Liquid Love Frenemy Hugs 4Pk

Liquid Love Frenemy Hugs 4Pk is a fruited sour ale from Liquid Love Brewing Co. in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, brewed at 5.6% ABV and sold in a four-pack of cans. This entry in the brewery's popular Hugs series draws direct inspiration from nostalgic sour candies, translating that puckering sweet-and-tart experience into beer form.

Quick Facts: ABV: 5.6%  |  Origin: Buffalo Grove, Illinois, USA  |  Style: Fruited Sour Ale  |  Brewery: Liquid Love Brewing Co.

Production & Heritage

Liquid Love Brewing Co. operates out of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, and has built a devoted following across its roster of fruited sours, stouts, and experimental small-batch releases — the brewery holds a collective 3.94 rating on Untappd from over 43,000 check-ins across its full lineup. Frenemy Hugs is part of the Hugs series, a rotating family of fruited sour ales that each explore different flavor profiles. Where other entries like Triple Berry Hugs lean on straightforward fruit additions, Frenemy Hugs takes a different path, aiming to replicate the layered sweet-then-sour punch of childhood sour candies rather than a single-note fruit character.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Bright candy-like sweetness hits first, followed by a tangy, lactic tartness. There is an unmistakable suggestion of sour gummy candies and light fruity esters underneath.

Taste: The entry is deceptively sweet, coating the palate with sugary fruit before a sharp sour turn kicks in at mid-palate. The acidity builds steadily, evoking the exact moment a sour candy's coating gives way to its tart core — playful, intense, and genuinely cheek-puckering.

Finish: The finish is medium in length with lingering tartness and a faint residual sweetness that invites the next sip. A clean, dry close keeps the beer from feeling cloying despite the candy-forward profile.

How to Drink Frenemy Hugs

Serve cold, straight from the can or poured into a tulip glass to concentrate the aromatics. Its effervescent acidity and candy-like sweetness also make it a surprisingly versatile ingredient in beer cocktails. In a Berliner Weisse-style shandy, mix it with a splash of lemonade for amplified tartness. Try it in a beer mimosa, substituting it for champagne alongside orange juice, where the sour profile adds genuine complexity. It also works in a sour beer float with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, playing the sweet-sour contrast to full effect.

Best For

• Sharing with friends who say they don't like beer but love sour candy
• Backyard cookouts where something tart and refreshing beats another lager
• Introducing craft beer newcomers to the fruited sour style
• Pairing with spicy foods where acidity helps cut the heat

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Frenemy Hugs taste like? Frenemy Hugs delivers a pronounced sweet-to-sour arc reminiscent of classic sour candies, with bright fruity sweetness giving way to an intense, puckering tartness that lingers on the palate.

How does Frenemy Hugs compare to Triple Berry Hugs? Triple Berry Hugs focuses on identifiable berry fruit flavors in its sour base, while Frenemy Hugs leans into a more abstract sour-candy character that prioritizes the sweet-tart sensation over any single fruit identity. Both are fruited sour ales from the same Hugs series at Liquid Love Brewing Co., but they target distinctly different flavor experiences.

Is Frenemy Hugs good for craft beer beginners? Yes — at 5.6% ABV with a candy-like sweetness that tempers the sourness, it is one of the more approachable fruited sours available and appeals especially to drinkers who enjoy sour candy flavors.

Where is Frenemy Hugs made? Frenemy Hugs is brewed by Liquid Love Brewing Co. in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, a suburb northwest of Chicago known for a growing craft beer scene.

What foods pair well with Frenemy Hugs? Thai green curry works well because the beer's acidity cuts through coconut milk richness. Fried chicken benefits from the tart contrast to crispy, fatty skin. Fresh goat cheese amplifies the tangy, lactic qualities in the beer. Fish tacos with a citrus slaw echo the bright, fruity-sour notes. Lemon bars create an all-in dessert pairing that doubles down on the sweet-tart theme.

What sizes does Frenemy Hugs come in? Frenemy Hugs is available as a four-pack of cans, the standard format for Liquid Love Brewing Co.'s Hugs series releases.

Is Frenemy Hugs worth the price? Frenemy Hugs positions as a craft-priced fruited sour in a competitive category, and the sour-candy concept gives it a distinct identity that separates it from more generic fruit sours at the same tier — strong value for fans of the style looking for something with personality.

Why Frenemy Hugs?

What separates Frenemy Hugs from the crowded field of fruited sours is its commitment to a specific sensory memory — sour candy — rather than simply loading up on fruit puree. The Hugs series has earned Liquid Love Brewing Co. a loyal audience, and this expression pushes the concept further by chasing a flavor that is more nostalgic experience than traditional beer style. At 5.6% ABV, it is sessionable enough to drink through a four-pack without fatigue, while the sweet-sour intensity keeps each can interesting from first sip to last. For drinkers who find most fruited sours either too sweet or too one-dimensional, Frenemy Hugs lands in a more playful, dynamic space.