THE HOPRY SOMEBODY'S GOTTA DRINK OR IT WON'T GET DONE!

Idaho is probably not the first state that comes to mind when thinking of the new wave of craft breweries in America. In fact I knew very little about Laughing Dog Brewing before buying this bottle of Dogzilla the first time. I had seen several of their beers here and there, but always seemed to pass them over. I always kind of knew I’d come back to one eventually because I wanted to find more beers that combined lots of hops with darker malts (see Southern Tier Iniquity). What I like about Laughing Dog as a brewery, though, is their carefree outlook on brewing beer (as can be felt by perusing their fun website) and that they are also dedicated to making beers with a strong hop presence. They’ve got an ESB, two Imperial IPAs, and several others that will see my refrigerator soon. But back to the Dogzilla…the first thing I realized after taking a sip of this beer is that the hops are definitely there. What is surprising, however, is the fact that they classify this an India Pale Ale. There is nothing pale about it – in fact, it’s quite dark. This is a beer that really opens up as it warms and almost completely changes flavor profiles along the way. At the beginning I got mostly hops, but by the end I was really starting to feel a lot of Belgian qualities coming out. The easiest way I can describe it is like I do near the end of this video – Unibroue La Fin du Monde with a bunch of hops and a heavier malt backbone. Pull this one out of the fridge early and let it sit for about 20 minutes for the best experience. Idaho is in the house!!!

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This beer can be found in these states.
On the iPod: Wilco

Brewery: Laughing Dog
Beer: Dogzilla
Style: India Pale Ale
Location: Ponderay, Idaho
ABV: 6.9%
Rating: 86/100