I put a biere de garde in the fermenter today with WLP590. It looks like some folks do this in the 60s initially, let it run high and then some lager and others don’t. Thoughts?
Well, given that de Garde can be translated as Lager beer ( in the strict sense of the word lager), I would vote for Yes.
That was my thought, too. However, that doesn’t necessarily seem to be what always- even usually- happens with it any longer.
There are so many takes and variations on the style that whatever you want to do will work.
In the traditional sense the beer was brewed for aging in a cellar but a lot of modern versions are packaged young with little to no aging or lagered to accelerate the clarifying effect of aging.
What you should do depends a lot on how you want that beer to taste. If you want it to be clear and smooth with no oxidative character then you should lager it.
Split the batch if possible and decide what you like best.