Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

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

2008 Bottle. Pours out a pitch 100K old oil topped with a small brown head. Aroma of coffee, smoke, pit fruit and plent of other greatness. Tast is just the same WOW. I don’t even know what to say. This stuff is so tasty. I would like a 04 or 05. After this one was a little hot.

2007 bottle. I enjoyed this beer, but not as much as the Bells Expedition Stout. Poured black with little/no head. Aroma of dark fruit and roasted malt with burned coffee. Flavor was of coffee, roasted malt and molasses. Full bodied. Not my favorite by far. I guess being hard to get makes it better? *cough* *sarcasm*

07 shared with my dad. Wow! I’ve been saving this for #100 and it was well worth the wait. Pours a dirty motor oil black with a thin almost brown head that left almost no lacing. The complexity of this beer starts in the nose with aromas of chocolate, coffee, caramel, molassas, smoked wood, dark fruits, and light alcohol. The flavor is similar to aroma with added earth tones and a long, very long warm finish that bounces from sweet to bitter untill your ready for another sip. Flavor is so full and complex yet nothing over powers anything else, which is beautiful aspect of this beer. Huge body, very soft carb, thick syrupy texture, and crazy creamy complex feel. This is the best imperial stout I’ve ever had. The only negitive is the price tag, but you forget about that when you take that first sip.

2008 Bottle. Black with almost no head. Aroma of dark fruit, prune juice and licorice. Thick creamy and sticky mouthfeel. Taste of over ripe dark fruit, prune juice, licorice, molasses and slight grassy hops. Complex and rich. Some alcohol burn. Not the best RIS I’ve had, but in the top five.

Black with medium brown head. Sweet aroma with roasted malt, chocolate and coffee notes. Vinious flavour with roasted malt, chocolate, ripe fruit and lovely coffee notes towards the end.

(Bottled) Pitch black with no head. Very smooth aroma of lightly roasted malt and licorice, with some hop bitterness. Salty-licoricey, soy-saucy maltiness in the flavor, with medium bitterness, lots of rye-pudding, spiciness, and some burned malt in the background. Quite full-bodied and sticky with almost no carbonation, and some alcohol burn. Interesting, but not very balanced.

2008 vintage. Draft at the Great Taste & a bottle from Skyview. Black as night with dark pitted fruits, roasted malts, coffee, & vanilla on the aroma. Much the same in the body. The finish was a little thin.

For a singular beer style, stouts have a huge range of variety in flavor, palate, brewing, styles, etc. the list could and probably can go on. A good stout is good. A great stout is amazing. And an amazing stout is a sensual experience that could part the heavens. Seriously, for a dark beer, the complexity, subtlety, and grace of an amazing stout could even rival some Belgians. I had heard inklings of some Dark Lord that was taking the world by storm, and I was finally able to try one, and suffice to save, the heavens were parted and the Dark Lord won over yet another convert.
The Dark Lord I had was from Three Floyds Brewing and it was the 2007 edition. In a beautiful 750ml bottle with silver wax adorning her top, it was an almost heart-breaking moment to break that lovely seal. But, knowing what temptations lay within, the trepidation lasted but only a moment, and as soon as ink black body filled my glass, turning away all attempts at any light to pierce her body, I know I was hopelessly smitten. Her liquid depths are black, viscous and oily. Gorgeous. Her nose was a sensual tease of uber rich chocolates both milk and dark along with a hint of creamy fresh cafe latte notes. Able to resist her temptations no more, I delved into my Dark Lord 2007 and was greeted by a tinge of saltiness which was quickly overtaken by a veritable explosion of chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. Viscous but not overly so, a good weight for an imperial stout. Dark cherries mingle amidst the chocolate and faint latte notes, but overall chocolate reigns supreme and what woman doesn’t like chocolate. Dark Lords finish was smooth, velvety, and thick and lingered like a lover who doesn’t want to leave, and who am I to deny her desire.
Three Floyds Dark Lord has been raved about online, via friends, magazines, and other various avenues of communication. Usually that much hype means the beer doesn’t suck, but sometimes overhype can be just that, overhype. Dark Lord 2007 from Three Floyds deserves every miniscule iota of its hype, and more if I had a say in the matter. If I could buy a case of it, I would. Run, don’t walk to your nearest means of purchase and acquire yourself some Three Floyds Dark Lord now.