ApriHop - Dogfish Head Brewery

mrfrancis

Kentucky

4.03/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A: Pours a dark, clear amber with a compact, creamy off-white head. Head retention is surprisingly good. There is a moderate amount of lace present on the sides of the glass.

S: Very delicate aromas of apricots, caramel, cream, biscuits, pine, bitter orange, lemon, and grapefruit are present on the nose. This smells surprisingly restrained and subtle for an American IPA.

T: Notes of pine, spruce, juniper berry, fresh herbs, lemon, lime, kumquat, bitter orange, grapefruit, apricot, caramel, cream, and biscuits immediately bludgeon the palate. Around mid-palate, subtle impressions of vanilla bean, leather, and wildflower honey develop. The finish is hoppy and fruity with robust notes of bitter orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, honey, and apricot underscored by subtle caramel, biscuit, and pine flavors.

M: This ale is medium-bodied and dryish on the entry, but becomes increasingly resinous from mid-palate through the finish. This stickiness, however, never becomes distracting. Carbonation is delicate, yet firm. Alcohol presence is undetectable. Much more drinkable than I was expecting.

O: This is a very pleasant IPA, one that I feel is far better and more complex than it is sometimes made out to be. I appreciate the fact that the apricot aroma and flavor does not detract from the balance of sweet malt and piney, fruity hops. A very good ale with a lot of personality and poise, I highly recommend this one to fans of the style.

Serving type: growler

06-12-2013 13:57:12 | More by mrfrancis

PHBoiler

Illinois

4.36/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Bottle poured into footed pilsner

Deep, dark amber color with thin white head. Lot of pine and fruit in the nose. This beer drinks very smooth. The amarillo hops help pull out subtle apricot notes. Certainly only faint apricot notes. It's an interesting take on the traditional DFH IPAs and one that scores high on all points for me. Very drinkable at 7% ABV.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2013 14:51:31 | More by PHBoiler

JG-90

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Aggressive pour gives a small, just off-white head, with a mahogony / copper colored clear beer, with noticable carbonation after pour. Beer leaves moderate and creamy lacing down glass with good head retention. Smells of citric hops, caramel malt, apricot, and dark fruit, but over-ripe apricot and malt are the dominant aromas.

Taste starts with malt and dark fruit, with an apricot and slighty hoppy finish. Has a medium mouthfeel with high carbonation - that goes very well with the apricots.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2013 01:03:54 | More by JG-90

AndyAvalanche

Massachusetts

3.76/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle poured into a Sam Adams perfect pint glass. Nice amber color with some good clarity. Pretty thick head but it goes away fairly quickly with average lacing for an IPA.

Smell is pretty good, probably the best part. Good malt backbone, pale and crystal. Well hopped, but not too aggressive, and then as mentioned in the name there is a very distinct apricot aroma.

Taste is good, but not quite as hoppy as I expected. Good malt backbone again, biscuit bready sweetness. Aftertaste of a slight pine hop and again some apricot flavor.

Mouthfeel is pretty good, medium in body. Bready, sweet, and relatively smooth. Good carbonation level and a buttery finish. Pretty drinkable, a nice summer sipper, but works in the spring too. Thanks T-Love for sharing!

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2013 23:46:18 | More by AndyAvalanche

Alextricity

Michigan

4/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle conveniently has a few letters scratched off, so all I can see is the year. 2013. Makes me think this is a somewhat old bottle. On the plus side, it's only late May, so it can't be too old.

Appearance: Darker than I thought it might be -- a darker amber color with about two fingers worth of a creamy off-white head... slowly dies down to a frothy ring. Lacing's pretty good here.

Smell: Piney, grassy hops work very well with the apricots ... there may also be a little bit of citrus there, too.

Taste/feel: A respectable beer all around. The crystal malts on Aprihop are the perfect malt for the job, because they get that "sharp" sweetness and pretty subtle flavor overall that works well with the apricots. The taste of this beer is pretty much what I expected, even if I do find it to be a touch TOO sweet, though the mouthfeel is excellent. The apricots aren't overwhelming, and the grassy/earthy/piney hops work with it very nicely. This is a very good seasonal.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2013 14:16:12 | More by Alextricity

Gatch

Massachusetts

3.84/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A: Nice amber brown color with a big white fluffy soapy head. Great lace and retention. Darker than the usual IPA.

S: Fruity malt with just a faint hint of hops.

T: Plenty of sweetness and fruit with discernable apricot but this isn't an IPA. Not enough hops to even be a Pale Ale. This is a fruit beer.

