Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

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

Dark Lord Day 2009. draught wow dark chocolate pour little to no head. Huge flavor chocolate, coffee, bitter and sweetness better than I expected. trip to 3 floyds worth it

2009 vintage. Had with Mike from Coles. pours like motor oil, dark as sin, very little head. nose is molasses and dark chocolate with some espresso. sweet flavor and booze with some definite coffee. interesting but unbalanced. might have been good to age it for a while. hope i get another some day

My pal Mike got this 09 bottle from a friend who received it as a gift while working for the brewery. This is my first taste of this one. Also I’m not sure what the story is on the labeling and dating, but the label is dated 09 and it didn’t have a wax seal. Anyway, it pours a small head with an immediate chocolate nose and big chocolate taste. This is sweet. The next flavor is cherry and chocolate and then a very nice salty note toward the end. I’m liking this a lot and it does run a great complexity of flavor that is pretty uncommon for something this sweet. There is no sense of alcohol at all other than a warmth on the finish. This is a little sweet to achieve perfection, but I’d come back any time I was invited.

2009. Solid black pour, dark brown foam that surprisingly dissappeared completely. Not really that thick appearing, not much lacing either. Aroma is strong, molasses, roast malt, dark chocolate, a little oaky like booze. Mouthfeel is one of the thickest I’ve had in a while. Not syrupy though, with enough carbonation lurking. It is sweet, but I don’t think it’s too much. Flavors does match the aroma, roast and sweet from malt, molasses, something like a chocolate ball with port in it and just hints of espresso and anise. That’s probably the one place would have like a little more of, roast and bitters. I was surprised by that considering 3F likes to hop the heck out of things. Drinkability is actually fine to me, as I don’t get any over sweetness from this. It’s actually quite good for a beer this big. I’ve heard 09 is a more drinkable batch up front without having to let it age. I pretty much agree, reminds me more of American/Double, which I prefer, even though the difference is subtle. I’m not going to give this all 5’s, but definetely lived up to expectations. After some warming I’ll change my tune a bit. The sweetness does kind of overtake this one after a bit. Reminds me of some of the Weyerbacher stouts. Of the A+ RISs, I still put Abyss a notch above.

Vintage 2009 sampled at Darkness Day. Pour is black with a small tan head. Aroma is coffee, vanilla, chocolate, caramel, dark/dried fruits. Flavor is sweet. Palate is creamy and thick. Overall its a solid beer. Is it the best Imp Stout I’ve had, definitely not but its very complex but lacks bitterness.

Lives up to the hype. 2009 btl. Motor oil black. Massively perfumed nose, like really good bitter belgian chocolate. loads of nuance. Palate is sublime, like liquid flourless chocolate cake. Vanilla, Bitter chocolate mousse, loads of toasty rich malts, like a mocha coffee. If only other brewers could figure out how to make beer like this, so we didnt have to clambor over the tiny amounts of DL out there.

Bottle from 06 thanks Firemoose. Pours a thick black like used motor oil with a nice thick tan head. Has a smell of coffee, malt, maybe cherry. Taste is similar but with some vanilla and molasses. Very complex beer in every regard.

( 22oz 2008 black wax bottle thanks to thickerfreakness) pours blacker than black with deep brown fluffy head. Coats the glass with small bubbles. Nose is vinous, brown sugar, sweet chocolate, very complex and delicious. Taste is thick milk chocolate, light warming alcohol, light toasted malts. This stuff is so thick and chocolate/creamy. Big huge thanks to Charles for sharing.