Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

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

decaturstevo’s 2008 Zapit Tasing Tasting. Sample from a bottle thanks to decaturstevo. 2007 Vintage. Pitch black pour, thick syrupy solution with huge legs on the glass, miniscule brown head disappears immediately. Aroma is burnt, molasses, roasted coffee, charred chocolate. Drinks like blackstrap, coats the mouth. Heavy roasted malts, chocolate, a light bittering finish from either malts of the torched malts. Lasting coffee and chocolate finish. Re-rate Noogfest High 5. Sample from a bottle thanks to TheBeerSommelier. 2009 Vintage. Dark brown with light red edges. A thin tan head. The aroma is thick sweetness, roasted malt, chocolate. Not as heavy as the 07 seemed, still seemed oily. Taste is very sweet, big chocolate, coffee, licorice, caramel. Original rating 8:3:9:3:18

2008 Bottle from BrianK. Thanks! Thick viscous pour, dark brown in color with thin wisps of dark brown head around the edge of the glass. Aroma is roasted grain, soy and rum-soaked fruit, primarily raisin, but some others. Very sweet. Taste is bitter hops, roasted grain, soy, toffee, dark fruits and vanilla. Warming alcohol is present. Very sweet with a ton of residual sugars, but also fairly well balanced with the bitterness of the roasted malts and hops. I have written down in my notes from earlier tonight... mouthfeel = dark lord. Enough said.

For my 500th. Near black pour with no head. Sweet raisin, plum, dark malt. Some alcohol. Notes of chocolate, coffee, toffee. Sweet syrupy chewy body. Delicious. Amazingly delicious.

200th rating and a tribute to the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies on the World Series Championship. Bottle, 2008 vintage, pours black as night, looks like a syrup with a very thin dark beige head. I love how it coats the glass. I didn’t even have to stick my head up to smell it, the aromas traveled over a foot to my nose, WOW. Loads of coffee, expresso notes. Light alcohol scents and some dark cherry. First sip, nice stuff. Tons of dark molasses and again expresso. Mildly bitter until the finish which is more of a dark bakers chocolate bitter than from hops. The mouth is heavy and smooth. Feels like I’m chewing through it. This is fairly chilled and I’m getting a nice burn from the back of my throat to my stomach. Overall, I’m a fan, it’s big, full of wonderful flavors, but still very drinkable. Looking forward to the next hundred, now I get to sit back and finish off this bad boy!

Silver wax 2007 bottle from bgburdman9. My 1,000 rating for my daughter’s 1st birthday. This beer better be as good as rumored...it certainly was. Pours dark brown like used motor oil with no head. The aroma covers everything from soy sauce, molassas, alcohol, coffee and chocolate. Super smooth feel. Flavour is bitter espresso, vanilla, bourbon and slightly burnt malt. 13 ABV? Hidden really well. Another great FFF brew.

[Bottle] generously shared by skyview after DLD ’08. Pours motor oil viscous black with a caramel colored head. Aroma is alcohol and rubbing alcohol, vanilla, dark fruits, and sweet chocolate. Ridiculously rich mouthfeel. The alcohol is a bit more subdued in the flavor, and has lots of roasted barley, espresso, is somewhat vinous, and is extremely smooth. Leaves a thick, dark coating on the glass, and my rinsewater was darker than most bocks. Tasting Update: 2009 Bottle. This bottle has a lot more soy sauce character than I remember. There are still tons of flavors jammed in there, but that saltiness is just way to pervasive to let slide. Unfortunate, because I heard that this was one of the better vintages. Maybe an off bottle.

2007 vintage courtesy of a trade with jgd0608. Pours a dense black with absolutely no head. This beer has terrific legs, leaving a brown tinting on the glass as I swirl the beer. I was expecting this to be mostly about the coffee, and I was wrong. The aroma is much more fruity with figs and prunes along with coffee and molasses. The flavor is even more intense with figs, dates, prunes, coffee, rich malt, molasses, and alcohol. A bit boozey at the finish with a bit of an alcohol burn, especially as the beer warms. Slick mouthfeel. Full bodied. Good stuff!

Black-waxed 2008 vintage. Huge thanks to TexasWayne for sharing this beauty! Pours blacker than a thousand midnights. Thick, one-finger head is darker than any I’ve ever seen, leaving spotty dollops of lace as it recedes. A light swirl leaves thick tan sheets on the sides of the glass that refuse to fall. According to my notes: ’’viscous as fuck.’’ Nose is as enormous as expected, with sweet french roast coffee predominating; Chocolate, vanilla, smoke, leather and earth add serious complexity. The palate reflects the nose, in flavor and enormity. Some dark fruit flavors and sweetness add to the complexity. Mouthfeel is thick, slick, and creamy. Finish is incredibly long. Alcohol burn is not horrible, but present enough to drop drinkability a notch. Yes, it’s that good. Believe the hype.