ApriHop - Dogfish Head Brewery

sleazo

New York

3.8/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Aprihop

A_appears as a nice amber looking clear ale with a nice white one finger cap. Nice lacing

S_tart apricots and mild citric hops

T_somewhat puckeringly sour from the apricots. Nice balance of dry biscuit like malt and a floral hop background.

M_completely medium in both carbonation and feel

D_This basically is what Magic Hat #9 should taste like. A pretty good apricot ale, one I was expecting to have more hops yet good nonetheless.

Serving type: on-tap

03-15-2008 06:56:12 | More by sleazo

jjboesen

Maryland

4.38/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This is a Dogfish Head seasonal beer (7 abv/ 55 IBU) that I had been reluctant to try simply because I despise apricots and because "fruit" beers were never my thing. But this brewer is amazing in that they always have a few surprises - and that they have an international reputation for experimentation - some work, some do not.

This does: topped off with a thick slabby foam that slooowly fades into a thin lacing Aprihop settles into a coppery elixir with a sweetish mouthfeel that seems to avoid being overwhelmed by the primary ingredient (did I mention that I "despise" apricots?).

This one, like most DFH beers, has a fine structured body, and while I would not drink too many of these, I could certainly recommend it to anyone seeking proof as to this brewer's ability.

Note: My tasting took place at the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Gaithersburg, which is not a brewery, so the freshness may have a little off - have been here many times and the issue never arose, anyway. A wonderful if not unique quaff.

Serving type: on-tap

10-27-2007 23:44:51 | More by jjboesen

GbVDave

Illinois

3.58/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served in a 16oz pint glass at Hopleaf 5/21/07. Thanks to HeatherAnn for handling the review.

A: Nice caramel color with a small head that leaves a minimal amount of lace on the glass.

S: Citrus hops dominate the nose (lemon, orange, pineapple). Also present is a small, earthy apricot aroma.

T: Pretty much as above. Citrus hops, a slight apricot flavor, with the addition of a sweet caramel malt undercurrent.

M: A smooth, round start that turns bitter and astringent near the finish.

D: This is a decent summer beer that we found to be quite refreshing. Not convinced to return to it for further testing, though.

Serving type: on-tap

05-27-2007 16:22:47 | More by GbVDave

BBM

New York

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

Had this one on tap. It pours a cloudy light orange with a creamy white head and nice lacing around the glass. There were mainly sweet fruits in the nose, with a hoppy bite and slight alcohol smell to round out the beer. Interesting.

Wow, what a tasty beer. Up front there is a sweet taste of apples, citrus, and (of course) apricots. Then citrus and pine hop notes make their way onto the palate, creating a nice dichotomy of bitterness and sweet. It's all rounded out by a very subtle alcoholic finish. This is a fruit beer with balls. Mouthfeel is phenomenal; I've never had such a smooth, rich, creamy beer from a tap in my life; it's almost like it was poured from a cask. Low carbonation, and a silky smooth finish make this one of the more drinkable beers I've had in a while, too.

Overall this is an outstanding beer from DFH, and even though it is a bit 'fruity' and out of the ordinary, I'd recommend it to anyone. Unique and delicious.

Serving type: on-tap

04-06-2007 11:31:51 | More by BBM

Backer2004

North Carolina

3.4/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

How could I not try this one? Being such a Dogfish Head fan, I was impressed to find this in Chicago, on tap no less. Just went with a taster (for only a dollar!). This one did not do it for me. Although the apricots were apparent in the smell, it was very flat tasting and nothing to be impressed about. I like the effort and I'll probably try this again, but I even had trouble drinking the whole 4 ounces this past time.

Serving type: on-tap

08-31-2006 02:10:33 | More by Backer2004

hops4me

Virginia

3.68/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I just tapped this in my kegerator. It was tasted in a dogfish tulip like pint glass.

The color is unmistakably amber with a rocky white head. Scents of fruit and floral hops eminate from the glass. At first sip I notice its full body and fruity malt character. As it washes down the back of my throat the hops grab the sides of my mouth and tongue. All the while the apricots provide a nice refreshing balance. Not very bitter but still good brew. Refreshing and complex.

Serving type: on-tap

08-24-2006 22:48:14 | More by hops4me

bklynbeerbaron

New York

3.98/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the Downtown Bar & Grill in Brooklyn. Poured into a pint glass.

