Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

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

2007 bottle at DLD: Black as night it had a slight brown head that left some nice brown lacing. The nose was huge and filled with expresso, chocolate and porty overtones. While not as potent as the barrel-aged version, in the mouth it was the dense, thick, syrupy and oily. While the alcohol lever is high (15%), it is never hot. The flavors from the nose fill the palate and cover every nook and cranny. This is an intese huge beer that should be drank in small quantities. However credit needs to be given as it is balanced which is not an easy feat for something this size.

22oz bottle, 2007 Vintage (Silver Wax). Pours the blackest black. Like pure syrupy crude oil. Aroma of tar, sugar, molasses, port, licorice, fruit, dark chocolate. Flavor is super chewy stickiness. The glass is ruined. It was a nice clear crystal, now it is stained amber that shall never be clean.

This beer poured dark as night and very thick and oily. As it went into the pint glasses that we took out, it seemed to be visibly slow coming out of the wax-topped bottle. A cola color head that rose and fell quickly gave off roasty aromas and hints of dark chocolate and oak. The first sips were quite surprising. For a 12%ABV stout that had such a roasty, woody aroma, I would never have expected the decadent smoothness that was exhibited in this beer. Also surprising was that the chocolate notes came through stronger on the palate than the bitterness, which was subtly present and nicely balanced. There was also a strong coffee note that was complex in that it provided the bitterness while also adding to the creaminess with a cafe au lait-type note. The mouthfeel was heaven. As it warmed up, it certainly got better all the way up to nearly room temperature (in a room with 20+ people and a fire going in the fireplace!). Absent was any hop profile or astringency from the roasted malts. This was a purely balanced, delicious beer that had a much softer edge than its reputation would have you believe. It was truly an excellent experience and it was on made all the more special, sharing it with an old friend. Good to see you, Jason!

I had the 2007 version. It was thick and oily with no head and no lacing. Strong coffee and chocolate flavors with a good amount of sweetness/fruitiness.

Take equal parts coffee grounds, bitter chocolate, grapefruit, orange, burnt oatmeal, put them in a oil can, shake it up, pop the top with one of those spout things and pour into a goblet and enjoy.

Pours black with a good sized dark tan head. Aroma of coffee, chocolate, and molasses, alcohol as well. Nice flavor, a bit of hoppiness comes through. Too much coffee for me. OG rocks.

’05 version. Was expecting a lot fuller body. I thought it was sort of thin. Boozy flavor. Cherry flavor too. Surprised that there’s not more roastiness in this one. I don’t get the hype on this one. Would love to try it again though to see if I’m mistaken.

Lumpfest 2008 - another beer i did not plan on seeing at my first tasting. angels share and an ’05 dark lord in one sitting. black pour with a nice espresso colored head. loads of roasted malts, syrup and chocolate on the nose. delicious flavor of chocolate and coffee. i want more.