A PSA for all the beer drinkers thinking Magic Hat has the market cornered on apricot-flavored beers with their ever-popular #9: Dogfish Head's current seasonal is Aprihop and it's a better beer than #9.
Magic Hat is a solid American brewery (we reviewed their current seasonal two weeks ago) and #9 is a fine beer, but it's lacking in guts. Like many beers that become overwhelmingly popular, its flavors don't pop quite like we want them to. Aprihop's do.
Dogfish Head does IPAs well, so it should come as no surprise that their apricot-flavored IPA—Aprihop—is a success. The apricot balances the sharpness of the hops without sweetening the drink too much. The seasoned IPA drinker knows that some IPAs are sweeter than others, and even with the fruit flavor, Aprihop doesn't come close to that teeth-rot feeling that's best avoided.
Poured, the beer is darker than most fruit beers, a testament to the amount of hops in the brew. Aprihop has a solid 7% ABV, placing at a good 2% over #9. Aprihop works harder for you. That's nothing to complain about. Really, there's not a damn thing to complain about here. If you dig apricots and hops equally, Dogfish Head's combination of the two won't let you down.
Aprihop
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Available till May
