Dogfish Head ApriHop

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.

Location: On tap at Gilly’s 3/5/09

Aroma: Fruity (apricot obviously), slight hops
Appearance: Red/Amber
Flavor: Fruit and hops, but mostly sweet
Palate: Light/Medium body
Overall Impression: Decent beer, not the hoppiness they describe, but better then most fruit beers.

[Two week old bottle] Pours a very attractive deep red with a tiny off-white head. If it had a decent sized head it would get a 5 for appearance. Aroma is not what I had expected--and the surprise is not altogether a good one. The apricot is there, but it is not as big and fresh as I had hoped. Instead it is a little stale and intertwined with the malt in such a way that compliments neither. Not awful, but far from a great fruit beer aroma. Taste is muddled and also lacking. Mild bitterness and light malt, but otherwise most of the apricot taste is lost in an unpleasant sourness. Medium mouthfeel with a long finish, in which when I breath out, I am finally able to get some decent sense of apricot. Not DFH’s best offering.

Ryan/Casey. Light orange body, musky head. Nose of apricots, orange and sugar. Taste of apricots. Too much for my liking. Oily. Dry finish. An okay beer from a great brewery.

this years bottle edition states "a ’serious’ ipa" i would expect a 90 -120 amount of hops from dogfish head. not too hoppy and more of a sour apricot flavor. not my favorite dfh.