- How much does shipping cost? Orders over $40 ship free. Under $40, shipping is a flat $8, tracked. Rates apply automatically at checkout, and there is no code to enter. We ship within the United States only.
- What qualifies for free shipping? Any order over $40. All three of our flights — Three Jalapeños, the Award Winners Flight, and the Koji Flight — clear the threshold on their own. Two bottles do not.
- Why does #KojiHachi cost more than the lacto line? Time. A lacto batch ferments for a minimum of 21 days. #KojiHachi ferments for a minimum of eight months, and our reserve batches run two to four years. That is a bottle occupying our fermentation room for the better part of a year before it earns a label. You can't cheat time. We never tried.
- Is Off The Deck Hot Sauce gluten-free? Yes — with a small caveat. We currently make our products in a shared kitchen that includes bakers. Our ingredients are gluten-free and we're fastidious about cleaning and sanitation, but if gluten is a medical concern for you, we want you to know. We look forward to the day we have our own certified gluten-free facility.
- Does fermented hot sauce need to be refrigerated? Not before you open it. Our lacto-fermented sauces finish at pH 3.5 or below and are shelf-stable unopened, confirmed by a process authority letter. #KojiHachi is pasteurized and shelf-stable unopened as well. Once the seal is broken, refrigerate both lines. That's a flavor choice rather than a safety one: cold holds the sauce where we bottled it. One note: don't leave a bottle in a hot car.
- How long does a bottle last after opening? At least a year. Refrigerated, probably longer. Every bottle carries a best-before date two years from bottling, which is a quality window rather than a safety limit.
- Why does my sauce separate? We don't use emulsifiers, so the solids settle. Shake the bottle and it comes right back together.
- What's the difference between your koji and lacto-fermented sauces? Lacto fermentation uses Lactobacillus bacteria working on sliced chilis in a salt brine. The result is light, aromatic, and carries a hint of sour — think sourdough bread or sauerkraut. Apple cider vinegar goes in after the ferment, for consistency.
Koji fermentation uses Aspergillus oryzae. Its enzymes break the pepper down into free glutamates over eight months and up. The result is umami-rich and flavor-dense, with a quiet sweetness underneath. The koji line is pasteurized, so its depth comes from enzymes and glutamates rather than live cultures.
- Where is Off The Deck Hot Sauce made? The Red River Valley — deep in the far north of the Great Plains.