Well, this isn’t fair. There I was, all excited about my bottle of Laughing Dog Dogzilla Black IPA. Before you get the wrong idea, rest assured, the beer did not disappoint. Thing is, the opening of my review came to me so clearly and so spontaneously, that I knew just where I was going to go with it. Thinking myself clever, I planned some paraphrase of that old Blue Oyster Cult song, Godzilla.

Then I looked at the side of my Dogzilla bottle, and saw these words:

With a purposeful growl and a terrible sound he pulls the racks of kegs all down!

He picks up a bottle and he throws it back down As he wades through the kegs toward the center of town.

Oh no, they say he’s got to go Go go Dogzilla!

Drat. The fine folks at Idaho’s Laughing Dog brewery beat me to the punchline. Oh well, they did better with rewording the song than I would have.

Dogzilla Black IPA is in style what I think should be called an India Dark Ale (IDA). Laughing Dog calls it a Black IPA, though I don’t think that makes a lot of sense. How can it be black and pale at the same time? It could be an India Black Ale, or an India Dark Ale, but not a black IPA.

Dogzilla Black IPA is brewed with Munich and black malts (among others) and is hopped with Simcoes, Cascades, and Mt. hood hops. Alcohol content is 6.9%, which to me means it really is an IDA, and not a DIDA (Double India Dark Ale). I paid a very reasonable $4.99 for a 22-ounce bomber bottle.

Laughing Dog Dogzilla Black IPA pours to a dark brown to light black color with a truly towering head of rocky cauliflower foam (my bottle was a gusher) and a heady “gout d’Orval” herbal Cascade hop aroma. Dark malts are attenuated by the intense oregano-herbal hop aroma and then, in the finish, a dose of grassy bitterness. Still, a luscious chocolate pudding character shines through. The medium body makes the beer more drinkable. This really tastes like an IPA, a true test of an IDA for me, just with some tasty dark malts thrown in.

Well done, Dogzilla.  

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