Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: beer, Dogzilla, entertainment, film, Gareth Edwards. Godzilla 2014, Hopzilla, Mecha Hopzilla

Booze Geek – Hopzilla, Dogzilla, Mecha Hopzilla: Giant Beer All-Out Attack

By Dylan Gonzalez

When Gareth Edwards' name became attached to Legendary's Godzilla reboot, I know I was among many fans that were interested.  Some were ecstatic, others disappointed, many curious, as I was.  Edwards' breakout film, Monsters, was an interesting take on the giant monster film, an alternative to the standard formula of the genre.  Fast forward to now and Edwards' spin of the King of the Monsters has raked in millions and been generally well received.

What were my thoughts on it?  Well, as a big time Godzilla fan, I would love to share, but I felt it would be fun to examine some choice beers that bare the Godzilla name.  I debuted on here with a review for Ithaca Brewing Co.'s Cascazilla, but the -zilla surname has been tacked onto quite a number of beers.  Right now, in somewhat of a giant beer melee, I will check out three, starting with…

Dogzilla Black IPA

Laughing Dog Brewery already has a point to them by providing a spoof of Blue Oyster Cult's classic song "Godzilla".  The lyrics here follow the same structure, only altered to follow the name and include various references to brewing such as kegs and hops.

As a black IPA, Dogzilla was considerably darker than other IPAs though not pitch black.  It was more a deep red, bordering on a dark brown.  It created thin head that lasted for quite a while and gave off strong scents of malts and hops.

When I drank it, I found the hops appeared strongly at first, and then died down as the smoky malt flavor took over.  Hoppiness returned in the aftertaste of the beer.  On the palate, Dogzilla is surprisingly smooth, but the hops make it a bit potent, so it is a slow drinking beer.

Overall, this was pretty good, the malts adding a nice variety to a standard IPA flavor.

And now the second contender enters the ring, a mechanized doppelganger known only as…

Mecha Hopzilla Imperial Double IPA

Currently, NOLA Brewing is in a lawsuit over the unlicensed use of the Godzilla name and image over this beer.  I can't speak for any other brews that have used Godzilla in their titles before, but I know for a fact that Toho (the original Godzilla production company) has been very strict with its use.  We will have to see how this plays out.

But regarding the beer itself, first of all, lawsuit or not, this artwork rocks: a vibrant green cyborg spin of Godzilla's classic enemy, Mechagodzilla.  The actual beer was a cloudy, golden amber color with a medium head.  It gave off a hoppy and piney scent, with some sweet, citrus notes as well.

I won't lie when I say I was pretty overwhelmed by the hoppiness of this beer.  I suppose for an Imperial Double IPA, this should not have surprised me, but it was almost abrasive in nature.  On the palate, the carbonation made it tingly and it had a medium body.

If you are super into IPAs, then this beer is for you.  For me, personally, it was too strong and bitter for my liking.

With that, we have our final contender for this down-and-out brawl, with the appearance of…

Hopzilla Double Imperial IPA

Adorned with giant tortoise assaulting a city, Hopzilla broke in with a wonderfully citrusy and slightly piney scent.  The beer itself produced a thin head that left a long ring of lacing around my glass.  It is golden amber in color with noticeable carbonation.

When I drank it, I was half expecting the intensity of Mecha Hopzilla considering they are both Double IPAs.  However, I found that Hopzilla was more fruit forward and the hops coming in afterwards.  I was surprised by a boozy and creamy quality on the finish, something that really gave it some character.  On the palate, I found it quite pleasant to drink, despite the bitterness.

Overall, this was a great IPA, much more along my lines and the decided winner in this battle.  I think Mecha Hopzilla was knocked out first, the bitterness being its undoing despite a badass logo.  Dogzilla put up a good fight but ultimately, Hopzilla reigned supreme in this battle of the brews.

Now, regarding the actual movie Godzilla, I was decidedly mixed on it when I first left the theater.  I did indeed appreciate the uniqueness it brought to the Godzilla franchise, but at the same time, I was critical of the execution.  The great giant was shockingly not the primary focus of a film called Godzilla, the antagonistic MUTOs taking center stage.  Despite trailers indicating that Godzilla was to be a bleak and solemn throwback to the original Gojira, I was needlessly surprised by the extended chase of the MUTOs and Godzilla's eventual arrival.

However, with time, I have come to appreciate the film.  Is it perfect?  No, but I give Gareth Edwards a lot of credit for putting it on the right track.  The human cast was largely unimportant, sans Bryan Cranston, who in my honest opinion should have been the main character.  And as I stated, it needed some more Godzilla in it.  But Edwards laid down some very interesting groundwork in this film and re-imagined Godzilla in a pretty cool way.  And for a summer blockbuster, it stayed pretty on track with its story and featured an awesome finale.  Perhaps the most interesting part of Godzilla is the reactions to it.  While the original film has been interpreted for nuclear holocaust and science gone wrong, I have seen a plethora of interpretations for this, ranging from US politics to sex and gluttony.  I can't think of one Transformers movie that did that.

When Godzilla is released on DVD and Blue-Ray, you can bet I will be re-watching it with a glass of cold Hopzilla, awaiting the arrival of the real King of the Monsters.

Dylan Gonzalez happens to love beer and comic books and luckily found a place to write about both because he has no idea how to actually make money in the real world.  He lives in a cave in New Jersey. Tweet him at @BeardedPickle, follow his own beer blog at or email him at dylan.gonzalez1990@gmail.com.

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