Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale was originally released as a Black IPA for their 11th Anniversary — a beer I never got a chance to try. Luckily for me, it is now a new yearly limited release from Stone first released this past January.

I actually passed over this one a couple of times while checking out the shelves at my local shop a couple of weeks ago. Thank the beer gods I went back to check it out before walking out the door.

Appearance

Self-Righteous pours a dark, dark brown with a large light tan head that faded to light patching. This thing looks more like a stout than an IPA.

Aroma

Hop, hop, hoppy, yet not overly so. Roasted malt and light caramels mix nicely with the piny hops for a well balanced nose.

Taste

Sweet, roasted malts make an appearance first, but are quickly overtaken by that biting hop presence that Stone likes to put in a majority of their products. There is a light cocoa character in there as well that come out more so in the dry, bitter finish. The brew is quite warming and a little boozy. Tasty.

Overall

Not having has the 11th Anniversary from Stone, the only other type of beer that I’ve had similar to this would be Troegs’ Flying Mouflan. Each is dark, sweet, quite hoppy, yet also have a rich malt and cocoa presence. I’m going to try and hunt down more of this one to put aside for a while.

Rating: 3.5/5

After enjoying Laughing Dog’s Dogzilla I was super stoked to find another black IPA on the shelves. I was curious to see how a company whose IPAs I really enjoyed tweaked their recipes to develop this black version.

Appearance

Iniquity pours a very dark brown with a small amount of head that faded rather quickly.

Aroma

And this is where things really get interesting. It seemed that every wiff was a bit different. At first, all I picked up was the initial bittersweet chocolates and light coffee notes. The next sniff would bring citrus hops and a piny character into the mix. The higher ABV (9%) is well masked.

Taste

The chocolates in the nose aren’t as apparent in the taste, but they’re still in there. The malts take on a more toasted and caramel nature with the more pronounced hop profile. This is a tasty brew that is quite warming as you make your way through the glass. The finish has the welcome hop bitterness with a light spice.

Overall

Between the two black IPAs that I’ve enjoyed, I think I prefer the Iniquity as it’s a bit more rich in terms of mouthfeel and flavor compared to the Dogzilla. Both are unique takes on an IPA, but the Southern Tier product seems to suit my likes better. The combination of the dark malt with the citrus/piny nature of the hops turned out wonderful.

Rating: 4/5

Dogzilla was one of three brews that my local shop had from the brewery, but it was the one that intrigued me the most. I’ve heard mixed opinions on the introduction of dark malts to IPAs the past few months. Some folks seem to hate the style creep, while others are all about innovation. Personally, I’m all for pushing recipes in different directions. Even the smallest of tweaks can make for one hell of a beer.

That said, I have my own mixed reaction to Dogzilla.

Appearance

Dogzilla pours a dark, rich chestnut brown with a large light tan head. It’s definitely a dark beer, only allowing a few streaks of light to pass through it around the glass’ edge.

Aroma

It’s got a pretty decent aromatic hop presence along with some spicy notes. The darker malts are definitely there, adding a rich roast to the nose.

Taste

At first, the brew wasn’t nearly as hoppy as the nose alluded to. The darker malts definitely dominated the taste imparting a nice roasted flavor that was rather bold. The hops certainly make their presence known in the dry, slightly biting finish, but they really start to come through overall as the brew warms. There’s a slight bitter finish, but I think it’s more due to the darker malts than the hops.

Overall

Dogzilla is an interesting brew. Part of me loved it while another part wasn’t sure of the introduction of the darker malt into an IPA. Now, that could either be attributed to the beer’s recipe or the fact that this was my first black IPA. I can’t really speak too strongly to the style, I suppose, until I try a similar product from another company. Either way, Laughing Dog’s beer, specifically, is a pretty good brew that improves as it warms in the glass. I’d buy this one again when the mood for something different hits.

Rating: 3/5