Appearance: A clear, medium amber, with a thin, bubbly head.

Smell: Sweet from the apricot and spicy from the hops. Like apricots flavored with cinnamon.

Taste and Mouthfeel: A citrusy start, almost grapefruit-like, but as the beer lingers in your mouth, the apricot flavor comes through, and stays there. Not overly sweet, though, the underlying hop bitterness takes care of that. Mouthfeel was crisp with medium carbonation.

Drinkability: 7% ABV? Could have fooled me. Refreshing enough to make me want another.

Notes: Guess the easy comparison is a Magic Hat #9. I think this one is more intensely-flavored than the latter. Regardless, an interesting brew and a nice choice in the hot weather.

Serving type: on-tap

07-07-2006 04:53:18 | More by bklynbeerbaron

rtratzlaff

North Carolina

4.8/5  rDev +24.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A decent head on deep amber body.
The smell is of apricots, pine-like hops.
The tase is surprising. Don't go in expecting a fruit beer. This beer benefits from the slight apricot flavors and the goodness of a dogfish ipa. Taste of fruit, sweet malt, and hops. As with all other dogfish brews, this one is well balanced. A step above the 30-minute and better in my opion. If you like the 90 minute, you'll probably enjoy this one as well.

Serving type: on-tap

06-17-2006 18:31:55 | More by rtratzlaff

scooter231

New York

2.93/5  rDev -23.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Randallized, this was not my favorite beer ever. It was a pretty rusty color with nice head and lacing, reminding me of the bottled version. However, the nose and taste were... bland. Now, I know there were apricots in with the beer, so maybe they sucked in all the flavor and left the beer kind of boring? I don't know, but it was definitely lacking, and not that apricot-y! There was a bit of a biscuity thing and fruity thing going on, but it was dull. Mouthfeel was watery and felt pretty flat. All that being said, I could have a couple of these, but not too many- it's just not what the bottle is.

Serving type: on-tap

05-18-2006 07:55:49 | More by scooter231

roan22

New Jersey

2.9/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

I loved this beer last year; last year's batch seemed slightly thicker, hoppier and way lighter in color. This year's batch tastes really bad to me. Its darker and way too sweet, like maple syrup sweet. It appeared more watery too. The apricot taste is still there but the sickly sweetness of the maple flavor overpowers the slight tart taste of the apricot, and overpowers the hops, which are barely noticable. I will try it again out of a bottle, maybe it was a bad keg.

Serving type: on-tap

04-05-2006 23:08:39 | More by roan22

DaPeculierDane

Wisconsin

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

Lovely clear orange body with a thick, lasting, creamy, and luscious talcum head. Strong almost juniper like pine sap aroma. Apricot is light and subtle in the nose. Taste is quite neat. This beer manages to be extremely hoppy without being bitter in any way. The apricot is hardly noticeable for me. I almost don’t consider this a fruit beer. Finish is acidic and spicy but hardly bitter. Could be a touch more dry. Overall I find this very reminiscent of a good English India Pale Ale.

Serving type: on-tap

03-30-2006 16:50:15 | More by DaPeculierDane

Imstillthegman

Delaware

4.15/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I had this on-tap at both the brewery and the brewpub in Rehoboth. Pours a deep orange with with about a fingers worth of off white head that leaves very little lacing. The smell is quite fruity at first but after a couple of hearty inhales the hops come through. Fruity, flowery hops. The taste wasn't as strong as you may have expected. Yes, you do taste the apricots but it complements the hops instead of overpowering them. A nicely balanced brew. Fruit beer for us that enjoy hops.

Serving type: on-tap

03-11-2006 15:38:23 | More by Imstillthegman

SupaCelt

Michigan

3.78/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Logan's Alley...This beer was a bit darker than I had expected. It was nearly brown but dark copper will do it justice. The head was small. Lacing was minimal. The nose was a mostly fruity one. I mean fuity in the way of apricots, not hop citrus bouquet. I myself was a bit disappointed that this thing was seemingly light in the hops category. If you put hops in the name it should be hopped up. False advertising. It was basically just a fruit juice smellin beer. Strange and unique. The nose had me excited to taste the beer, but the flavour was just lacking any kind of balls. It was just like a beer with some fruit addiitives in it. A bit weak at that. The hop profile again was none too intense in the flavour. One thing I can say to this brew's credit is that it never approached even an idea of being cloying or over sweet. The fruity flavours were perhaps done just richly enough to avoid any possible offense. Mouthfeel was light and the drinkability was actually alright for the style. Just not much going on, or not as much as I had expected. Worth a try. I will be picking up a bottle to dissect a bit more. The pub is generally not where I do my best work.

