Tap Handle #329: Dry Dock - Apricot Blonde

This is a beautiful tap with lots of great details and bright colors. It resembles the Drake tap I profiled in entry #185, but this Dry Dock tap is on a whole other level - it's far more figural and detailed. It's also more rare.

Dry Dock Brewing Company was founded in 2005 in Aurora, Colorado by Michelle and Kevin DeLange and Kevin Kellogg. The Delanges owned The Brew Hut, a homebrew shop, and decided that their store would benefit from an attached brewery. They leased an 800 sq ft space next to their shop, and with the help of fellow homebrewer Kellogg, they opened Dry Dock Brewing Company. The tiny brewery quickly got people’s attention the next spring when Dry Dock won Gold at the 2006 World Beer Cup for its HMS Victory ESB (now Amber Ale). They have also continued to win medals at both the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival, including Small Brewing Company of the Year in 2009.

Also in 2009, Dry Dock expanded to the end unit in their strip mall, both increasing the tasting room area from 30 seats to over 80 and upgrading to a 7 barrel steam jacketed brew system. Expanding again in 2011, the tasting room increased to 180 seats. In 2013, Dry Dock opened a production facility with a 40 BBL brewhouse and canning line in a second, 30,000 sq ft facility, to produce beers for distribution throughout Colorado. They currently brew 8 year round varieties and 7 seasonals.

Apricot Blonde is a fruit beer that was once a seasonal but is now a year round brew. It is a misty golden blonde color, with titanium white lacing, a bright, crisp, ripe apricot aroma, and a mouthfeel of prickly carbonation, round fruit flavor, and honey. It won a gold medal at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival. Weighted average on ratebeer.com is 3.37 out of 5.

Dry Dock Brewing Official Website