Love Child No. 2
Boulevard Brewing Co.

Love Child No. 2Love Child No. 2
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From:
Boulevard Brewing Co.
 
Missouri, United States
Style:
Wild Ale
ABV:
9.6%
Score:
94
Avg:
4.21 | pDev: 10.93%
Reviews:
88
Ratings:
397
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Mar 17, 2019
Added:
Jun 10, 2012
Wants:
  96
Gots:
  98
Boulevard's Love Child Series of "wild" ales are barrel-aged with such boisterous cultures as Lactobaccillus and Brettanomyces. These wayward offspring can prove so complex that we employ gauges on the label to convey the intensity of three key personality traits, Funk, Sour, and Fruit, presenting a picture of the ale at the time it was released. It will change as it ages, but don't we all?

Sour characteristics come to the fore in this release, foreshadowed by the tart, winey aroma. Notes of cherry, chocolate, olive brine, and leather give way to a subtle hint of funk and a dry, clean finish.

11 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by jondeelee:
Photo of jondeelee
Reviewed by jondeelee from Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Love Child No. 2 opens with a bright, lemon-citrus aroma, tinged with touches of funky fermented apple cider sourness, yeasty baguette, marble rye bread, and pepper. Deep beneath is a good bed of sweet brown sugars, orange and white grape fruit esters, and vanilla cola, but this is difficult to locate against the sour funk. Light touches of wood filter through, but there is nowhere near the heavy bourbon aromas noted in many barrel-aged brews. As a whole, the nose is certainly intriguing, but the sour funk takes a bit of getting used to, and is certainly an initial shock. However, the aromas as a whole are very potent, and even nicely nuanced, once the nose becomes accustomed.

On the tongue, the beer is immediately sour and funky, the initial mouthful tasting very much like apple cider left out slightly too long on a hot table and so partially fermented, cut with apple cider vinegar. I suspect there are people who, because of this initial blast, will assume the beer has gone bad. Get past that perception, however, and there are additional layers of flavor, including strong lemon and lime, baguette, toast crust, and touches of orange and berry, as well as light brown sugars and vanilla, and shades of merlot wine. Admittedly, these secondary characteristics are hard to find, since the initial sour, funky notes take up a good 90% of the flavor profile, and similarly dominate the aftertaste, which lingers for a long time. Mouthfeel is medium, and carbonation is medium.

Overall, this is certainly one of the more unique beers on the market, and has been crafted by someone who is not only an excellent brewer, but also apparently rather sadistic--like the kid in high school who took pleasure in getting unsuspecting girls to eat sour blast candies. This is not a negative criticism, however, because the result is a beer that is incredibly flavorful, and if you can take it, quite delicious.
Jul 03, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.94 by RPM3334 from South Carolina

Mar 17, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by durlta from Iowa

Sep 23, 2017
Photo of SHODriver
Reviewed by SHODriver from North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
A: Poured into a Duvel tulip to a deep red topped by a finger of dense off white head that fades to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of tart cherries with a lot of acidity, some slight funk, and a bit of caramel sweetness
T: Taste is tart cherries and acidity up front with some caramel sweetness, hints of leather, some slight funk and oak. Swallow is more acidity and cherries with some more caramel, leather and oak on the finish.
M: This beer has a medium mouthfeel with soft but adequate carbonation and a dry finish
O: Overall this is a really nice sour with great flavors and complexity. It reminds me a lot of a really nice Flanders Red. Definitely looking forward to trying the others I have from the series.
Nov 19, 2016
Photo of Can_has_beer
Reviewed by Can_has_beer from Texas

2/5  rDev -52.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.75
Consumed 9/23/16

The review justifies the score. I'm sure this was great at release but this bottle fell. Caramel color, no head and the only aroma is green apples and acetic acid.
Sep 24, 2016
 
Rated: 4.13 by Nuggetz from Texas

Jun 28, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by 22Blue from Kansas

Jun 24, 2016
 
Rated: 4.13 by my_knew_craft from Massachusetts

Feb 24, 2016
 
Rated: 4.68 by MartyIU13 from Illinois

Jan 19, 2016
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

4.01/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Hearty red appearance, looks like love with a thin head on top. Sour cherry aroma, strong oak notes.

Taste was a solidly sour red and brown ale. Earth and leather notes. Mild vanilla undercurrent. Substantial alcohol doesn't come off that way, good mouthfeel.

Have you had Supplication? This is a lightly cheaper decent substitute for it. Would bang at $20/750ml again.
Jan 03, 2016
Photo of Davepoolesque
Reviewed by Davepoolesque from Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Cherry dark fruits, raspberry, vanilla, lacto, some funk, oak, and earthiness. Reserved, balanced sourness. Lower end of the carb scale. Ruddy, brown red color. Super good.
Dec 16, 2015
 
Rated: 4.13 by Briken from Washington

Oct 27, 2015
 
Rated: 4.51 by redliner8 from Pennsylvania

Oct 11, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by imperialking from Illinois

Oct 09, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by greenspointexas from Texas

Jul 02, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by beergorrilla from Michigan

Apr 26, 2015
 
Rated: 4.71 by mikepcarney from Ohio

Mar 26, 2015
 
Rated: 4.31 by Satchboogie from Belgium

Mar 25, 2015
 
Rated: 4.24 by NHbeerguy from New Hampshire

Feb 19, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by nathanmiller from New York

Feb 12, 2015
Love Child No. 2 from Boulevard Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 94 out of 100 with 397 ratings