Poured deep black color with a brown head that left excellant lacing. Smell is incredible, piney hops come right through, paired with some roastiness and cocoa. I wouldn’t normally expect so much hoppyness in a dry stout, but it paired wonderfully. Taste of coffee and cocoa paired with a wonderful piney hoppyness. Mouthfeel had medium carbonation and medium body, very dry finish. I love this, and even with the steep price tag, I will and did pick up more. Definitely worth trying. This review is from multiple bottles from 2005. This past years version did not seem to be as good.

Deep dark blackness like an overused metaphor involving a troubled soul. Opaqueness breaks only at the very bottom of the glass, only when held against a lamp. Sorry--I got tough standards when it comes to stout pours. No five for you! The scent, however, is stout dry stout perfection. HOPS. Roasted malt. Dear god this is bittersweet tastiness all perfectly cooked and melted down. Taste transfers over. Yummy yum yum. Big warm hops welcome you in, very dry, backed up by almost-as-strong dry, roasted bitter stout malts. These give way to a very smoky middle, but it’s a unique smoke. Not meaty or chessy. It tastes like stout grains being smoked. Wonderful. All this ends on an inexplicably sweet malt finish. This is one of my very favorite beers. Grab this if you can find it. It makes life worth living.

For my 500th rating I celebrated by journeying to Dayton to visit Belmont Party supply. I had to go there to secure a special brew to commemorate the landmark rating: Three Floyds Black Sun Stout. To be perfectly honest, I originally wanted to rate the Dark Lord for my 500th, but since they didn’t have it, the Black Sun would have to be substituted. I guess I’ll have to reserve the Dark Lord for rating 666. I’m proud to say that not only did I leave the store with the Black Sun, but I liberated an additional 85 bottles, and a growler to be sampled at a later time. OK back to the Black Sun. As usual from this master brewer, the spicy nose is heavy on grapefruit; just the way I like it. In addition, notes of flowers and brown sugar abound. Usually when rating, we speak of a brews complexity as it relates to taste. This brew might have the most complex nose I’ve encountered to date. The brew pours black. The sweet casual cascade meanders slowly into a fluffy rocky brown head that leaves hunks of lace on my glass. The retention is fair. Espresso, lots and lots of espresso. The brew has a roasted, acidic and mighty mighty bitter taste with tons of character - then again, what else would you expect from the Floyds Three? The finish is perfect bittersweet, perfect. Espresso and beer, the best of both worlds. The thick, chewy and soft palate is like music to my mouth. What a rewarding experience.

Beautiful dark stout. It has a smooth, silky palate and light astringent aftertaste. I can't get enough of it when it's on tap.

Beautiful inly black with dark tan head to top it off. Nose was like coffee and chocolate. Nice sweet roasty flavor with very slight bitterness on the finish, almost perfect.