M: Very sweet but tasty. Not cloying but there's that dried fruit feel.

O: Good flavor...and wait... are those hops when the beer warms up?!

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2013 01:22:17 | More by Gatch

AdamF625

Massachusetts

4.43/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A- amber and transparent with a fluffy white head
S- citrus fruits, apricot, hops are not as well represented as I would like.
T- slightly tart apricots, citrus hops, finishes malty and sweet
M- medium carbonation, crisp, fits the style
O- nice beer on a hot and humid night. Very tasty and refreshing!

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 22:32:02 | More by AdamF625

Roman5150

Michigan

4.33/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4

bottle into snifter

appearance: dark amber/orange with a brown hue, white half finger head

smell: simcoe hops, apricot, citrus, lemon, grapefruit, floral notes, some saffron

taste: Pronounced earthy bitterness followed by a sweet tropical wave of heavy grapefruit, citrus, apricot, and even some lemon on the back end. The bitterness lingers and along with the sweetness of the apricots, it is very refreshing and highly drinkable. Almost has flavors more like a DIPA than an IPA.

mouthfeel: average to high carbonation levels, pretty full bodied for an IPA

overall: Great offering from DFH, this is well balanced and on the tropical fruity sweet side, but not overwhelmingly sweet like the name would suggest. Just a very hoppy well rounded IPA, I will be buying this again.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2013 03:18:18 | More by Roman5150

merc7186

New York

3.84/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Growler into snifter glass.

A: Amber/Orangish Hue, Passes Some Light, White Head Ring, Some Lacing

S: Bready, Mild Apricots, Mildly Piney

T: Piney, Bready, Mild Apricots

M: Decent Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Mildly Bitter

Overall, a very sessionable IPA, dont get as much of the hop flavor like I used to but still decent.

Serving type: growler

05-13-2013 18:29:19 | More by merc7186

mooseo

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into tulip.

A - Clear dark copper with a massive white head.

S - Light citrus hops, sweet bready malt, grassy.

T - A balanced mix of sweet malts and tangy, light fruits. The apricot is rather subtle but definitely present. Finishes with a slight bitterness. Citrus zest and grainy malts linger.

M - Smooth and creamy, light-medium body, high carbonation.

O - This is a decent seasonal IPA but nothing special. Good drinkability, the alcohol is masked well. The apricot was a bit too hidden.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2013 02:02:35 | More by mooseo

sleuthdog

Illinois

3.8/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Bottled 2013 poured into Dogfish Head Tervis glass

Pour: Light brass orange color that has great clarity. Continuous bubbles rising to surface to meet huge three finger white head that stays around forever. Clinging to the glass and appearing soapy, soft and fluffy.

Smell: Bread, some grass, and apricots of course. Sweet smelling and actually not as hoppy as I was thinking it would be.

Taste: I taste the apricot up front but that yields to some mild hop bitterness quickly. Pretty sweet initially as well but again the hops take over and finish into the swallow leaving a lingering hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Crisp, enjoyable and refreshing on this gorgeous mid 70 degree day!

Overall: I can see where some might not enjoy this but I must say it is good. Different but I like different and well what else to expect from Dogfish Head?

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2013 16:33:54 | More by sleuthdog

Goosehunter75

Missouri

3.89/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Poured a very good lucking ruby red color that was crystal clear. Also had one finger of slightly offwhite head. There was decent retention and lacing.

S - A very sweet smelling IPA. Most likely from the apricots that were used. Apricot and other citrus such as lemon aromas rule this beer.

T -Very different tasting beer at first but enjoyable. Its starts out slightly sweet with tastes of apricots and a little lemon. It finishes quite bitter and piney tasting. Interestingly enough, I liked the beer more after it had set about 20 minutes than after I just opened it. After 20 minutes more of the maltiness of the beer started comnig thru and the flavors seemed to come together and compliment each other.

M - Just like it reads on the box. This is a very smooth drinking beer. You would never beleive its 7% ABV.

O - Aprihop is a very good IPA. I thought it would be much different tasting since apricots were used in the brewing process but this was not the case. It was different than your everyday IPA, but thats what I was looking for. The beer didnt disappoint. I would definately recommend letting the beer sit a few minutes before enjoying it.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 17:53:30 | More by Goosehunter75

dar482

New York

4.04/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It pours out with a one finger head and comes in a dark copper amber color. The head dissipates pretty quickly.

