ApriHop - Dogfish Head Brewery

irishmoss

Ohio

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

This pours out with a clear amber body with a big fluffy one and a half finger head that dissipates to very nice all-covering blanket of foam. Nice sporadic spots and steaks of lace down the edges of the glass. The aroma is sweet with a somewhat earthy undertone, perhaps clay. Also a little grassy and faint hint of cloche. The taste has a slight bitterness from the Warrior hops and a great hops presence that makes this ale. The sweetness from the apricot there, but in the background, which in my opinion is a good thing. It also has a peculiar woodiness to it, almost like it was aged in wood, but it's not. This ends very dry on the tongue, bitter, and a little oily. Great IPA, very fresh and very crisp...

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2004 04:58:12 | More by irishmoss

chugamugofsud

Oregon

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

I ponied up and got a four pack of the Apri-Hop figuring that it would just make me mad to see Dogfish Head IPA be abused by addition of apricots; however, this beer is really a well-crafted piece of work. It pours slightly lighter in color than the other dogfish head ipa's and immediately smells both of hops and of apricots. There is a small, lightly colored head at the top of each glass but the taste is what sells me on the beer (as it should). IPA hop-style beer apparently just blends perfectly with the apricot taste, this beers is very light on the tounge and is exceptionally smooth (with a strong hop flavor). The apricot taste doesn't overpower the beer and it seems that a balance is found between the two tastes. I love this and will get some more before it goes out of season to keep around for the fall harvest season.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2004 17:01:56 | More by chugamugofsud

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

kmo1030

Massachusetts

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

appearance: copper colored with a light tan head that disipates quickly.

smell: tangy apricots and sweet alcohol dominate, caramel malts and faint piney hops are present too. it smells really good i just wish a little stronger.

taste: apricots and hops are the most noticable things. caramel balances out the hops. the alcohol is far more noticable than it seems like it should be, but this doesn't really detract. apple flavors are also present in small amounts. this takes on dry cider qualities as it warms.

mouthfeel: a full medium bodied beer with a good amount of carbonation.

one gets the feeling that this is what magic hat's # 9 should be. a very good beer, but i think it may be better suited as an autumn seasonal rather than spring/summer. it's not heavy but a bit on the heavy side for the season.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2004 21:22:55 | More by kmo1030

Darkale

Virginia

2.53/5  rDev -34.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

If this site allowed such a short review, I could review ApriHop with a single sentence: I really wanted to like this beer and I really didn't.

It started off nicely enough with a very clear caramel-orange body and a clumpy, bone-colored head. Aroma was a faint mix of fruit and spice.

Taste is very fruity and sweet at first, light, and almost frothy, but then it faded quickly and left me. Serious apricot aftertaste turns slightly sour. Mouthfeel is slightly juicy and so very slick it is almost greasy.

The fruity taste does not last and leaves behind a find of flat, soda-pop sweetness. Why would anyone want to do this to an otherwise excellent IPA?

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2004 13:19:14 | More by Darkale

GreenWBush

Oregon

3.3/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

In my mind, Dogfish Head beers are much like Bell's. They are all part of a family of beers that have batting averages like big sluggers in baseball. While they hit astronomically well some of the time, on a day to day basis you find yourself watching a slump. I am also under the impression that DFH brews simply do not travel well, a major quality control issue shared by my local favorite, Bell's. ApriHop is like one of those unknown Baseball players you used to see on baseball cards and not give a shit about, but they helped the team nonetheless.

ApriHop's appearance is very much like a juiced apricot: enchantingly ruby. There was high carbonation as reflected in my glass' huge head of 1" as well as a sticky lace.

For a beer in the dynasty of 60, 90, and 120 minute IPAs, the nose on ApriHop is quite damned bland. It is a amazingly meager merger of estery hop character and major apricotiness. Its truly hard to determine where one ends and the other begins.

