Laughing Dog Rocket Dog Rye IPA - Laughing Dog Brewing

UnderPressure

South Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +22.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Orange-yellow color. (Around 8 SRM) Fluffy white head. Relatively clear. Lacing is great (if you care about that sort of thing.)

Excellent hop aroma. I'm thinking maybe... Simcoe? (As the beer warms I definately smell Cascade.)

Awesome hop flavor. Somewhat subtle, sweet, maltiness while exhaling through the nose. The malt profile is more "rounded" and interesting than your everyday IPA. But, hops are the primary flavor here. Must be what people describe as "floral." Bitterness coats the tongue, and sticks around.

This beer has a pretty thick mouthfeel, and it fizzes as it enters your mouth. (Relative to temperature, I'm assuming.) The fizz lingers for a few seconds after you swallow.

I love this beer. After drinking it only twice, it's one of my favorites. The rye malt adds a little extra to a great IPA. But, also stays true to the style.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2011 23:02:03 | More by UnderPressure

Immortale25

Florida

3.23/5  rDev -12%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Poured into a Dogfish Spiegelau glass. Label says Bottled 1/28/13

A- Pours a light amber color with a towering four inch off-white head that's probably due to the bottle conditioning. The head eventually subsides and is fluffy and bumpy on its way down. Sudsy clumps of lacing stick to the glass.

S- Uh-oh. Nevermind the bottle conditioning; this beer's infected for sure. All I smell is green olive from what seems to be a Brettanomyces yeast infection. No hops, no rye. Luckily, I like Brett.

T- Taste is much of the same but with a bit of hop bitterness. It's not unpleasant, it's actually kind of enjoyable but definitely not the way a Rye IPA is supposed to taste like since there's zero rye malt detected or any kind of malt for that matter.

M- A bit dry and bitey from the hops. Medium-high carbonation and a lightish body.

O- I wonder if this is a common occurrence for this beer since, a year and a half ago, I actually had a bottle literally explode on me and I never got a chance to try it. Now, once I finally decided to revisit it, I realize why the previous bottle exploded. Buyer beware.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2013 00:26:49 | More by Immortale25

andholio

West Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

06-12-2013 23:01:56 | More by andholio

hoptualBrew

Florida

2.99/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Hazy, golden in appearance with a tight bubbled white head. Pour reveals over-carbonation. Big four finger head that takes a few minutes to die down. Murky, not clear and was expecting more color to this one.

Lemongrass, earthy spice, mild citrus hop profile in the aroma. Smells a bit yeasty though, phenolic. Tart, green, citrus, and a touch floral.

Palate follows the aroma pretty well. Citrus and earthy spice up front lend way to a building lemongrass flavor that builds and meets a mild pine character and drying bitterness in the finish.

Over-carbonated. Dry finish, medium body. Not worth revisiting.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2013 02:40:41 | More by hoptualBrew

Hopheadjeffery

Illinois

4/5  rDev +9%

06-09-2013 22:52:40 | More by Hopheadjeffery

Oakenator

Pennsylvania

4.39/5  rDev +19.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours a yellow orange color with a ton of head - difficult to fit in a glass initially. Chunky lacing from the ample head.

S: Rye, lemon, citrus.

T: Rye present up front then leads to citrus with a very nice bitter taste toward the end. Bready.

M: Medium bodied. Head is thick on tongue.

O: Really nice brew.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2013 21:29:25 | More by Oakenator

TheBeerAlmanac

Kentucky

4.25/5  rDev +15.8%

06-08-2013 15:26:00 | More by TheBeerAlmanac

leaddog

Alberta (Canada)

4.06/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance - Pours a warm amber with two fingers of fluffy white head.

Smell - Tropical fruits, piney hops, little bit of caramel, rye malts.

Taste - Piney hops, tropical and citrus fruits, little bit of the rye malts. Moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

Overall - Hop presence is definitely spot on for this Rye IPA. Personally would prefer a bit more flavour from the rye malts, but otherwise very well crafted Rye PA with good bitterness.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2013 03:45:17 | More by leaddog

JohnK17

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%

06-05-2013 15:37:18 | More by JohnK17

craftbeerasian

Florida

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

05-30-2013 17:21:01 | More by craftbeerasian

SBXLII

New York

2.05/5  rDev -44.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Always like a Rye IPA but this definitely missed the mark. Like one previous reviewer, the yeast overpowers any hint of rye, or hop for that matter. The head is out of control. If anything, I'd let it go flat before I drank it again. Disappointment all around.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2013 18:28:55 | More by SBXLII

sd123

California

4/5  rDev +9%

05-26-2013 01:05:29 | More by sd123

tadmuchowski

District of Columbia

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

05-25-2013 22:11:56 | More by tadmuchowski

SaxmanRick

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%

05-25-2013 15:52:59 | More by SaxmanRick

grubefresh

Arizona

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

05-18-2013 17:58:34 | More by grubefresh

bigunit

Georgia

1.5/5  rDev -59.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Took a gamble on this one when I saw it at the local shop....and the gamble didn't pay off. Not a great nose to begin with, and the flavor is not appetizing to say the least. I've tried quite a few Rye IPAs this year, and this one is hands down the worst of the bunch. It has some similar characteristics of a belgian IPA (I'm guessing a belgian yeast is used) so if that's your thing, perhaps you'll like it. Unfortunately, the bottle only advertises the hop and malt bill. Sorry, but can't recommend this one.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2013 01:29:34 | More by bigunit

