Laughing Dog Dogzilla Black IPA

Brewed by Laughing Dog Brewing
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Ponderay, Idaho USA

Great stuff. I had this at the PDX Spring Beer Fest last weekend and it was the standout beer of the show. This beer ran out quite fast there, and there’s no secret why. For reference, see: Stone Eleventh Anniversary.

A top-tier IPA. Not quite black, but a nearly opaque dark amber with a solid hopped head that mostly dissipates upon a few sips. Cascade hop burst greets the nose with wonderful floral and piny hoppiness. Mellifluous. Flavor is wonderful and full of Cascades and perhaps some balanced bittering Chinook. This belongs in the pantheon of IPA’s. Perfectly crafted from start to finish. A near perfect IPA experience.

Had on draft @ the Laughing Dog brewery and in 22 oz bottle (from the 11Jul2008 bottling). Pours a porter-like dark brown/black with a nice tan head. This smells amazing. Roasted dark malt mixed with flowery, resiny, pine.. just great. Taste is perfect for this style... great malt flavor, nice burnt slight coffee bite and a huge add of resiny, piney hops. Do you like simcoe?.. this has plenty of simcoe and all that it brings. This is a great beer. You want immense hop flavor and aroma and a great dark malt backing.. this is your beer.

On tap at TND. Pours a deep brown with amber notes and a medium bubbly light tan head that laced. Aroma of fresh hops, toasted malt, chocolate, lightcaramel and pine. Flavor is all hops up front, pine resin, grapefruit, caramel, chocolate...loads of hop flavor.

In short: An intense resinous coniferous black IPA. One of the best black IPA out there.
How: Bottle 22oz. Consumed fresh one to two months after purchase
The look: Dark brown body topped by a large beige head
In long: The intensely hoppy is full of coniferous trees and hops resin with notes of black pepper and black liquorice. From the nose in a blind tasting I would not known this was a black IPA with so much resinous coniferous hops upfront. Taste is aligned with the nose. Lots of coniferous tree, lots of hops resins, lots of highly roasted malts, lots of orange peels, burnt chocolate cake, condensed citrus juice, rich dark caramel, black chocolate. A little sticky. This is not a harmonious beer, nor is it well balanced. This is a brutally hoppy/bitter dark IPA. Quality wise I think it compares to the best of the style (Rogue Brewer, Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale, etc.). Dogzilla urinates on municipal water tanks.

I love this concept. I haven’t tried this beer, but I envision some high-hopped beer with lots of chocolate/black patent malts. Let’s see: First impression, appearance: Huge, light beige head. True to title, the liquor is dark brown (not black, though). It appears clear because the light shines through without any opaqueness. Excellent lace and rocky head look as it recedes. Lots of foamy lace on the glass. Good darker malt aroma--true to my prediction. Nice toastiness without any burnt smells. So, I’m leaning toward darker crystal malts here. Graham crackers and biscuits. Imagine a cross between a good porter and an IPA. I love the originality! This could be a completely new style and it combines the interests of the hop-heads and the stout lovers. (I think it leans closer to the HH’s). This is very good and different. The body is thinner than I would like, but that’s a minor complaint. Is it a dark IPA or an over-hopped porter? Either way, you will experience something outside the comfort zone. AND it is still very good. If you have an open mind, seek this out and try something totally different from the usual fair.

Nectar. Pure nectar. Truly an IPA that utilizes both hops and dark roasted malt to achieve maximum bitterness. Aroma is dark semisweet chocolate. Flavor is charcoal-chocolate bitterness, with malty notes - showing almost woody notes. Flavor has an underlying sweetness that reminds me of bittersweet chocolate - but at the same time the grassy hops are not absent on this one. This one takes an easy #2nd against Stone XI as far as Black IPAs go. Learn it - it is a new style. Explore it. Enjoy it.