The aroma is interesting. It has that IPA hoppiness, but also with a sweet sweet fruity apricot background. It’s quite sticky like honey. There’s a slight bit of bitter grapefruit, pineapple that also comes through.

The flavor is quite interesting and different. There’s definitely a dried apricot taste along with a grassy hop character. The middle is a sweet crystal malt and breadiness, almost like a lighter 90 Minute. There’s then a semi-bitter dry finish follows.

This in the end, this is still an IPA. It isn’t a fruit beer like Magic Hat #9, so not recommended for those who don’t like bitterness or IPAs. The fruit comes throgh mostly on the aroma and then slightly on the flavor.

It’s a lovely IPA. And I do recommend it for someone trying to get into IPAs. The fruit hint and sweetness really carries this beer well, so to hide the bitterness of IPAs as well.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 03:56:17 | More by dar482

TheSixthRing

California

3.78/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Appearance - Pours a clear, bright amber with an off-white finger width head. Sub-par retention, leaving a broken layer of microbubbles on the surface. Spotty lacing with fair stick.

Smell - Strong stone fruit aroma; obviously apricot as expected. Slight spice and floral notes. Bready undertones.

Taste - Stone fruit flavor upfront and throughout. Prominent, but well-balanced apricot character along with mildly floral hoppiness. A touch sour. Lightly toasted bread malt character brings some balance to this brew.

Mouthfeel - Medium in body with low to moderate carbonation. Smooth, with fair silk on the tongue before a semi-dry finish.

Overall - Good, fairly enjoyable IPA. It's not gonna wow you on complexity, but its got nice approachability and, despite the huge apricot influence, doesn't get cloyingly sweet. Nice job, Dogfish.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 03:48:38 | More by TheSixthRing

dreedvol

North Carolina

3.88/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured into a dogfish nonic glass.

Nice amber to copper appearance with a tannish head that leaves a small amount of lacing on the glass.

Aroma faint citrus notes but more earthy to herbal hop smell. Toasted to roasted malts. Hint of spice?

Taste is not as hoppy as I would have expected. Hint of fruit, citrus, almost a yeast ester undertone. Apricot or peach like hint afterward. Herbal taste to the hops. Not incredibly bitter though. Lighter than expected.

Mouthfeel - Nice slightly prickly carbonation but refreshing. Does have a nice lasting aftertaste. Smooth.

Overall a good beer. Definitely a nice spring beer. Seems to be a little less IPA and a little more belgian but definitely worth a try on a warm spring day.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2013 20:25:27 | More by dreedvol

captaincoffee

California

3.88/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Oh Dogfish Head...maybe you are cursed with fans setting the bar to high. So many special beers, some of which I've loved and others not, but all were drank with an appreciation of what you were trying to accomplish. Aprihop? Its a good beer, dont' get me wrong. If someone handed it to me in a blind taste test, I'd say it was a damn fine beer. Beautiful color actually, which certainly must come from the apricots. As an IPA or as a fruit beer, however, it fell a bit short on both accounts for me. Based on how you typically do business, I'd guess you used a ton of real apricot for this brew. Unfortunately, it doesn't really come through. As an IPA, the great qualities of our other IPAs don't come through either. It's kinda both, but neither. As a whole, it is a good but undescript mash where the fruit and hops cancel each other out rather than building to something special, although there is a very nice mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2013 13:44:03 | More by captaincoffee

ElderBeagle

Maryland

4.4/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Had this on-tap at the DFH Brewpub

A: A deep clear amber, but very little head by the time it came to my table

S: Smelled great! Citrus, piny hops with the sweet smell of apricots of course.

T: Tastes similar to their 60 minute but with a great sweetness throughout and a nice dry finish. Really balanced flavor, not too sweet but its definitely there. The reason I disliked Magic Hat #9 was because the sweet flavor seemed like it didn't belong, but here the flavors mingled perfectly for me.

M: Medium body and perfect carbonation

O: This is a great beer for this time of year. This may be one of my favorite seasonals from DFH next to the Punkin. Check this out and enjoy the Spring!

Serving type: on-tap

04-30-2013 20:02:02 | More by ElderBeagle

Lordquackingstic

Italy

3.73/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

12oz bottle poured into a snifter. Freshness date makes no sense to me, but it's in season, so it's probably fresh.

A: Amber maple syrup color with a generous and very lacy head.

S: Berries, sweet malts, honey, apricot comes through ever so slightly.