Serving type: on-tap

02-17-2006 20:01:47 | More by SupaCelt

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.1/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A fabulous beer, fruit beer or not. Dogfish just does it right. This beer promises greatness leaping from the bottle, sparkling and a copper orange. Good head retention and lacing. It smell boldly of an IPA and that subtle apricot fruit smell. I get more pears and peaches out of this than expected. It' s as spicy and hoppy in flavor and bitter as you'd expect from an IPA with a thin delicate sweetness from the fruits. A slight metalic mouthfeel keeps this beer from perfection. A terrific blend of agressivness in the hops and a delicacy from the fruits. I could drink this all day.

Serving type: on-tap

08-02-2005 19:18:31 | More by BEERchitect

jamesclark

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Randallized out of the tap (passed through a weird-science apparatus including fresh hops and apricots), this beer was orange-amber, with a strong cream head which was nearly tan, and included a small amount of hop flakes floating about in the glass.

The aroma was a powerful blast of hops, thanks to the funky delivery method. That smell really made the beer something special.

The taste was creamy and light, with a subdued apricot flavor, and a medium bitterness. The finish was wet and smooth - as it lingered, it dried up and left a powerful herbal hop flavor.

This was a very drinkable beer, very balanced. The aroma alone was worth it.

Serving type: on-tap

07-23-2005 22:00:12 | More by jamesclark

kaszeta

New Hampshire

3.9/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Sampled at the 2005 ABF.

I don't like fruit beers for the most part, but the folks at Dogfish have a way with things, so it was worth a try.

The beer pours as an amber beer with good clarity. The smell was almost pure IPA, with nice floral notes and some grain, but the apricots were just barely noticeable. Very nice. The taste is a lot more fruity than I was expecting, and there is a pleasing apricot note there, but, like the smell, the apricot seems to be applied with a moderate hand, and doesn't overwhelm the flavor of the beer, and the hops and grain are still very strong. Mouthfeel is a bit dry, moreso than I'd like in a sweet beer, but still very good. The result is a very pleasant drinking beer, along the lines of the other apricot beer I regularly get exposed to (Magic Hat #9), but, honestly, much better executed. Alas, like #9, I wouldn't call this a session beer---after one beer I'm ready to try something else.

Serving type: on-tap

07-21-2005 17:56:24 | More by kaszeta

packetknife

Idaho

3.73/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is a _seven_ ABV? No way... not close to feeling like that.

Orange-yellow-bronzed, near crystalline, frothy white head that 1/2-faded but laced well. Fruity smell but not what I'd call apricot, more like orange zest and bread, quite nice though. Very little bitterness on the tongue with a light apricot and mellon taste to it. Finish was a bit hoppy and pleasant. Very light feeling drink with regard to the taste but solid feel on the tongue. Very drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

07-11-2005 15:46:06 | More by packetknife

UncleFlip

Alabama

4.28/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Nice colour in my sampling cup...sort of a darkish gold with hints of orange. Not sure I'd go so far as to say copper, though. (On a larger glass, maybe it would appear that dark.)

The smell hit me with orange, pineapple, and of course, apricot.

The flavour was a bit spciy, with a hit of hops right up front. That gave way to a nice maltiness with the apricot flavour most apparent at the finish.

Body was medium- right about where it should have been.

Very nice, this one. However, the apricot seems oddly missing unless you're sniffing this one all night. :)

Be well
-UF

Serving type: on-tap

06-23-2005 02:17:06 | More by UncleFlip

Dithyramb

Maryland

4.2/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Max's, poured as a slightly large taster into a small white wine glass.
Poured the color of apricots with a light white head. Didn't get much head on the pour, so I couldn't discern much about the retention, but it did have some excellent lacing throughout.
Aroma was faint, but there was a definite tartness from the apricots mixing with citrus hops.