The taste also suffers from a blandness. The fruitiness seems more like old fruit juice or dehyrated juice than a complement and syngeristic add to the hops. The beer's nose and taste are vacuumed into a weird pear-world.

While this beer is not one I am a huge fan of, its a sturdy clutch-hitter for the home team. Like those fruit-wheat beers you loathe but secretly have a heart for, ApriHop isn't designed for beer geeks per se, but the pure ability for this beer to enchance laypersons' appreciation for beer deserves a place in any batting order.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2004 02:19:05 | More by GreenWBush

faernt

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I shared this beer with my Hungarian mother. She loves apricots. Her mother (my grandmother) made pastries filled with apricots and every time I eat them I think of them both.

This beer poured an apricot color. The lace on the side of the glass made this beautiful arching pattern. The aroma is subtle. It has a little apricot and a good amount of hops. The taste is more like a bitter IPA and the apricot is so subtle in its influence I thought it disappeared. This beer is bitter. Apricots are bitter and married with hops they put this beer almost into the "too much" category.
The mouthfeel is medium with a prickly carbonation which feels like it's injected, not naturally occuring. It's carbonated almost like a coke or pepsi. It's not that bubbly but it's noticably bubbly. I'd drink more but I'm looking for a good food to pair with it. The bitterness is nearly a distraction. This beer might taste better with a year of bottle age.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2004 20:47:39 | More by faernt

merlin48

Kentucky

3.53/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazed, bright orange body with a very minimal offwhite head that leaves sparse patchy lace on the glass.

Hops greet the nose first, with a powerful aroma of pine resin and citrus. The citrus is grapefruit, and the apricot aroma is remotely in the background.

Mouthfeel reveals prickly carbonation and a moderate hops bite.

The taste is aggressively hopped, as with other Dogfish Head IPAs, with a pine sap dominance and citrusy grapefruit just underneath. Apricots are barely picked up, regardless of the sampling temperature. Alcohol is hidden very well in this one.

I have a blossoming love affair with the occasionally rough hops used in Dogfish Head IPA's, and this ale is another fine example of their well constructed IPA's. For some reason, my bottle simply was lacking the apricot presence, in taste and aroma, that I was expecting.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2004 10:10:03 | More by merlin48

HappyHourHero

Indiana

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

Floral hop and apricot aroma. Orange hued cream colored head was thick and solid leaving a bit of scattered lace. Slightly hazy orangish amber colored beer. Body is on the light side of moderate. Smooth mouthfeel, a bit cream and bubbly, very nice. Lightly bitter IPA with a very mellow apricot flavor, a bit of light cereal malt, with a citrus punch at the end. A nice refreshing fruit beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2004 19:51:09 | More by HappyHourHero

kegerator

Maryland

3.65/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

very nice brew.
poored out a true amber color with a decent fizzy head that dwindled quite fast.
The smell scared me a bit because the first scent was that of the 60 minute(i havent reviewed it yet but will). I got a hint of the apricot but it seemed i got mostly grassy hops, not pleasing to me. then i tasted it, wow. great balance, the apricots hit with a nice sticky sweetness and it goes down with a well balanced hoppiness that I coud enjoy, the mouthfeel is a bit sticky but also a littel fizzy at the same time. I found it to be a very refreshing brew and it was just what i was looking for on the 80 degree day that I drank it on...

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2004 12:52:32 | More by kegerator

jtfest

Oregon

3.3/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A somewhat cloudy apricot/amber with a thin white head, this brew has a nicely balanced apricot/hop aroma -- just as the name implies. Unfortunately, as well as these two blend in the aroma, they don't compliment each other as nicely in the taste. It's not that its bad, its just that if I wanted the hop flavor, there are about a hundred brews I'd pick over this -- and if its apricots I'm looking for, give me a Pyramid Apricot Ale. The mouth feel was full and syrupy -- nice for a fruit beer -- but I gave it a lower drinkablity because, why have another?

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2004 02:20:50 | More by jtfest

freed

Oregon

2.73/5  rDev -29.1%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Tried this because, uh, my wife wanted to know what it was like... yeah....

