Laughing Dog Rocket Dog Rye IPA - Laughing Dog Brewing

bigunit

Georgia

1.5/5  rDev -59.2%
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

estlinska

Arkansas

2.64/5  rDev -28.3%
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 -70.1%
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 +10.3%
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

RaulMondesi

California

2.08/5  rDev -43.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

My brother must have been out of his dome when he bought this. Rocket Dog? Wtf? I'll tell you one thing, rocket dog ain't come to save a hot dog thing. Smell, taste, appearance... everything, just nasti nasti.

Raul don't like it. Raul don't like it at all.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 05:59:02 | More by RaulMondesi

bmwats

Louisiana

3.91/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 650 ml bottle into a tumbler.

A: Cloudy, light golden hue. Giant, bubbly, white head. Slow, dry, deterioration, leaving some dry residue behind as it does. Pretty ridiculous beer ring lacing also.

S: Pungent, fermented fruity, orangey, raisiny, bready tone; with some light floral components.

T: Acetyl and raisin. Very piny and pungent with a nice touch of sweetness.

M: Mouth puckeringly bitter and very dry. Pungent, lingering aftertaste.

D: The feel dictates a sipping experience.

Atmosphere is really nice. Great head, with a dry decrepit deterioration and some solid lacing. Nose is very stong, combination of pungent fruity and bready components with a lightly floral character. Very bitter, with a slight balance of sweetness. Dry finish. Overall, this is a really good quaff.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 04:36:16 | More by bmwats

chinchill

South Carolina

3.05/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22 oz bottle (thanks Duncan) with a 18 July 2012 bottling date served in a snifter.

Poured a hazy apricot color with a good sized and durable off-white head that leaves ample lacing. The aroma is fruity, which would be nice except it doesn’t mix well with the rye and hop aromatics. The mix works better in creating a rich flavor. Has a very smooth and nicely full feel but turns a bit too acidic in the finish.

O: more like a Belgian rye pale ale than expected. Quite yeasty and the mix of rye, malts and hops did not work for me.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2013 21:52:40 | More by chinchill

GiantMidget

Pennsylvania

2.98/5  rDev -19%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Bought at Total Wine in Claymont DE.

Poured into a beer mug. Easily 2-3 finger thick yellowish white head that lingered quite a while.
Very golden.
Nothing remarkable in the smell, didn't smell super fresh, just the malt/slight rye scent, maybe a very slight piney/citrus but minimal.

The taste was very bready, in fact I almost felt like I had eaten a piece of garlic bread after the first 2-3 sips. The rye spice is present but not powerful. The hops are slight and unremarkable.
Citrus, maybe grapefruit and a lemongrass flavoring present as well with the breadiness.

Mouthfeel is pretty weak, it's not unpleasant but not what I come to expect in an IPA, especially Rye.

It's not very good in my opinion, it's not terrible but I think there's a room for improvement if they remarket this. Maybe I just got an older bottle (date on it is 7/2012) and some of the normal 'charm' that this could carry have faded.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2012 02:09:48 | More by GiantMidget

fauxpunker

3.78/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bomber. A bit cloudy, gold. Lasting white head. Grapefruit aroma, but something else, too. Banana? Good, bitterness with and hop flavor. Rye spiciness not there, but something else. I hate to say musty, but I’m not sure what else to call it. Like it. Good beer. Would definitely drinking again.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2012 20:52:32 | More by fauxpunker

Fatehunter

Oregon

4.3/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Into a seidel. Big three fingers of head that never goes away. Cloudy, dark straw colored body.
Smells of pine, lemon and rye. Lots of rye.
Strong lemon bitter taste, rye with a great spiciness to it. Amazing.
Crisp texture, medium body, lots of fizz.
One of the top rye IPAs.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2012 00:59:22 | More by Fatehunter

DavidST

Texas

3.93/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22oz bottle into a pint glass, date of 5/25/12 on the side (bottled on??). This pours a slightly hazy yellow color with a massive (overly so) off white head which lasts for a while and leaves a lacing. The smells are a little sweet, some spicy rye, some floral hops. The feel is medium. The taste is good enough, a spicy amount of rye some bitter hops and a little malts.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2012 01:13:44 | More by DavidST

SaCkErZ9

Florida

4.05/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Served from a 22oz bottle into an imperial pint glass. Pours dark golden and slightly hazy with a huge, billowing, rocky and massive head. I could probably rest a bottle cap on top of this one without it sinking. The head is about three fingers in size and continue to billow upwards like the anvil cloud developing outside my house.

Aroma is slightly fruity with citrus notes as well. Kind of peppery but slightly vegetal. Perhaps a hint of some dirty diaper but nothing major.

