Dogfish Head ApriHop

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

12oz from Peace Street Market, Raleigh. Hmmm, not a big fan of apricots but I am a big fan of IPAs. Ultimately, this is a case where a perfectly good base beer - not unlike 60 Minute - is spoiled by the tweaking with fruit. I’m no hater of fruit beers by any means, but this just doesn’t work, as the best characteristics of both styles just cancel each other out.

Bottle. Pours a golden orange, with a thin head. Mild aroma of apricots, malt, and some hops. The flavor is sweet apricots and malt, followed by a bitter hop finish (a bit of a stretch to call this an IPA, though), with lingering tartness. Interesting and fairly tasty, but not something that I’d want more often than once in a blue moon.

Draft: Poured an amber color with a little bit of head. The aroma was apricot and hops. The flavor was Hoppy Apricot and some sweet spice. Overall, a decent beer.

Bottle last night and today: This is underrated, it is one of the best "fruit beers" that I’ve had. It crosses the line of IPA, and desert wine and beer. Aromas of hoppy apricots, not too sweet, just right. Great head that lasts and nice sticky lacing. Flavor is apricot hoppiness. Palate is medium bodied... I think the brewery hit the mark, and made a very drinkable beer.

12 oz bottle from Binnys. Pours an extremely clear light golden orange with a finger width bubbly white head that dissipates very quickly. No clouds or haze. Smells way more fruity than hoppy. Obviously there are tons of apricots, but there are also hints of an uncomplex assortment of hops. Tastes of a sweet beginning, clearly a fruity and apricot middle, and a very partial bitter end with a lingering apricot taste. Decently hoppy, although i’m sure the fruit really takes away from the actual amount they add. I would definitely classify this as a fruit beer instead of an IPA brewed with fruit. Its sweet, light, and fruity with a hoppy undertone. Not a bad beer if you’re in the mood for it. Dogfish head continues to impress with their diversity in brewing.

Smells of spice bread and apricot fruit roll ups. Pours amber with a frothy white head. The hops are evident but not as much as I would have liked. There isn’t that much bitterness there. You can taste the apricot though.

Poured a clear amber color with a huge sparse white head. Aroma is primarily floral hops, but a hint of apricot exists. Taste is hoppy overall, but the apricots balance the bitterness well. Never had a bad beer from Dogfish Head.

Deep golden amber color with a thin off white head. Nose of hops first, apricots second. Nicely balanced. Taste is fruit and honey sweetness with a good bite of carbonation at the front. Then all hops in the back. Much less a fruit beer and much more a beer brewed with fruit. DFH does not disappoint.