Dogfish Head ApriHop

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

(Bottle) This beer is to Magic Hat #9 what Mike Tyson is to a bunny rabbit. I like it very much. It is, however, much more sour than bitter, which I was not expecting...although it blends well with the other flavors and aromas. In spite of the sourness and general strength and complexity of this beer, this one is oddly light in texture. The alcohol flavor is also very well-masked...I would hardly notice that this one has anywhere near 7%. Overall, an outstanding beer...something novel, and well-executed.

Pours amber with a little light tan head. Aroma is slightly sweet, floral, and definitely apricotty. Taste is a moderately-hopped IPA with some fruitiness, but the flavors don’t meld exceptionally well. Not awful, but probably not worth another purchase.

Pours to a clear red-orange with a nice, thick off-white head. Nose is floral hops and apricot. Flavor is very green - floral and grassy notes, while being fruity at the same time. Pretty tame hop character for an IPA. While an interesting (and mostly enjoyable) angle on a fruit beer, I feel the apricot and hops contrast, instead of compliment each other. It isn’t bad by any means, but the rest of my four pack will be offered to house guests before I decide to grab another for myself.

pours a clear orange, quickly-dissipating rocky white head pretty apricotty aroma, some grass and sweetness taste is mostly sweet fruity (apricots!) in the front, with a nice finish that seems exactly equal parts sour and bitter nice medium body and pleasant carbonation also complements the fruit and light hops very well balanced overall, maybe the finish has a hint of chemically flavor? otherwise very refreshing, though not sure why it’s called an ipa

very enjoyable, not expected, unique...but nothing that seems like a parlor trick. i love the way the apricots dominate and tame the hops into a balance of sourness not bitterness. still, not a session-er...great as a ’dessert’ after a feast...or the thing to go with such a feast (notably, seafood, cajun, pizza bianca...). impressed that the fruit asserts but not in a sweet way. perfection would be more hoppiness

Pours a clear copper color with a thin white head. Balanced malt and hop aroma, but I get no sweetness at all, definitely not apricots. Taste is mostly caramel, malts, and a little hop bitterness. Thoroughly unimpressed by this DFH offering.

Bottle. Pours a clear copper with a nice off-white, creamy head that has fairly good retention. No lacing. Aromas of dried apricot, malt, white sugar, and not much else. Taste is not in anyway a ’strong IPA’ with apricot overtones. This is a fruit beer. Taste is beginning to end dried, candied apricots with a citric acidity that does not go over well. Very poor showing from DFH. A major step up from Magic Hat #9, but that isn’t saying much.

120z bottle from the Orland Park Binny’s single rack. Pours golden amber with small white head. Aroma is apricot, malt and water. Flavor is fruity with apricots, hops, sweet malt. Tastes better than it smells. Not really an IPA in any sense. Could use a lot more hops and more apricots. One of my least favorite DFH brews. Still somewhat decent though.