A Dogfish Head Spring Seasonal: ApriHop

A few years ago I tried Dogfish Head's ApriHop, and was less than impressed. It seemed to me like just another fruit beer. Apparently DH rebuilt the recipe in 2010, to make the beer more hoppy and not as sweet. They claim it is the fruit beer for people who hate fruit beers. After watching Brewmasters this past winter, in which DH praised ApriHop like it was one of their best beers, I decided to give it another try. That show really worked on me huh?

At ~$12 per four pack, it is a pricey brew. The label says, "An India Pale Ale brewed with real apricots." It pours with a small head, and has a very strong hoppy aroma, must be pretty strongly dry-hopped.

This beer taste mostly like a very well balanced IPA, I wonder if it is derived from the 60 minute IPA? I don't get too much apricot, the bitterness of the hops mostly drowns it out. There is something subtle and fresh about it though, I could convince myself it is the apricot if I try hard enough. Overall this tastes very fresh and refreshing. It hits the mark for a late winter / early spring seasonal. As you get a little further into the beer the fruitiness of the apricot works its way into your palate quite nicely. This blows away the only other apricot-flavored beer I have tried, Magic Hat's #9. If you are looking for a nice treat to enjoy on the first day it gets nice out, I highly recommend this beer. I give it 7/10 mostly due to the price, it is a great beer but about as expensive as it gets.