Dogfish Head ApriHop

5th May 2008. A clear mid amber beer with a distinct apricot tone, only a little hoppyness. Dry finish. Refreshing.

Pours a brilliant amber color with a thin but dense layer of tan foam. The aroma is fruity with apricots, peaches, and caramel. The flavor is apricots and peaches with a strange hop character that doesn’t seem to complement the light fruitiness very well. It quickly denigrates to an unpleasant mineral, metallic finish. Interesting concept, but not my thing.

Golden, orange, light fruit aromas not fully discernible as apricot, some mineral and diatomaceous earth aromas, a bit soft on the tongue, foaming gently

Pours a clear amber with a subtle white head that quickly dissipates. The apricot aroma is not as pronounces as I expected. Its rather subtle with a light hoppiness and some caramel. Taste is sweet and tart. Again, the apricot is not as strong as I expected. It does come through a bit more on the finish. Also has hints of apple and some sweet malts. Very crisp on the front. Medium/light mouthfeel and not much carbonation. Not bad, but nothing special.

12 ounce bottle from Pacific Liquor in North Park ($3.99). Pours a murky dark amber-orange with rather small off-white head. Mellow aroma of citrusy hops and grass/vegetables with some apricot but not as much as I might have thought. The apricots are much more noticeable in the flavor, though. The apricots combine with the hops to make an IPA that lacks a citrus/hoppy "bite" and is surprisingly smooth. Good carbonation with a nice tangy finish. This is refreshing and damn near sessionable. good carbonation

pours a clear golden orange color with golden burnt orange hus when held to a light source and a one finger frothy white head that quickly settles into a thin ring. Not much in the way of lacing. Slightly sweet syrupy apricot aroma with subtle light fruit notes, caramel malt backbone and earthy hops. Crisp sweet light fruit with a caramel malt backbone and a nice bitter earthy hop balance. Pretty sweet with lots of apricot, apple and pear. Very crisp but slightly watered down with a dry piny earthy hop finish.

On tap, but I fear this was a little less than fresh so I’ll have to do a re rate come next spring. I still enjoyed this one, Pours a golden almost orange color with a medium head and some lace. The aroma is fruity and a little odd in sort of a nondescript way. The flavor is fruity with some nice hop bitterness, some tartness and a little nutty thing going on.

What a surprizing beer. I only had 1/2 a bottle but I was amazed. The hops balanced the sweetness of the apricot and mad a very enjoyable beer. I will go and buy some and then complete a proper review.