Beer Rant Dogzilla

Time to start out the month right, with a wonderfully brewed northwest IPA. Yes a wonderful dark IPA, ooooo let that burn in a little IPA lovers. Black IPA's are my personal favorite of the whole genre, but before any lovers of the traditional IPA begin to shun this particular drink, this offering from Laughing Dog brewery is pretty damn good, and well worth the taste. Laughing Dog is located in a small town in Norther Idaho called Ponderay, which is next to another slightly larger town called Sandpoint. This region is remote, beautiful, and now a great place to pick up some micro-brews thanks to a couple breweries. Laughing Dog in particular has hit the ground running, and you can pick up alot of their standards at many supermarkets across every state in the northwest. This one is one of their specialty ones that pops up whenever the bottle a batch, I purchased this particular one at Top, but I've seen it at both Bottleworks and 99 Bottles. Okay onward to the flavor, does it taste like your chewing hops straight off of the vine, hell no! There is no real sting, or overwhelming flavor you normally receive when dowsing your tastebuds with an IPA. Is it hoppy? Yes, all the traditional hop flavor is there. The big difference in this beer, is the stinging, citrus flavor is strong, it doesn't bite your taste buds like alot of traditional IPAs do. Instead it is subdued in this regard, so in actuality it almost seems to taste like a purer sense of what the hop truly tastes like. This is achieved in a nice balance in this particular one by a fair amount of roasted malt. I actually do not know this for a fact, except that the flavor strongly hints toward that direction. The roasted malt flavor is what really makes this exceptional, it brings out a raw flavor of all the ingredients including the hop. Smooth is what this beer permeates heavily, it puts down all the best pick-up lines, and seduces your tastebuds into a sensually pleasing ultra-smooth flavor experience. If you happen to have a snifter glass to drink this particular one with, enjoy because there is also a wonderful roasted smell to the beer as well. On their special ales they love to add some goofy little pics, this one is a black-godzillaesque dog attacking some city, cute and campy. For all the true hoppy IPA fans out there don't fret, Laughing Dog has a huge line of all IPAs, there all damn hoppy, and every one is a hop fans wet dream. I not only recommend this beer, but also the brewery, the service, beer, and snacks are all good. Hey if your skiier/snowboarder there is no excuse, the brewery is basically at the bottom of Schweitzer Resort in north Idaho. Tip back, let your inhibitions go, and be seduced by the smooth roasted malt, and hoppiness of Dogzilla.