Laughing Dog's DogZilla

     Laughing Dog, founded in 2005, is small brewery from Ponderay/Sand Point, Idaho that focuses on producing some seriously hoppy stuff.  They have a handful of IPAs and even their other styles are generously well-hopped.  I fell in love with the brewery at the Oregon Brewers Fest in the summer of 2010 and spent much time at their booth at GABF that following September.  It was this beer in particular, DogZilla, that got me hooked on the name Laughing Dog.
     At first glance, you would probably say this beer is black, but upon a closer (and a more lighted) look, it's definitely about as dark as a shade of brown can go.  It also has a very pretty orangeish-red hue.  It has a very light brown head whose retention wasn't anything worth noting.  Laughing Dog makes quite a bit of hazy beers, and while this one was quite difficult to get a good look through, it seems fairly clear.  Lacing was solid.
     The aroma is absolutely dominated by pine.  To me it's about the same effect as taking several pine needles and sticking them up your nose.  There's still some citrus and floral notes to the hops, but you do have to look for them.  You can pick up some roasty malt notes as well, but again it defenitely takes the backseat to the pine.
     The taste to this has a great buildup of flavors.  Initially, there is a bit of roasted malt which has a slight resemblance to coffee.  I wouldn't call it weak so much as I would pleasant.  The sweetness here is incredibly mild but just enough that you wouldn't call it dry.  From here, it gets a bit more heavy and starts to introduce to some strong chocolate character.  After that, it is dominated by a very pungent bitterness and those piney hops.  There is also a mellow spiciness to the hop profile as well.  All of this comes with a very smooth, almost silky, body.   
     Laughing Dog sells in about a dozen states now, and I always recommend it to everybody.  I've yet to be disappointed by anything I've purchased from them, and a goal of mine is to check their brewery out eventually (though I have no idea when I'll be in Northern Idaho next).  Black IPAs seem to be getting more and more popular within just the past year, but this definitely stands as my favorite in the style thus far.