Great flavor. Very floral with some nice spiciness. Citrus hops lend some bitterness but the real bitterness comes in the very long finish from the rye grains. A touch of corn present.

My only complaint is the mouthfeel. The carbonation was kind of low and the mouthfeel was quite thin. Perhaps the carbonation was kept low to counter the spicy rye and hop bitterness, but more carbonation would be beneficial. I really liked this one overall and is a great representation and example of a rye style beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2012 19:37:29 | More by SaCkErZ9

SolipsismalCat

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a pint glass.

A: Cloudy orange with lots of tiny bubbles and a giant, white, creamy head that lasted many minutes. Lots of foamy lacing.

S: Citrus and floral hops.

T: Moderate sweetness and solid bitterness. Rye malt with strong floral bitterness.

M: Medium bodied with fizzy carbonation. Smooth and slightly dry.

O: Not a bad IPA. The hop bitterness was a bit too harsh and floral for my taste.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2012 00:43:40 | More by SolipsismalCat

claspada

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazy deep golden color with a thick white head and impressive lacing.

Aromas begin with pale malt sweetness and some very light caramel malts. As it warms you get some sugar cookie and intense citrus and pineapple hops. More and more enmergin rye and burnt toast emerge as well.

The tastes begin with rustic rye that gives a strong pungent and earthy flavors. Spicy and deep, the rye gives a lot of complexity to the pale malt base and provides a bridge towards the spicy and bitter citric hop flavors.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium to high carbonation. Finish is dry and spicy thanks to the ample rye malt and citrus hops.

Overall this beer was a bit too pungent and resinous and spicy overall. While I love Rye I feel it may have even gone a bit overboard when you combine the ample hop bitterness that this brew possesses.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2012 16:36:01 | More by claspada

JackieTH

Minnesota

3.1/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Golden pour, slightly hazy. Rocky white foam head that persists. Some lacing clings to the glass.

Smells earthy, wet cardboard, herbal.

Taste has a flash of citric hop which is quickly buried by earthy, herbal elements which are overwhelming and not that great. Not getting a lot of spice from the rye. Finish is clean. Body is medium and holds together. Carbonation medium.

This is a mess of a rye. Not something I'd care to revisit.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2012 03:08:22 | More by JackieTH

TrappistJohnMD

Mississippi

4/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours golden color with white head that lingers pretty well.

Smells really nice with lots of rye in the nose. There is a lemon zest presence.

Tangarine and rye taste with lots of bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel is light-medium bodied.

Overall this was good.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2012 17:23:04 | More by TrappistJohnMD

maximum12

Minnesota

3.2/5  rDev -13%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Another new brewery in Minnesota, bearing one of my favorite things - rye! Always up for a new rye, especially when I know it's birthday. Bottle dated 5/4/12, so props for that. 22 oz. bomber split in two.

Pour is a faded yellow, cloudy. Smell is flat-out pretty. Lots of earthy rye, bitter citrus, grassy. Great way to kick this one off.

Rocket Dog slips on the way to from nose to taste buds. The rye is up front, but it's earthy & rather dull. The hops sing back-up with flowery bitterness, but not a lot of either. Herbal & grassy on the finish bucks the rest of the beer. Glad I'm sharing this bomber.

This turned from exciting to not in a single sip. The tastes are all on mute, & what's there seem to be fighting one another. Great nose; the rest, bland. Only the nose saves it from being precisely mediocre.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2012 01:47:09 | More by maximum12

mactrail

California

3.3/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Attractive dark honey color with a white foam. Beautiful lacing in the chalice. Splendid carbonation that both makes for attractive appearance and is creamy in the mouth. Light body.

Lemon rind more than the usual grapefruit. Very long bitter aftertaste. Herbal and somewhat earthy. Some toast and light roasted malt. I don't taste a lot of rye, but there is some grainy, perfumey flavor. It's already too bitter for the rye flavor to make much impression.

From the 22 oz bottle. Such a nicely made beer but too bad they had to overhop it so much.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2012 05:02:17 | More by mactrail

champ103

Texas

3.13/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Pours a pale orange/hone color. A one finger white head forms, but recedes in a minute. Light lace.
S: Hope resin. Syrupy pine aromas. Bready malts from the rye I assume, and burnt sugars.
T: Huge hop flavor up front. Bitter, resinous, syrupy and sticky. Pine resin, really not much else. No rye character here to help balance anything out.
M/D: A medium to full body that is low on the carbonation. Really sticky and resinous. The massive amount of hops, resin and bitterness makes this hard for me to drink.

No rye at all to balance out the huge syrupy and piny hops. Just to much for me. Not something I am coming back to.

