Gulf Sour Series - Lovebug
Chandeleur Island Brewing Company

 

The can says it's 5.6%. Lovebug has a thin, fizzing-away head, and a translucent, orange appearance, with bubbles and no lacing. The aroma is of some fruit and sour dairy. The flavor is of mildly-tart fruit, sour dairy, and white bread. Lovebug has very low bitterness and medium body, with a dry finish.

RJT

 

 

 

The secret is out! Passionfruit plus mango is the universal cheat code for Sour Ale. And if you're deserted on a Mississippi island, your going to need these tropical flavors and a refreshing acidity to get you through that rough spell. Let's just hope that Chandeleur Island Brewery can keep up with that solo demand.

Quenching the thirst for island dwellers and vacationers alike, their Love Bug, part of their Gulf Sour Series pours with the visual consistency of orange juice, light on the pulp. As a short and faltering froth subsides, the tantalizing scent of tropical fruit overwhelms the senses with tartness, floral and fauna character. A succinct sweetness of fruit juices, taffy and sherbet greets the tongue in a nearly Hawaiian punch kind of way.

The beer is all tropical fruit as the middle palate blossoms into a medley of flavors fueled by the obvious passionfruit and mango. But a backdrop of pineapple, papaya, guava and gooseberry create a succulence that leans on the natural fermentation character of lemon, lime, white grape and crabapple for a sweet and sour interplay that again evokes the memory of sherbet. Hints of orange and grapefruit can be found underneath the sourness as an herbal verbena character adds an element of charm on the late palate.

Medium bodied but somewhat full for sour ale, their smoothie sour ale finishes more acidic than sweet although the balance never completely relinquishes. A medium short linger of fruit pulp keeps that tropical fruit punch alive for a high celebration of the tantalizing tropical fruits, but perhaps at the sacrifice of complexity, subtlety or sharpness

Well, this is a singularity in all of my time on The CANQuest (tm)! I had stopped in at Rieker Bottle Works last night to pick up a DuClaw Blueberry when I spied this on the shelf! I have some others from them, courtesy of @tone77 & I had planned to drink this one with them as a horizontal. In snapping the CAN loose from the new-style CAN carrier, it must have caught the tab on an edge & slightly punctured the vent! 8=O NEVER before has such a thing ocCANurred. I took & resized a pic & put it into the reefer to chill for an out-of-order review & rating! 8=O

From the CAN: "Sour Ale brewed with Passion Fruit & Mango"; "Passion Fruit Sour Ale"; "Brewed with Love for Beer"; "If you live anywhere near the Gulf Coast, you're familiar with Lovebugs. Twice a year these critters hatch and fill the sky. They may wreak a little havoc on your vehicle, but other than that we really don't mind them. It's just a part of life on the Gulf Coast. The latest release in our Gulf Sour Series pays homage to those cute little bugs we see every spring and fall. Brewed with passion fruit and mangoes, this sour ale is both sweet and tart. Enjoy by the water and under moonlight."; "Gulf Sour Series[:] The Mississippi Gulf Coast offers a unique and laid back way of life. We aren't in a hurry. We wave to out neighbors. We'll share some blue crabs when our pots are full, and we always know the tide pattern. It's our way of life and we wouldn't change it for the world. This Gulf Sour Series is brewed to be our own take on sour beers with over the top fruit flavors, a pleasant hint of tart, and just a little bit of sweet to balance it all out. Enjoy these unique beers fresh while you share tales of the Gulf and the one that got away."

I Crack!ed the vent the rest of the way open & really let the CANtents fly in a heavy-handed Glug since time was beCANming of the essence. This formed a brief finger of fizzy, foamy, rocky, bone-white head with low retention, quickly falling away to wisps. This is not unusual in the style, so no real problem there. Color was a murky, turbid Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7), which CAN be attributed to my pour, emptying the entire CANtents including the lees, into the glass. Nose was both funky & fruity, sour with a tropical fruit presence & I would have said mango without looking, but maybe not passion fruit. Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, not watery, but not far removed. About on par for the style. Now, the terms "tart" & sour" are often incorrectly used interchangeably, but not in this case! This was SOUR, hitting the hinges of my jaw like a battering ram & making my ears ring like the pealing of church bells! Whoa. Once the initial shock wore off, the fruitiness really became assertive & I still got mango … plus something else. I CANnot truthfully say that I would have identified it as passion fruit, but it definitely was not simply mango. Finish was dry, sour & possibly one of the tastier beers that I have had in the style. YMMV.

 

 

 

 

12 ounce can into tulip glass; no can dating, but is a recent local release. Pours opaquely hazy golden orange color with a 1 finger fairly dense light orange colored head with solid retention, that reduces to a thin ring of lace that lingers. Minimal spotty lacing on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of huge sour/tart/tangy passion fruit, mango, melon, fruit skin, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, green apple, berries, white wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, white bread, light pepper/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/acidic yeast, fruit, and moderate pale/wheat malt notes; with great strength. Taste of huge sour/tart/tangy passion fruit, mango, melon, fruit skin, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, green apple, berries, white wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, white bread, light pepper/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, frruit tang, and light spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of sour/tart/tangy passion fruit, mango, melon, fruit skin, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, apricot, pear, pineapple, green apple, berries, white wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, white bread, light pepper/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/acidic yeast, fruit, and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; with a great malt/tart/sourness and tangy fruit balance; with minimal puckering flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering sourness and tangy fruit. Medium carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/grainy/acidic/tangy, fairly crisp, and lightly tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 5.6%. Overall this is a fantastic fruited sour ale! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/acidic yeast, fruit, and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth and fairly crisp/refreshing to drink with the moderately acidic/tangy/drying finish; not overly lactic. Extremely juicy/jammy fruit and balanced Lacto complexity; with a solid pale/wheat malt backbone against acidity. A highly enjoyable offering, and amazing style example.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hazy deep yellow color with little lacing.

Aroma of over ripe tropical fruit. It's a pleasant aroma but lacks vibrancy.

Flavor is a bit tart, a bit sour, about evenly divided but not really very much in either direction. I get the fruit influence yet also get the impression the respective fruits hung on the tree just a bit past prime. There's nothing unpleasant about the flavor, just a lack of vibrancy and freshness.

Light medium texture with balancing carbonation.

A theme beer with an attractive package. The label presents a charming. almost endearing caricature of two enamored love bugs in a whimsical and brightly colorful setting. Graphics, layout, is all first rate but the beer falls short of the mark. I just wish the brewer had put as much thought into the beer as they did the package. I think this would work better if the citrus were pineapple, orange, cherry, or even lime. I suppose passion fruit was chosen to keep with the overall theme but theme alone does not for a better beer make. I think my Bud Light friends might enjoy this as their 4th or 5th beer of the day otherwise I can't recommend it as a first choice. I do think the theme works as the package alone is enough to sell it, once.