Attractive labeling and cap like most Dogfish stuff, and poured like a beer should. The body is a gorgeous amber, a moderate amount of small bubbles accumulated for a head, and the body is active with carbonation - possibly due to the cleanliness of my glasses, but I give the points to the beer.

The aroma is stiff with malt, surprising from an beer selling with hops and fruit. The fruit and hops are noticeable, but not as I would expect. Lacking a style standard, it is really the beer that has to leave the impression. Which brings me to the taste.

There is too much dried apricot flavor to this beer. The maltiness is pretty good, and would make for a rich IPA, or a great ESB, but it definitely takes over any flavor that should exist with the word "hop" in the name.

As such, its somewhat syrupy, which doesn't lead to drinking much. I split the 12oz with my wife (really), and that was an appropriate serving. Despite the beauty of the pour, it didn't stack up to what I'd hoped.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2004 02:09:52 | More by freed

garthwaite

Virginia

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

I'm generally not a huge fan of beers with fruit, so I was a little apprehensive going in. The smell was just like the name - intensely fantastic piney hops & loads of apricot. OK I'll admit it, the flavor was excellent...loads of citrus & hops balanced beautifully with sweet apricot which unfortunately got a touch syrupy at times. Never had anything like this before, but would definitely drink it again (and again).

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2004 17:12:11 | More by garthwaite

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

jackndan

Illinois

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

DogFish Head Aprihop: Reddish amber color, beautiful thick and creamy head, very dense. Leaves very nice rings down the side of the glass. Mild sweet aroma, equal parts apricots and hops, nicely balanced. The taste is terrific, the apricot flavor is present, but nowhere near overwhelming, as I had feared, in fact the taste is really exceptional. Nicely hopped, nicely malt base, and the fruit flavors adding an accent, rather than providing the dominant flavor of this brew. Light mouthfeel. Easily the best fruit beer I’ve ever had.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2004 23:24:47 | More by jackndan

Elemental

Oregon

3.33/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

a deep copper/amber color with very little head and no lacing. the aroma is nice with hints of apricots and hops. The aroma also has a nice underlying malty smell. The taste is sweet with a lot of apricot flavor that takes over from the start. it does finish with a slightly bitter hop profile. the aftertaste left in the mouth has a good bitterness to it. Lots of contrast troughout the drink from sweet to bitter. Overall and ok beer to be injoyed during the summer months. Can't drink to many cause of the sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2004 06:36:34 | More by Elemental

BadBadger

New York

3.25/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A rich copper color. A small unsustained head: I poured for maximum head affect and there wasn't much there, and what was there didn't last long. Smells nice and fruity, which is to be expected. Taste was alright but not impressive: starts out sweet and ends up bitter on the tongue. Nothing spectacular here. Worth maybe picking up a single bottle. I am stuck with the remaining three bottles of the 4 pack, which I am not really looking forward to drinking. To many other fine beers out there.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2004 21:26:46 | More by BadBadger

beergeek279

Pennsylvania

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

Served in the 12 oz. bottle, into a pint glass. The color was copper, with a bubbly white head. The smell was dominated by the apricots, with just a bit of the hops. The taste started off with the apricot sweetness and then the nice 60 Min-ish hops took over in the taste. Mouthfeel was average. As for drinkability, this wasn't bad, but may have been a bit muddled for sustained drinkability.

Well, I've always been a fan of DFH and their mad genius, and this is an example. Though I couldn't drink this one all day, for one beer or two this was an interesting experiment, to mix fruit beer and IPA, and I'm sure I'll have this one again.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2004 03:19:16 | More by beergeek279

erica

California

4.83/5  rDev +25.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I loved it! DFH never ceases to amaze, do they? To start off, it is a golden amber colour, clear with a white fluffy head. Smells maybe a bit apricoty, a bit citrusy, I guess from the hops, but mostly malty actually. I had a few bottles of it and I still am not getting the apricots, and there's not any extreme hoppiness that would warrant a name with HOP in it. Besides all that though, I truly enjoyed this beer and if I could I'd make it my 'regular.' Mouthfeel is very smooth and just the right thickness. Not very thick but I couldn't call it thin. Basically it's not extreme in any way,. but it is so well blended that I think I'll be buying bottles for as long as supplies last!

