Pioneering spontaneous fermentation and wild, barrel-aged ales on the Oregon Coast.
de Garde Brewing began in 2013 when founders Trevor and Linsey Rogers set out to create a brewery dedicated entirely to spontaneous fermentation. Before choosing their permanent home in Tillamook, Trevor Rogers conducted extensive trials, exposing sterile wort to ambient microflora along a 100-mile stretch of the Oregon Coast from Newport to Astoria. The couple discovered that the temperate, maritime climate of Tillamook offered the most viable and consistent yeast and bacteria populations for their purposes. Rather than pitching laboratory-cultured yeasts, the brewery relies entirely on the wild microbes carried on the coastal winds, capturing them in an open-air vessel known as a coolship. This passive inoculation binds each batch to the specific geography and climate of the Pacific Northwest, translating the local environment directly into the barrel.
The brewing process at the 114 Ivy Avenue facility is a patient study in minimal intervention and time. After the wort cools and gathers its wild inoculants overnight in the coolship, it is transferred into oak barrels, where it ferments and matures. This maturation can last anywhere from several months to more than three years, with the brewers constantly monitoring the slow, unpredictable transformation. Their portfolio includes highly regarded wild ales like Bu Weisse, a low-alcohol Berliner Weisse-inspired style often aged with local fruit, and The Broken Truck, a complex, gueuze-inspired blend of one, two, and three-year-old spontaneous beers. The resulting liquids are deeply layered, showcasing a balanced acidity, bright citrus notes, and a rustic, earthy complexity that reflects the local agricultural and coastal influences.
Visitors to the Tillamook taproom will find a welcoming space featuring both indoor seating and a covered outdoor patio. The draft list highlights a rotating selection of de Garde's own wild creations alongside curated guest taps and wines available by the glass. An extensive bottle archive allows patrons to sample rare, cellared releases that are difficult to find anywhere else, as roughly ninety percent of the brewery's output is sold directly from the tasting room. Food is provided on-site by Country Squire Kitchen, though guests are also welcome to bring their own meals. The taproom is family-friendly, and pets are permitted on the outdoor patio, making it a comfortable destination to experience some of the country's most singular spontaneously fermented beers at the source.
Check the vintage bottle list in the taproom for rare, cellared releases that never see wider distribution, and grab some food from Country Squire Kitchen on the patio.
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