Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

Brewed by Three Floyds Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Munster, Indiana USA

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Pours a thick pitch black appearance with a two finger mocha head, looks amazing! Aroma of chocolate, coffee, sweet fruits and alcohol. Reminds me more of a port than a beer but it’s a good thing that I love ports. Taste follows the nose yet sweeter, I am amazed by the complexity of this beer as it warms it gets even more complex.

2011 bottle Pours opaque brown with little to no head. Aroma is nutty, malty, rich, and mollasses. Taste is exceedingly sweet for my tastes with absolutely no roasty "stout" characteristics. This is a barley wine to me. Its not black, its not roasty, its very low carb. Its a very good barleywine though.

2011 vintage a year later. This one needs a bit to warm up. Starts like vodka and molasses. After a big it tastes like a very good malty barleywine.

2007(!) bottle @ Mikkeller Bar during CBC week, split with a generous group from Switzerland. The pour’s thick, deep brown in color with virtually no head. The nose is hot oatmeal raisin cookies and after-tea liqueur. Notes of deep chocolate, burned malts and coffee rind. This smell’s quite spicy and hot for a 5 year-old beer. The taste is burned brown sugar and heavy milk chocolate syrup, port wine and blackberry jam. Big, sugary notes of oatmeal cereal and dark chocolate. Vinous and smoky, too. The texture is very oily, the body’s quite thick and oaky. This is a very viscous beer. Overall, the 2007 vintage is still drinking actively and a bit hot. I see now why people don’t typically recommend drinking young bottles. This beer has such a huge profile that it’s hard not to feel a bit let down. It’s not a bad imperial stout by any means, it’s pretty nice indeed. It just felt a bit flabby and ungainly at times.

Bottle, 2007, silver wax. Pours pitch black with almost no head. Smells of peat, vanilla, caramel, malt. Tastes extremely sweet, medium-light bitter. Full thick viscous body, no carbonation, syrupy texture. Quite amazing.

Poured a dark black color aromas of coffee, chocolate, roasted malt, and booze. Flavors of sweet chocolate, coffee, dark fruits, some oak and a hint of vanilla. Medium body feel, real nice beer overall, glad I go to try this one.

2012 vintage poured into a Duvel tulip at 46 degrees. Pours a midnight oil black. 2 inch beige head quickly shrinks to nothing. Lacing is minimal. Aroma is dark fruit, plum, raisin, molasses, mild pine, maple syrup, toffee, and caramal. Taste is very sweet. Candi sugar, dates, raisins, molasses, toasted malts, raw earth in the back of your mouth, dark baking syrup, faint grass, and roasted barley. Mouthfeel is thick and syrupy. There is hardly any evidence of alcohol, which is amazing for a 15%abv. Awesome beer. So complex and amazing. I cannot wait till i try this over the next few years in my cellar.

2012 Bottle purchased at the source on Dark Lord Day. Pours absolute motor oil black black black. About half of a finger of khaki head, and some small drips and dots of of residual sugar lacing. Smells of so much sweet sugar, dark fruits like raisins and maybe some figs. There’s coffee malts in there as well, vanilla bean too, a wine scent as well. Caramel, toffee and booze. Tastes incredibly sweet, it’s like eating a chocolate cake that’s been soaked in rum or whiskey. Obviously chocolate, coffee, booze, toffee and caramel. There’s an oil like texture on the palette. It’s smooth. Great stuff, however I would recommend that you share with others.

2011 vintage thanks to beersis. 300th review and Drinko de Mayo. Pours a lighter black (if possible) with almost no head. Smell is sweet raisins and boozy. Dark red fruit. This smells way closer to an English Barley Wine than a RIS. Almost sickeningly sweet. Taste is also very sweet and boozy. It has some roastiness and faint chocolate, but mostly the deep red fruit from the smell. Lots of alcohol heat for sure. It is very complex, I will admit that much. Very waxy mouthfeel, full bodied. Heavy, and you can tell the abv is there, but still reasonably drinkable. A sipper. Not what I was expecting, and not even close to one of my favorite RIS. First FFF I have been genuinely disappointed in. I now understand why this is described as a "sweet boozy mess".

Sample from a 2012 bottle (thanks a ton to the person that shared). Pitch black color, some light brown head. Bit of lace (slides down slowly). Very interesting nose-smell - like some sort of seasoned sea food. Big body, very light carbonation. Dry texture, slightly sticky aftertaste. Molasses aroma is the first thing I notice (maybe that’s what that fishy spice aroma was). Some coffee. Kind of a unique sweet taste. Slight, light bite (alcohol is well hidden, though). Very interesting, but overall, I can’t get past the molasses. Would be very interested to try some of the special variants, though.