Loving Cup
Southbound Brewing Company

"Our contemporary Saison, Loving Cup, as boldly dry hopped with Simcoe hops providing intense passion fruit and woodsy aromas. We combined various yeasts, including a distinctively earthy wild strain, Brettanomyces Trois, to give this brew a funky, pineapple flavor and slightly tart finish. We were looking for a beautiful buzz and Loving Cup showed us the way." Brewed in the style of a Saison, available in seasonal 22 oz. bottles and on draft.

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle to a snifter glass.

(Appearance) Gusher alert! Pours a thick, foamy head of a pearl white color over a moderately hazy golden yellow shade with ample carbonation. Retention is good and lacing is moderate and clingy. 4.25

(Smell) Pale, pilsner and light biscuit malt with a mild sweetness is sharply infused with the aromatic blend of white pepper spice, citrusy and dank hop resins with a moderate bitterness and assertive brettanomyces impact, generating appealing funk and sourness to this beer for a very pleasing aroma. Potency is moderate. 4.25

(Taste) The flavor largely follows the aroma, albeit with slightly less reserved sweetness. Drying malt blend of pilsner and pale malts with a high cleanliness, moderately spiced with a blend of bright effervescent spice character, gentle funk and soft fruity acidity that plays nicely off of the saison yeast character. The hop profile is slightly faded in flavor but offers a subtle bitterness which doesn't have much to counter based on the dryness of the malt base. Overall very enjoyable but a bit more compromised than the aroma suggested. 4

(Mouthfeel) Texture is silky, lightly spicy, very dry. Carbonation is moderate-brisk, generating a medium frothiness and a fully crisp finish. Body is medium for the style, shy of medium overall. Balance is slightly tart, acidic and peppery spice over sweetness. Alcohol presence is very low and there are no off characters. 3.5

(Overall) Loving Cup is a nicely flavored Brettanomyces-infused Saison that's difficult not to love. The flavors play off very nicely with each other and there's ample hop flavor and bitterness, brettanomyces character and drinkable malt simplicity without any harshness. Some time in the bottle helped to develop the Brettanomyces character but dried out the malt body significantly which may have been a risky trade-off, but in this beer it seems a rewarding wait with relatively little compromise. Loving Cup is a very solid beer and one I will certainly revisit in the future. Recommended. 4

Southbound Brewing Company's
Loving Cup Saison Brewed With Brettanomyces
4.03/5.00

This beer is fantastic - pours golden with light lacing, brett funk and hop bitterness play perfectly off each ... very quaffable, refreshing, could knock these back all day

22 ounce bottle - $9.49 at Bullock's Wine & Spirits in Marietta, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours a hazy, pale yellow body with a full flush of airy, white suds.

Smell: Supple, dewy hay/straw vibe with just a thin, thin hint of sweetness on the nose. Fruity hints suggesting a little honeydew, citrus and mango. It's funky, but shows off an almost fastidiously clean funkiness.

Taste: A soft, hewn hay maltiness with a curt, minor degree of sweetness and touch of fresh dough. Tropical, scantly tart fruitiness, peppery spiciness and the on-going funkiness of the brett. Moderately bitter. While housing a good measure of funk, it's of the type that comes across as fairly clean, just-lightly cellary. Closes out bone dry with lingering spiciness and a little infusion of bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Well carbonated. A bit of a gassy mouthfeel initially.

Overall: Refreshing, likable.

 

22oz brown bomber, sample from the brewery.

Great display of white lacing, good clarity in the pale golden colored brew. Pleasing funk from the Brett, bread grain, hop resin, spice, & yeast in the nose. Smooth with a deep crispness, fluffy moderate sized body. Love the Brett funk on the palate, a little musty with spicy overtones. Earthy, yeasty, a little bitter, and some dried fruit in the finish. Clearly the brewers knew what they were doing here, highly drinkable. A real treat.

 

Appearance: Pours hazy gold, small cap.

Aroma/Flavor: Fruity Bretty with some interesting spruce and earthy flavors that may be some combination of brett/hop. Whatever it is I like it.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, slightly bitter finish.

 

 

22oz bottle from Hop City (Atlanta, GA). 9.99. Bottled 08/2015. Served in a Microbrasserie Charlevoix goblet.

Pours a pale straw yellow with two fingers of white head. A thin veneer of pale froth accross the surface lingers throughout and its healthy halo leaves several spotty patches of lacing.

Smells at once funky and lively. Lemon, earthy farmy yeast, melon, grass, hay and some sweetness in the background. Quite nice.

Tastes bright and dry. Lemon zest, earthy funk, wet hay, apple skins, passion fruit, pepper, hints of pine and a little grass. The fruity hops and funky Brett play well together. This is tasty and extremely easy to drink.

Crisp, light body with a pronounced, zesty carbonation. Finishes with some earthy hay, citrus peel and vague mildly sweet melon.

In my opinion Southbound's best work has been in their bomber releases and Loving Cup is no exception. The Simcoe and Brettanomyces partner well to create one of the few saisons that I have truly enjoyed.