Beer of the Week: Dogfish Head Aprihop

By John Linn Fri., Apr. 30 2010 at 12:01 PM

Categories: Beer of the Week

John Linn

Unrepentant beer drinkers, rejoice! Each week, Clean Plate Charlie will select one craft or import beer and give you the lowdown on it: How does it taste? What should you drink it with? Where can you find it? But mostly, it's all about the love of the brew. If you have a beer you'd like featured in Beer of the Week, let us know via a comment.

Can you feel it? Spring is here and summer is approaching, and with it comes barbecue, sweltering humidity, and a host of seasonal beers to stick in your old Miller Light coozies as you flip burgers and swat flies.

Among them: Dogfish Head Aprihop, a bitter IPA sweetened up with fresh apricots. While Aprihop is technically a spring seasonal, a case or two should last you well through those warm summer months.

It starts with the base. Where many big IPAs use caramel and pale malts, Aprihop has a light, shimmery body thanks pilsner and crystal varieties. That ruddy base is sent skyward with Amarillo hops, buds known for their citrusy flavor and bold bitterness. Where most fruity beers (think Seadog and the like) are fruit forward, Aprihop has a very subtle amount of citrusy fruit flavor. As a result, I find it much more drinkable (and, eh, masculine) than say a raspberry wheat or something. Just be careful -- you drink too many of these seven percent alcohol bad boys, and that nice summer day will turn into a dog day.

Find Aprihop in nifty little green four packs at Total Wine & More.