wouldn't expect it to get more than the 1100 they once did when producing a good chunk of quicker turn around beer.

 

I agree with your fundamental point, but, loading barrels on racks, into a truck, using a forklift, isn't that much labor. As for agitation, letting the barrels sit for a couple more months to settle out wouldn't be any big deal. I would doubt they dumped anything.

Why wouldn't they just have packaged it instead?