Dogfish Head Aprihop

"A serious India Pale Ale brewed with real apricots"

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
12 fl. oz. bottle
Bottled: Feb. 28, 2007
Alcohol by Volume: 7 percent
Sampled: March 22, 2007

Whew (wipe the brow) ... for a minute there, I thought Dogfish Head might have brewed it with artifical apricots, imitation apricot mystery fruit or an apricot flavor created in a laboratory.

But an IPA with real apricots mixed into the brewing process?

Don't bother telling me, brother, I'm already there.

So are the apricots, but not with the bold, tartness of a lambic; this is a much mellower ale than those naturally-fermenting freaks of beer-nature.

Aprihop has a nose far less flowery yet more fruity than a mainline IPA. Rather than pursue the "hop till you drop" mentality ruining far too many microbrewed ales, the Aprihop is well-rounded, with the hops and malt complimenting each other well. Try adding some fruit instead of shooting for the IBU ceiling, hopheads!

While the apricot flavor is not immediately apparent and mostly mild, it charges out in the finish, stepping to the front of the palette but not to an obnoxious level.

Dogfish Head's experiments are a mixed 6-pack for me, some odd and excellent (Midas Touch, 120-Minute IPA), while some receive unearned praise (Raison D'etre) or qualify as absolutely wretched (Immort Ale).

With the Aprihop, they've succeeded with a refreshing spin on the IPA formula that doesn't involve heaping gratuitous amounts of hops and malt into the brewing process.

Most beer snob won't tolerate a slice of fruit anywhere near their beer, but Aprihop should open horizons for a fruit-IPA collaboration.

Rating: 8/10