diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2311.section.md b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2311.section.md
index b85e7c81a651..8ed2dea2551a 100644
--- a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2311.section.md
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2311.section.md
@@ -246,6 +246,8 @@
 
 - The binary of the package `cloud-sql-proxy` has changed from `cloud_sql_proxy` to `cloud-sql-proxy`.
 
+- Garage has been upgraded to 0.9.x. `services.garage.package` now needs to be explicitly set, so version upgrades can be done in a controlled fashion. For this, we expose `garage_x_y` attributes which can be set here.
+
 - The `woodpecker-*` CI packages have been updated to 1.0.0. This release is wildly incompatible with the 0.15.X versions that were previously packaged. Please read [upstream's documentation](https://woodpecker-ci.org/docs/next/migrations#100) to learn how to update your CI configurations.
 
 - The Caddy module gained a new option named `services.caddy.enableReload` which is enabled by default. It allows reloading the service instead of restarting it, if only a config file has changed. This option must be disabled if you have turned off the [Caddy admin API](https://caddyserver.com/docs/caddyfile/options#admin). If you keep this option enabled, you should consider setting [`grace_period`](https://caddyserver.com/docs/caddyfile/options#grace-period) to a non-infinite value to prevent Caddy from delaying the reload indefinitely.
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/garage.nix b/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/garage.nix
index 3eb7dd32cf14..731d5315f23a 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/garage.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/garage.nix
@@ -65,12 +65,8 @@ in
     };
 
     package = mkOption {
-      # TODO: when 23.05 is released and if Garage 0.9 is the default, put a stateVersion check.
-      default = if versionAtLeast config.system.stateVersion "23.05" then pkgs.garage_0_8
-                else pkgs.garage_0_7;
-      defaultText = literalExpression "pkgs.garage_0_7";
       type = types.package;
-      description = lib.mdDoc "Garage package to use, if you are upgrading from a major version, please read NixOS and Garage release notes for upgrade instructions.";
+      description = lib.mdDoc "Garage package to use, needs to be set explicitly. If you are upgrading from a major version, please read NixOS and Garage release notes for upgrade instructions.";
     };
   };