Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

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

This bottle obtained in a trade from Meathookjones. Many thanks to you, sir. The wax seal on this bottle is a much tougher obstacle than the one on Behemoth Blonde. I did my best to stir up some foam, and got only about a half inch. But it is still lingering, somewhat thinner, almost twenty minutes later. The circle of foam that runs around the glass appears to be somewhat blood red, perhaps the victims of the dark one himself. Looking down, in the middle of the glass, a creepy eye of foam stares back at me. No cascading head as claimed on the label. The nose is roasty and vinous, with a piney hop profile. It seems remarkably well blended. Whoa! Holy sh!t that’s good! (as I accidentally take a gulp rather than a sip). Cherries, and other dark, overripe fruits abound. The malts taste both roasted and burnt. Dark chocolate notes are everywhere, and the hops are moderate, piney, and earthy. Absolutely no sign of the 13%ABV, except my buzz as I am drinking this rather quickly. Mouthfeel is very heavy and thick. Creamy, with an ever so slight carbonation. Normally, this style is not the most drinkable for me, but if I had a case, I would have had a second bottle tonight. I will not miss the next release. For me, this has lived up to the hype, if not exceeded it. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 11-21-2005 06:26:05

2008 - Smelled like brownie mix, had many flavors going on. Chocolate, tart cherries, tobacco, smoke, vanilla. It IS worth the hype.

Vertical of ’06-’08 tasted at Carolina Crew gathering... thanks, Todd! ’07 seemed either different or off. Somewhat similar to the other two, but a bit heavy on the soy and barely carbonated. Nowhere near as good. The ’06 and ’08 were quite similar, actually. Black, thick dark oily pour with thin brown head. Roasty notes all around, with dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, molasses, ball point pen ink, dominant particularly on the nose, but the taste was surprisingly fruity to me. Instead of scorching burnt maltiness, there were plenty of hops and very present flavors of fig, raisin, and plum. A bit of woodiness as well. This is certainly not an everyday drinker, but a fun novelty beer. Palate is syrup. Very good.

Wow, very different. Picked up three bottles after 5.5 hrs. in line at DLD 2008. Pours thick, VERY thick, and very dark, with dark brown thin head layer; some lacing. Smells of amazingness including but not limited to the following: roasted coffee, toffee, caramel, sweet vanilla, rich molasses. Taste is so thick you think you’re not really drinking beer. It’s on it’s way to pancake syrup in thickness, not quite there though. Very sweet, with wonderful coffee, vanilla, and molasses flavors. The thickness and sweetness are what really set this royal treat apart from the every day stout (and I would have a stout every day if I could). I will make it a point to visit the brewpub in 2009 to try the other varieties. I can understand where some people find this dissapointing based on the hype, but personally I’m blown away simply by the uniqueness it contains. In terms of drinking for the sake of drinking due to the hype this beer receives, it gets an A-. In terms of drinking for the creativity, uniqueness, and individualistic-ness of this beer, it gets an A+. (re-rate) VERY, VERY, VERY special thanks to danielcurtis81 for breaking out the 07-09 vertical on the eve of his wedding (see pics on my account). 07 was extremely smooth and easy to drink and all of the flavors had blended well. 08 was my favorite of the three, and had a strong flavor that was simply remarkable. 09 was good, but seemed like it still needs a little more time for things to meld. These three bottles were split 6 ways each and it was noted beneficial to tip the bottle slightly to and fro to mix the flavors otherwise the last pours will be all the thick/foam/goodness...basically is needs blended before you pour out, so figure something out to get the optimal flavor in your shared pours. What a fantastic night...Here’s to great beer!!!

Hands down the best imperial stout i’ve ever had. 22oz Bottle, 2008 (black wax.) VERY thick pour, motor oil and molassas consistency & color, with a small, chocolate colored head. Aroma dense and complex with roasted malts, chocolate chip cookie, hazelnuts, coffee, vanilla, maple, and just a hint of pacific northwest hops. Palate and Flavor is strikingly complex, and at 13%, frighteningly drinkable. It tastes like roasted chocolate milk, with dominant malt notes and hints of vanilla, biscuit, toffee, caramel, and just a tiny little bit of smoke. It finishes sweet without being cloying, and just a bit of hop bitterness lingers. Absoutly stunning.

Bottle, 2008. So I finally get to try the Dark Lord. I say "finally" despite only having been drinking craft beer for a year and a half, and only really took note of this beer a few months ago. Regardless, this beer is really something special. Aroma of burnt malt, tobacco, toffee, caramel, vanilla, unbelievably rich. Flavor is SO BIG with all these notes, but remarkably with all the burnt malt, all the sweet malt, all the alcohol, this beer remains what I would call exquisitely balanced. I’ve never had such a ridiculously smooth, soft, BURNT beer, nor would I ever have imagined a beer so loaded like this would not be unbelievably sweet and/or alcoholic. The combination of all these things I would expect to make an overdone monster, but as I said, this was something special. Remains so drinkable to the last sip, and rich to the last sip at the same time. For me, the CLEAR winner over Speedway in a back to back sampling. Simply amazing. 9-4-10-5-20/4.8

Rerate from 2009 bottle thanks to my secret santa. Lots of dark fruit notes I didn’t mention the first time (doesn’t mean they weren’t there) with much of the lovely burnt malt, vanilla, toffee tones, but lacking to me this time in balance (extremely hot), and some of the continuing nuances of the initial flavors and certainly the power of those flavors. Mouthfeel also a bit odd with small-bubble, but still mildly seltzery carbonation, not nearly as full and rich. Lots of complaints going on here, just to draw out the differences, either perceived or real, but still a tasty beer. 8-4-7-4-14/3.7; Final numbers are somewhere in between, with a slight nod to the more recent go at it.

2008 bottle courtesy of iowaherkeye (thanks Joey!!). I’ve been wanting to try this for a long time now. I didn’t think that it would, but it lived up to its reputation. Pours an inky black with a thick but quickly disappearing dark tan head. Aroma of super rich sweet roasted malt, caramel, molasses. Flavor of burnt malt, toffee, molassess, caramel, vanilla with burnt toast in the aftertaste. Super sweet and pretty heavy, but somehow super drinkable! Not overpowering at all. Very smooth palate! The flavors really mesh together so well that it’s actually quite hard to pick them apart (and I’m sure I’ve done them a great injustice). I will have to try this again soon! My 2nd rated imperial stout, just below Expedition. 8/4/9/5/18

Update 9/20/08: Second time around, this just wasn’t as good. Tasty, but much too heavy. Had to downgrade my rating.

Update 7/31/09: 2009 bottle. Aroma of dark fruits, apple, booze, and roasted malt. Flavor is very very boozy and hot. Wow. This is definitely a step down from the 08 version. Also a touch vegetal for some reason. 8/4/7/3/15 (3.7/5)

Thanks to iowaherkeye for bringing this bottle to his ’farewell to Iowa’ tasting. 2006 vintage. Poured an opaque black color. The head was brown with an orange tint. Smelled of chocolate liqueur, hay, and a dash of soy. Full bodied and sweet. Roasty and chocolate malts, dark fruits, and a bit of soy rounded out the flavor profile.