T: Honey and apricots intertwine with a soft hoppy bite. The malts give it a sweetness (very prevalent in DFH brews) that isn't overpowering and is balanced well. I just spilled my beer all over the table, but I'm pretty sure that's the jist of the flavors...fuck.

M: Prickly hoppiness that lingers with a fruity flavor for quite some time. Medium bodied with medium carbonation.

O: This is a pretty solid fruit fusion IPA. A little predictable, but refreshing and has a great prickly mouthfeel that I appreciate and enjoy. If I drank this blind I don't think I could have been able to tell you that this was brewed with apricots, but it's still very solid. Would have liked to have drank the rest of this bottle...but alas...I only bought a single and spilled the rest of it. Bah.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2013 00:03:03 | More by Lordquackingstic

midnitesun11

California

3.99/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a see thru amber color with a fluffy off white colored one finger head.

Smells initially of hops with a big apricot fruit scent.

The taste is of sweet apricot at first with a hoppy bitterness that follows. Has a bit of a carmalized peach flavor maltiness as well.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with small amount of bitternessthat coats the mouth. Leaves an apricot taste in your mouth but doesn't have too much of a lingering bitterness in the finish either.

Overall this is a good fruity summer beer to drink when the weather is warmer. It's different but I'd highly recommend giving this one a try!

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2013 23:28:17 | More by midnitesun11

sharlie

Michigan

3.24/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is a great IPA. It's coloring is similar to caramel, it is dark and rich. The apricot aroma breaks though that of the hops. The flavor was overwhelming to me and I did not like it as much as other Pale Ales that I have tried. It has a long aftertaste which also to me was unappealing.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2013 12:19:53 | More by sharlie

Apellonious

North Carolina

3.89/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle out of 4-pack from Frougle's

A - Ruby red with a two finger head and decent retention.

S - Bread, grass, grapefruit

T - More of what appeared in the smell. Very malty and bready for an IPA. A semi sweet, if slightly bitter aftertaste. As it warms, you get more of the apricot and a tinge of alcohol on the finish.

M - Just the right amount of heft vs water. Carbonation is spot on.

O - A flavorful IPA with a more fruity and malty presence than what is considered standard for the style.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2013 00:16:27 | More by Apellonious

Bauzen

New York

3.81/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Basically, it's a sweet, fruity beer more than an IPA. The hops are present, but very mild and they fade away beyond the first few sips. All you're left with is sugar from the apricot, grapefruit, and apple notes.

It's a much milder beer than than the ABV suggests. I don't believe it's actually as high as the label suggests.

Really easy-going beer, certainly doesn't demand too much of your attention, nor does it challenge your pallet.

Serving type: on-tap

04-27-2013 15:25:55 | More by Bauzen

BlurryVisi0n

New York

4.03/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Served in a signature DFH pint glass.

Appearance: Has your typical classic amber look to it with a straight white head rising pretty high to well above a finger's length above the body.

Smell: Heavy hops and plus fruit, before taking a sip you can tell it has some sweetness to it.

Taste: This beer is special, hard raw hop taste to it. The apricot is there creating subtle sweetness to it. This definitely is not for everyone but worth taking a look at.

Mouth: Medium to full carbonation on the body, little sweet and sour in the end.

Overall: It's been years since I last had a glass of Aprihop and decided to give this beer some respect. Good beer, is it worth drinking over and over again that's up to you. Not a lot of fruit infused IPAs out there, and what I like most is that this is less fruit more IPA. Salud!

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2013 23:50:11 | More by BlurryVisi0n

sjones5045

New Jersey

4.31/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

So typically I'm anti fruit beer novelty acts but since it was a Dogfish Head I gave it a shot. Pours light brown which was a surprise to me for some reason. The smell actually hits you with hops right out of the gate then apricots appear too. Te taste is way better than I was expecting. I guess cause this really is a true craft that hits you with a nice malty hoppy taste then follows with a hint of apricot. They did not go overboard with the fruit which is the key to the success of this beer. It's a great summer refreshing beer that I'll have from time to time on some nice hot days. Very nice effort once again from Dogfish Head.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2013 16:06:20 | More by sjones5045

atr2605

New York

3.74/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A-pours a red amber color with an off white head with decent retention
S-apricot, malt, hops are fairly subdued
T-very well balanced sweet malt profile with a hop bitterness followed by the apricot and finishes with more hops in the finish
M-medium bodied
O-very well balanced ipa and apricot characteristic. The characteristics are a bit muddied, but overall a very enjoyable brew

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2013 00:53:52 | More by atr2605