Dogfish Head ApriHop

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Fruit Beer
Milton, Delaware USA

Cask version at Winking Lizard’s 1st Annual Real Ale Fest (03/28/09): The beer is a golden amber color with a thin and rocky off-white head that dissipates quickly. Spotty lacing on the glass. Light apricot and malt in the nose. Medium, clean body with a tart fruity character and flavors of malt and hops. The finish is fruity with a short apricot aftertaste. Slightly above average overall.

Pours clear orange with white head that fades rapidly. Aroma is dried apricot. Flavor is dried apricot and caramel. I didn’t think it pulled off IPA status at all. Hops are there but are muted by the apricot and don’t really shine. Apricot is definitely dominant. Why do I keep drinking fruit beer...

Bottle from City Beer Store in SF. Nice golden appearance with an off-white head. Aroma is malt, light fruits, and some hops. Flavor is similar. Calling it an IPA is a bit of a stretch, but there are noticeable hops. Sweet and tangy citrus/apricot flavor on the finish. Palate is enjoyable with medium-high carbonation. I’ve heard this compared to Magic Hat #9 and it is a similar beer, just with a little more hops and overall flavor.

Color is basically perfect for an IPA. Nice clear bronze, a bit on the dark side. Thin head. Aroma is rather faint. Not much hop smell. The apricots are there, as well as an alcohol smell that make me think of sake. Flavor is flat and boring. It’s not bad, just boring. For some reason it tastes like wheat, and then a bit of apricot sweetness comes out in the finish. So basically, this is why I don’t usually try fruit beers. I can’t think of one that I’ve liked. But I expect great things from Dogfish Head. Oh well.

Aroma not a good indicator of the beer, nor the name. Bitter overall, but not very hoppy. Dryish texture. The fruit is represented not so much by sweetness as one would expect but a definitive tartness. Overall this brew has somewhat of an identity issue, as it’s not quite an IPA and not quite a fruit beer, yet somehow, not bad overall.

On tap at Sacramento Brewing. This amber ale poured with a thick beige head and a bready fruit aroma. There is a very noticeable apricot flavor with a bitter hop finish. This is a tasty fruit beer.

Tap @ Monster B’s. Call this the badass brother of Magic Hat #9. Amber body with apricot flavors but real hoppiness that the #9 does not have. Despite the higher ABV, it goes down smoothly.

I like apricots and i love IPAs, how can this beer not be great? worth trying, but Wasn’t one of my favorites. uhhhhhhhh