I’m a sucker for anything having to do with dogs, so the black lab on the label of the Dogzilla Black IPA immediately caught my eye. Dogzilla is a 6.9% ABV Black IPA from Laughing Dog Brewing. Black IPAs are truly a best of both worlds beer for me, they bring the hops of an IPA and the malt backbone of a good dark beer. The bottle describes the Dogzilla as being a “true Northwest IPA with a dark malt twist,” so it should provide the flavors I’m expecting.
When poured, the Dogzilla has a very dark brown colored body, like a dark mahogany. There is a fairly substantial head that caught me by surprise, about two and a half fingers along with good spotty lacing. It’s a very active and attractive beer. The aromas seem more hop centric, with a lot of citrus and pine. There is some dark malt present but certainly not as much as I was expecting.
The taste is a bit all over the place. Upfront there is a little presence of the malt, with the hop flavors taking over. Pineapple, citrus and some floral notes come through mid-palate. Then the malt comes in with some roasted malt, chocolate and smoke notes. The finish is bitter and a little astringent, as well as having a pretty thin mouth feel. Unfortunately it doesn’t compliment the flavor profile that much.
There are some good flavor elements here but they need to be better composed. The malt needs to be a constant in the background, not up and down. The finish also needs to be a bit cleaner. I wouldn’t turn down this beer if it was offered to me but as far as Black IPA’s go, there are certainly better options available.
Rating
out of 100
