Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

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

A few ounces of a 2008 bottle while at a friend’s wedding. Zero head when the groom poured. It’s not as thick as molasses but is as close as I’ve seen a beer get. Strong scent of alcohol and chocolate. For such a strong ABV, this was surprisingly smooth. Nutty and very rich and complex flavor worthy of the hype.

bomber from a trade with cletus. shared with the KW crew. pours thick black with almost no head but great legs. aromas of dark fruit, roast malt, chocolate. huge mouth filling flavour. ive never tasted a beer this huge before. its really complex and totally different then any other stout ive tried. the fruity aspect combine so well with the chocolate and caramel toffee elements. its mind bogglingly good but not my favourite imperial stout. that said it is the biggest!!

650mL bomber at our KW group tasting thanks to Matt! 2008 vintage with black wax. We busted this one out early in the tasting so we would be able to enjoy it more. I got the dregs of the bottle with all the sludge, I like sludge, but this was kind of ridiculous sludge. The most viscous opaque brown I’ve ever seen, with legs and it smells oddly of beef jerky? Interesting. More chocolate and toffee than anything else other than this weird beef jerky aspect I seem to get. Smells nice though. The flavour is just insane, instantly hitting all corners of the mouth. Coffee, toffee, extremely full mouth-feel, very impressive! Same meaty aspect I mentioned. Yeasty too. Wow. I’m glad I wasn’t underwhelmed by this one! I wouldn’t call it ’drinkable’ but it goes down surprisingly well for the ABV. I’m really glad to have been able to try this so big thanks to Matt!

2006 Vintage Courtesy of OTH Tony. Pours dark brown with a slight tan head. Nose is depth galore: cinnamon, licorice, chocolate, coffee, vanilla, maple, bourbon, oak notes, toasted currants, and alcohol. Flavor is same with chocolate and bourbon throughout and vanilla dancing around looking for attention. This beer reminds me of Abyss without as many hops, or GIBCS without overpowering bourbon. Amazing and silky mouthfeel- very unique. If you look up when you open the bottle, there is a slight eclipse.

2008 bottle:
Pours black with no head. Aroma is sweet and has notes of liquorice, coffee, dark fruits and vanilla. Thick mouthfeel. Flavour is dry and roasty with notes of coffee, smoked ham and liquorice. Long bitter after taste with hints of warming alcohol. The first sips didn’t really impress me, but this beer really grows on you.

From memory: draught from DLD 2008: Well worth the wait and the travel, the consistency is about the same as heavy cream. The feel is similar to a Werther’s candy. Rich and complex. Very low heat from alcohol.

Flavourwise somewhat straightforward big brew with a bigger body and amount of flavour rather than different flavours. It’s burnt, sweet, thick with allot of molasses, dark chocolate and sirup in the flavour alongside deeply burried fruit. The finish is hot and everlasting. Great dessert beer but not complex enough to entertain me when I want to sit down and enjoy a multidimensional imperial stout. Really impressive body and appearance.

Wow. I got to try this with the gents below, last sip of the bottle. Justin, you are awesome. I even got to keep the bottle. It lives on as the only beer bottle on my fridge. I still sniff it from time to time, it still smells like chocolate and happiness. I’m beginning to plan a drive up to Indiana to get a hold of this somehow. Wow some more. Wow.