Laughing Dog Dogzilla Black IPA

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

Bottle erupted when I opened it, could have been a little infected as we’ll see from the rating. Pours dark reddish-brown mahogany color with a huge creamy tan head that leaves bountiful lacing. Aroma is roasty, piney and herbal - a little hard to tell with my slightly cold-disabled nose. Flavor is strong with roasty malts and lots of bitterness, the bitterness that comes from dark roast and also herbal and resiny hops. Theres a bit of a tart, almost infected flavor that worries me. Light to medium body and mostly tingly carbonation.

Woo! 200th rating for this brew and the 100th IPA rating for me. Bomber. Big, straightforwardly citric PNW hop presence with some lightly sour wild notes. Coke pour still lets some light through, and a large and seemingly indomitable rocky head - hope this isn’t infected. Taste is hoppy but the bitterness is lighter than expected, or perhaps better integrated with the light tartness. Some fumy alcohol knocks this down a tick. Powdery cocoa element to both the taste and feel Aftertaste is only hoppy. A little sweeter than I’d like. Some gritty hop resin on the underside. Lightish/medium body, a tad oily. On the whole, I’d have to say that this is a disappointment; just isn’t able to keep its focus or bring out a satisfying malt experience. Wouldn’t mind if it were inoculated with bugs, though, and turned into a tasty saison, which would be a label closer to its soul.

For an IPA this beer looks awesome. 22 oz. bottle from Full Throttle Bottles. This IPA Is DARK brown, nearly black, with a whispy thin head. Nice, almost fruit malt aroma, with a subtle hop backing. Subtle, almost citrus, hop aroma. Not overly pungent, but still some nice aromas coming from this thing. Decent hop profile. Bittering hops are pretty nice. I am having a hard time determining what the hop profile is i.e. citrus, pine, or something else. Hop juice flavor followed by a lasting bittering hop flavor. Fairly smooth beer. Not much malt in the flavor.

Chalky beer. Beautiful frothy-headed pour. 22 oz bottle. Floral aroma very ipa-ish. This is a nice beer, probably not something I’d get again, but I like the style idea. Previous comment concerning lack of accord between citrus and roast is valid here, but similar to sweet and salt, i think this combination can work -- think a hoppy dry stout. It’s doable I would think, just not mastered here.

22oz Bottle: Opaque black w/ a massive biege head that slowly falls away leaving a peaked island in the center of the glass & blotches cling to the sides. Wonderful hoppy aroma (pine) w/ roasted malts equally showing themselves. Flavor is piney hops up front, fading into roasted maltiness w/ a clean citrus hop finish. Seems like an IPA; instead of a sweet malt backbone they went w/ the heavy roast. Pretty good, great aroma.

Brown color with a taller, lasting bone colored head. Citric hops join with darker malts in the aroma. I catch some barnyard funk. Not sure where that is coming from, but I really don’t like it. Sweet toasted grains and plenty of citrus in the flavors. I just don’t get the balance. I have a charred grapefruit from the grill, and I don’t really want to eat it.

Bottle:   Deep roasty brown, garnet hues and accents, moderate to large beige frothy head, nice lacing.   Subtle roasted malt, slight hop and pine.   A little earthy and roasty on the tongue.   The hop bite and pine come in after, towards the finish.   Not as roasty as say the Stone 11th.   Decent, well balanced for what it is.   Almost more earthy than roasty.   Moderate body and mouthfeel.   Finishes clean, lingering roasted malts.   Neither the IPA aspect nor the roasted malts dominate.   In fact, its like a subtle version of the Stone 11th.   Good stuff!

HUGE carbonation explosion of about 3 inches upon pouring. Medium sized bubbles and recedes very slowly. Very sugary candy aroma with some peppermint, spruce, antiseptic and some flowers. Color is a very dark brown. Harsh medicinal bitterness that reminds of rubbing alcohol with a peppermint candycane dissolved in it. Very strange and not all that pleasing. Tangy in the mouth with some chalky dryness. Some pine needles and dark roasted malts. Finishes bitter and medicinal. Not sure if this what they were going for with this brew but I am not a fan.