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2004 20:47:43 | More by erica

longpondbeerman

Maine

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

OK, I'm not usually one for fruit beers, even though I live in blueberry territory in Maine every summer, but I had to try this IPA tinted with real apricots (I love apricots by the way, and I'm a big fan of the Dogfish Head IPA too). It poured a rich, bubbly, and very clear amber with a soft, sparkling tan head. I must say, the apricot aroma is evident, but nicely understated, as are the white pine esters, and together they seem to be a good match for the hops, at least in the smell. The taste, alas, is not quite as satisfying. The start is dull--a bit grassy, but neither the hops nor the apricots seem very full-bodied. There's a nice bready moment in the middle, but the finish is weak as well--not quite enough hoppy bitterness for my taste. But, the fruitiness is good--not cloying or intrusive.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2004 22:06:06 | More by longpondbeerman

tavernjef

Minnesota

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

Hmm...clearish orangey apricot color, how fitting, just under a finger high head of dirty cream colored foam, some thinnly etched strings of lace stick. Smell has a nice herbal/grassy hop with a solid toasted malt backing, some detectable notes of fresh apricots and slight pine lay underneath, very fresh smelling with a raw grassy hop edge. Taste has a toasty frontage blending quickly with herbal grassy fresh hops that has a mild bite ending with a mix of pine wood, citrus fruits and just a peppering of the apricot can be detected nearer the finish where it tappers off with a toasty malt flake and bake twinge and a grab of hop bittering thats favorabley mild. Feel is about medium, nice and crisp with a light drying quality with just the right amount of bite and balance making for a good drinking IPA fruity treat. Its not as Aprihopped as I hoped it would be but its quite good non-the-less. Borderline sessionable with the 6.6% - drinkable all the same. I could easily put a few of these away and be a happy camper. Thanks to drweizen for the bottles!

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2004 02:05:18 | More by tavernjef

francisweizen

Australia

4.03/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Another good one from DFH. A dark golden/orange brew with a tight head of white foam. Aromas are apricot essence, metallic/herbal hops, citrus notes, and some pine. The taste is hoppy up front with a big fruity blast in the middle and a nice piney/herbal finish that lasts, giving you fruity hop burps. The mouthfeel is a bit on the thin side, but that is good for a summer refresher like this, and the drinkability is damn good as well....nice stuff

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2004 22:17:41 | More by francisweizen

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

TinusTime

Virginia

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

Pours a deep golden with hints of orange.. Gee kinda like the colour of an apricot. Nice fluffy white head. It is a pretty beer in the glass. Smell is crisp with just a hint of fruitiness. Taste is quite yummy. A bit of malt up front with just a hint of the Apricots, followed by a nice but balanced hoppiness that dries out the brew and keeps the fruitness in check.. The mouthfeel is very nice as well.. Well carbonated and silky smooth.. Drinkability is high.. Not to high in ABV, one could sit and drink quite a few of these i do believe.. A very good offering from DFH,, They can certainly do IPA's well

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2004 16:41:31 | More by TinusTime

SheepNutz

Kentucky

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

12oz. bottle poured into a tulip-style glass. It pours a seep reddish-copper color with 2 fingers of head. There is good lacing left on the glass. The smell is very hoppy, just the slightest hint of apricot. Some fruity aromas come through as well. The taste is malty and fruity at first, some of the apricot making itself noticed. The finish is hoppy and dry, very nice. The mouthfeel is thick and heavy for an IPA, yet smooth. The drinkability is very nice too. A sweet and hoppy treat.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2004 02:58:56 | More by SheepNutz