Laughing Dog Dogzilla Black IPA

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

The Dan Journal #311. Tasted 10/24/09. 22oz bomber. Filtered with a dark amber brown hue. Bubbled layer of head. Aromas of tart esters and ample berry notes. Medium bodied with a good malt bill. Faint hops and mildly tangy. Citrus yeast and rather bitter. Getting better as it warms, but still decent at best.

Bottle. Pours a medium brown with a massive head. I was expecting something a lot darker. Aromas are a nice mix of tropical and citrus fruits with a little resin and some brown sugar sweetness. Flavor is pretty nice, too. A lovely little pine and citrus punch in the teeth with a little bit of earth and chocolate malts to balance it out. I’m a sucker for the style, and this is a decent one.

(bottle) dark brown/black with nice tan head. Mild citrus hops aroma. Flavor is grapefruit/floral hops with a decent malt backbone. For as dark as it is, I didn’t really notice any roastiness. Still, a good IPA.

Pours brownish amber with a white head. Aroma is roasted malt and hops. Flavor is roast malt, chocolate, and piney hops,

Draught at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Ruby/black, almost opaque, rocky head. Minty black currant and orange aroma. Mid-sweet with mdium body and well rounded mouthfeel. Hop driven, black currant domiantes, light notes of licorice underneath. Salty finish with growing bitterness.

22oz bottle from State Line Liquors. Interestingly variable ratings on this one, but apparently I got one of the enjoyable bottles. Pours actually a fairly clear brown, with a gorgeous creamy head. Soft citrus and bitter hops in the nose, with almost no detectable malts in the aroma. Body is nice and thick, with the carbonation livening things considerably. Again, I just didn’t get any black malt or roasted qualities at all (in fairness, maybe super faintly but certainly not anything that seemed to merit the stylistic designation). Still, an enjoyable IPA in its own right.

Poured dark brown with an off-white head. Aroma is toasty chocolaty malt and a lot of green, grassy, citrus hops. The hops dominated the aroma primarily for me. Flavor is a bit of toast and coffee, but mostly strong hop flavors, consisting of grass, grapefruit, and earthiness.

Pours solid black with a puffy tan head. Aroma is robust chocolate, vanilla, berry, and minimal hops. Taste is moderately bitter along with roast and cofee bean. Full body and rich carbonation.