Serving type: on-tap

07-16-2012 23:37:37 | More by champ103

morimech

Minnesota

3.58/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear golden color with just over one finger of head that had good retention before settling to a thick cap. Moderate amount of lacing is left down the glass.

Mostly hop aroma. Definately can pick out the Cascades and Simcoe hops. Just the faintest hint of pale malt and sadly, the rye is undetectable.

Plenty of hop flavor and bitterness. Hop flavor consists of citrus and pine. Barely any malt flavor and the rye is barely detectable in the finish. Clean hop flavor but did not deliver what was advertised.

Not as big of a body as I would expect for an almost 7% ABV beer. But it is superbly carbonated.

I am a bit torn over this beer and how to rate it. It does deliver some really good hop flavor, but yet it failed with the rye. And it comes in bombers at almost $7 a bottle, I probably will not be exploring many other beers from this brewery.

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2012 22:08:31 | More by morimech

DM1293

California

4.23/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Great balance here. A nice sweet citrus hop balanced with pine hops, pulls back into the rye and malt for the finish. A dry finish but not-so-much bitter. So its leaning toward being too sweet at times, but I kinda like IPA's that do that to change the pace.

Personally, I wouldn't have touched this particular beer (Rye is not something I'm familiar with as a taste), but after trying this, I'm surprised how good it was. So I'll be less opposed to trying beers that advocate rye in the future.

And as for Rocket Dog Rye, hey, I'll try it again in the future.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2012 22:08:03 | More by DM1293

vfgccp

New York

3.38/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - Clear golden wheat color. Foamy bone white head has great retention and lace.

S - Soft, sweet nose. Lots of white grape with accents of orange zest, cardamon, and white sugar.

T - Smooth profile. Light caramel malt, tart white grape, grapefruit pith, and a strong resiny pepper bitterness through the finish.

M - medium-light body. Ok carbonation.

O - Relatively light profile with Interesting white fruit and pepper notes.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2012 17:26:34 | More by vfgccp

JayQue

Virginia

3.58/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Looking forward to a Rye IPA like Reds Rye. Not the case here. Looks good. Pours a light amber / honey color with a big bubbly white head. Big patches of lacing.

Smell starts off well. Bitter piney hops and some citrus. But there is a telltale unpleasant odor here. Subtle in the smell...Not so subtle later on in the taste...The dreaded Summit hops!!!

I am either losing my taste for hoppines or there are Summit hops here. For a small percentage of the population, Summit hops add a oniony / garbagy aroma and taste to a beer. I find Gubna undrinkable because of these hops. The taste gets better as the beer warms and the rye bitterness enhances the hops bitterness but there is still an unpleasant Summit hops type flavor here.

Mouthfeel is crisp and rich. Overall, an average IPA....would be much better without the oniony aroma and taste.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2012 01:05:10 | More by JayQue

chodinheaven

Maryland

3.6/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Beautiful clarity in this light amber colored beer, yellow-orangeish even. A two finger shock white and sea-foamy head sticks around for a while on top. Lots of slow bubbles feeding it from the bottom and the head leaves patchy rings of lacing as it goes. Lots of pine and grapefruit in the nose making for a biting citrusy aroma, backed by a hearty, somewhat toasty rye aroma. This gives a nice balance of malt to hop, but there is a sharp spiciness to the smell that can only be attributed to the rye, outshining the pale malt in its toastiness.

It tastes very much like it smells, with a light lemony citrus taste upfront that is quickly forgotten with the spicy rye malt. The pale and munich malts don't quite seem to match this spicy rye flavor, making for a somewhat odd balance with the hops. These are earthy and a tad piney and resinous, but there is a lot of grapefruity citrus as well that doesn't quite fit with the earthy profile. In other words, the grapefruit clashes somewhat with the rye, but the spiciness of the rye matches well with the earthy and resiny hop profiles. To me, this makes for a confusing taste profile that affects the drinkability negatively. The flavors themselves are all very nice when taken apart individually, but when taken as a whole they don't work quite as well. That said, I'm still enjoying the beer. The body is light and refreshing, maybe just not enough to hold the rye spices in check. It has a nice prickle on the way out and finishes dry.

Not a bad beer, just not my favorite rye IPA, a style that has become one of my favorites. Needs a tad more body and malt presence other than rye. But I definitely wouldn't turn it down if offered.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2012 04:23:29 | More by chodinheaven

irongator

Kansas

3.38/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A lot of carbonation - like champagne. Smells wonderful like hoppy citrus. Opaque golden color. Slight citrus taste with malt backbone. Strange aftertaste. Would not buy again. I do not really have much more to say but the website says I need more characters so I keep talking like an unfettered woman.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2012 01:53:19 | More by irongator