Mmm, you have tart apricot, caramel malt and a smattering of citrusy and slightly bitter hops in a wonderful complex mix of drink here. Body was light to medium and finished with a clean mix of flavors.

Drinkable, definitely. You have a delicate blended IPA on your hands here that would go excellently with fish, or served to some non beer geek ladies who usually go for Chardonney.

Serving type: on-tap

05-18-2005 14:01:33 | More by Dithyramb

Jacobob10

New Jersey

3.65/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap @ Anam Cara in Brookline, MA.

Light orange color with a nice, fairly-carbonated head. The smell is rather subtle. Slight fruity aroma and slightly hoppy, but not a whole lot going on. The taste was more of the same. It is well-balanced, but I was expecting more fruit and more hops. Easy drinking and easy on the palate. I think the fact that I had this on-tap may have dulled it down a bit. I'd love to try it out of a bottle someday.

Serving type: on-tap

04-25-2005 22:46:33 | More by Jacobob10

AlexJ

North Carolina

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

On draft at Delaneys (New haven, CT), leftover from a DFH dinner. Pours hazy straw yellow with dense white head. Magnificent juicy apricot aromas mingled with soft malts, and a distinctly clean floral/pine hop note. Tastes MUCH better than its bottled counterpart. Fuzzy apricot, bready malt, and a crisp, piney, well-hopped finish. Perfect mouthfeel, too easy to drink. Someone said it reminded them of Magic Hat#9. I bitchslapped him back into the corner where he belonged!!!

Serving type: on-tap

12-18-2004 21:25:05 | More by AlexJ

meathookjones

Virginia

3.83/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Had this on tap at Dr. Dremo's on dogfish head appreciation night. This one pours a nice golden orange color with a slightly off white head. The head disappeared rather quickly leaving a great looking lacing about the glass. Smells are dominated by hops, mainly citrus and there is a slight sweet malt smell about the beer. Not an overpowering aroma but a pleasing smelling beer. Expecting a big apricot taste with hops to come from this brew, and that was half met. There was definatly a great hoppy flavor present but the apricot was a bit more subdued than expected but still added nicely to the overall flavor . With the malt present the balance definatly was there,more so than DFH's other IPAs. A full bodied brew that goes down easy, too bad its a little pricey. A nice fruity IPA that definatly deserve a try if you come across it.

Serving type: on-tap

06-05-2004 00:40:03 | More by meathookjones

ADR

Pennsylvania

3.15/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On tap, AOBF 2004...

Medium amber, slightly cloudy look. Glistening, almost greasy, head -- sticks in big circles on a festival glass. Hops give a citrus tang to a fruity aroma. Confusing flavor in many ways -- without a lot of malt or a heavier mouthfeel to anchor the beer in a fixed place, it strays into astringency and then seems more about apple peel and grape skins. To me, this wasn't a bad beer but it was overly thin and without a backbone other than wandering bitters. Just didn't strike me as a very well-composed experiment.

Serving type: on-tap

05-11-2004 16:05:32 | More by ADR

StrangerBrew

Pennsylvania

4.6/5  rDev +19.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I had the privelage of having this beer on tap at Dogfish Head recently. When the beer first arrived it had a very nice presentation, light copper color with a wonderful head. It was great beer, a light citrisy flavor, the hops and the apricots complimented each other wonderfully. Nice fruity aroma, very refreshing aftertaste and left you wanting more. It makes me almost want to drive 4 hours to have a few more on tap.

Serving type: on-tap

04-26-2004 21:43:43 | More by StrangerBrew

PSUDREW

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

The best way I can decribe this is magic hat # 9, but jack up some. Which is very very nice. I mean some people might take that the right way, but i truely mean that as a compliment

It pours a nice medium golden color, with frothy white head. Smells light, sweet, fruity, and hints of spice mixed in.

Over all it is a rather flavorful, yet "light" beer. You could drink this all day and night. Nice clean mouthfeel as well.

Tastes sweet at 1st hit. Nice malty flavor mixes nicely with the apricot flavor on the way down. It is still an IPA, through and through, however. I mean you cannot mistake the typical hop charecters and what not usually present, however, you just tend to notiuce the malt/fruit mix 1st. It blends together rather well, and is very enjoyable. good job

Serving type: on-tap

04-20-2004 01:53:49 | More by PSUDREW