dokupe

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

04-19-2013 19:27:11 | More by dokupe

drinkAK

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +15.8%

04-18-2013 22:12:58 | More by drinkAK

CharDoza

Maryland

5/5  rDev +36.2%

04-10-2013 19:56:35 | More by CharDoza

LJC3

California

4.25/5  rDev +15.8%

04-01-2013 21:42:21 | More by LJC3

acjones

Japan

4/5  rDev +9%

03-25-2013 03:24:06 | More by acjones

2dogbrew

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

03-21-2013 21:58:10 | More by 2dogbrew

estlinska

Arkansas

2.64/5  rDev -28.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Served from a bomber from Springhill Wines into a standard shaker (best by date of 5/12/13) on 3/20/13. First of all the beer foamed over like a coke bottle full of mentos, so maybe this is not a good batch. I said this about their Sneaky Pete offering as well, so maybe it's just a matter of poor bottling; I dunno. Anyway, after the foam subsided, the beer poured a fairly nice cloudy orange with a generous amount of haze. The head was cloudy and rocky white with good lacing overall. The nose, however, was very underwhelming. For an IPA, the nose was very quiet. There were some citrus notes of hops around, but it was almost belgian smelling. It was hard to place. There was also some rye spice to the nose, but the off-belgian smell was just flat in your nose like overfermented fruit juice. The taste was still a lot like a fermented fruit and very belgian-like. The hops were more present with some good bittering overall, but the flavor just didn't sit great. The rye spice was even more evident, which I think gave it the only endearing quality of the beer. Mouthfeel had good smooth body and good carbonation. Maybe I am just 2/2 unlucky with Laughing Dog, but I can't say that I'll be rushing to try more of their beers any time soon. I'll eventually try it again, just to see if I got bad batches, but I am just not impressed.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2013 01:41:32 | More by estlinska

OwenFromChipTown

Wisconsin

1.1/5  rDev -70%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Rocket Dog is by far the worst beer I have ever had.

Laughing Dog should be ashamed of them-selves for putting this product on the market. It is absolutely disgusting and disrespectful to consumers who are unfortunate enough to be dooped into trying it.

Rocket Dog SMELLS LIKE SOMEONE TOOK A DUMP IN A URINAL. I wish that was an over exaggeration, but it is not. It tasted just as fool as it smelled. In fact, I still question if what I tried was actually beer or if some disgruntled brewery worker filtered urine threw feces and put it in a bomber.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2013 18:02:18 | More by OwenFromChipTown

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.06/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

Laughing Dog "ROCKETDOG RYE I.P.A."
22 oz. bottle, no apparent freshness dating

Rocket Dog pours a hazy golden body with an orange cast beneath a creamy head of bright white foam. The head retention is better than average, and it initially leaves short "mountains" of lace that rise from the surface and then stick along the inside of the glass.

The aroma displays rye malt spiciness, but surprisingly little hop given its India pale ale designation. It's lightly bready with a light waft of citrus-resin hops, and it's clean. It's welcoming, but not exactly exciting. Let's step inside...

The flavor displays more hop character then the aroma suggests, but it's just one component in a fairly rounded mix. The rye characteristic is pleasant in that it's not overdone, and there's just enough to give it some delicate spiciness and let you know that it's a rye beer. The bitterness is somewhat restrained as well, given the massive amounts of IBU's that brewers tend to be throwing around these days, and I'll applaud them for that. This beer is about balance, with an emphasis on the rye malt, and I guess that explains the more laid back use of hops. It comes through to me mainly as Cascade, although the label states that it also includes Simcoe and Columbus. I find some of the fruitiness of the Simcoe upfront, but not so much that it couldn't have just been from yeasty fruitiness instead. And I also find some piney character that's reminiscent of Columbus hops in the finish, but the overall impression I get from start to finish is of mildly fruity, citrusy (pineapple, grapefruit, pith), and lightly grassy hop combination. It finishes dry across the board, initially leaving more malt and delicate spiciness behind, and then progressively showing its citrusy hop character as you edge forward and the alpha acids build on your palate. There's alcohol present as well, but it's well-cloaked other than to lend the necessary spritz of sharpness required of a slightly stronger and somewhat more malty beer.

Overall, what seems at first whiff (no dog pun intended) as a fairly simple and straight-forward beer actually reveals itself to be fairly complex; all the while holding back from hitting you over the head with malt, hops and bitterness, and thus retaining a great deal of drinkability. I appreciate that they've kept on course for a true I.P.A. (more English in nature than American, and with a light twist of rye), displaying golden malts, a more than respectable 6.9% abv, and a reasonable 62 IBU's - rather than throwing in some darker malts, loading it with hop flavor, and jacking the bitterness to beyond 70 IBU's or more. Nicely done!

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2013 22:52:29 | More by NeroFiddled