Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

Signed up just to rate this beer. More hype than quality for sure. Too Much trying to go on here. Appearance and Aroma are absolute gems, continues right with the hype. Balanced flavor takes back seat to what can only be described as Teriyaki. Leaving you wondering if that was it? Great publicity for a bad product really shows how even in the craft beer world quality doesn’t always matter. Very much a shame.

Originally reviewed back on 7/28/04. Received a perfect 5 score. Added to my RB list to check "Indiana" as a beer state consumed. Sampled 2004, 2005, and 2006 brews. Are you kidding me? The hype is worth it. Dollar for dollar I’m sure there are better imperial stouts out there, but this one is special. 2004 had that glorious sludge in the bottom of the bottle, amost fudgy. 2005 and 2006 did not, and I think the flavor sufferred a tad. A big roasty stout with loads of char, roast, and chocolate. Silky smooth with traces of alcohol heat. Wonderful.

2007 Bottle via trade with decaturstevo and drmatt - Pours a thick black color with a one and a half finger thick light brown head that faded fairly quick. Only light spotty lacing. Very little carbonation. The aroma has it all - roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, molasses, and esters (cherry). Flavor is coffee, chocolate, molasses, licorice. The beer is thick and heavy on the palate, but still fairly smooth. Has a very slight roasted malt/coffee aftertaste. No real suprise though. Medium to full body. The alcohol kinda sneaks up on you toward the finish of the beer. This was a real delight. Nice to know I have another. Thanks Steve and Matt.

1000th rating!. Bottle. Big thanks to TomDecapolis for grabbing me a bottle when he went out for DL day and thanks to FooFaa for bringing it all the way back from Indiana to Pennslyvania.
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. Pours a deep, deep midnight black body with thin head. The body was so deep and black that is showed my reflection as I looked down into the snifter. A beautiful black body. The aroma had a nice roasted coffee, chocolate smell. Pleasntly placed hops abound in my nose during a few sniffs throughout the drinking experience.

Now onto the taste. Nice full bodied roasted coffee, chocolate, cocoa, dusty malt, plums. I seemed to get a few different combinations of all the above during every sip I took. The mouthfeel was spot on perfect. Nice sticky aftertaste. My lips were clinging to the snifter.My tastebuds were screaming that there was more than 220z to quench my thirst.

Big thanks to everyone on the site that made 1000 ratings possible, especially the guys I traded with who have always found some great and rare beers to send. Big thanks to the Philly Hop Crew who have provided me with some great samples within the past year. Thanks guys! Here’s to 1000 more! Cheers!

Wow what nice treat. Poured from a 2005 bottle. What can I say but it is everything i expected.The nose was rich chocolate and coffee. Flavor was a bevy of goodness. Chocolate, coffee and dark fruits.Not overly sweet. This beer was fantastic

Draft. I went to the Indiana brewers guild festival with hopes that after that day I may have a new favorite. But when it came to the dark lord I figured that it was just really extreme and strong. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Here is a beer worth the wait. It is smooth as silk, it has complexity without forcing the issue, masks alchohol super well, tastes great. Super Human culinary achievement. Extraordinary texture! Less intense but more enjoyable than Stone RIS. I WOULD DRINK THIS ANYDAY!!!!!! WARING - if you don’t like strong beers and you have one of these send it to me................. or at least share it with someone.

4th or 5th beer I tried at Indy Brewer’s Guild Fest. (palate definitely not burnt out) Finally. And I only had to drive to to Indy... but now I’ll make sure to actually score some DL next year... Dark impenetrable with a thick creamy smooth tan head. Slowly disappears, which I guess is what you get when even a huge impy stout is kegged up. A rather faint nose, kind of a downer. Alclohol laced coffee/chocolate liquor sort of notes. Very subdued and not bang your head in roasty. Absolutely flawlessly velvetty smooth. Low carbonation, and delightful mouth warming going on in here. Right after the Bells Bourbon Barrel Double Cream/Exped., this is still phenomenal. Smooth creamy chocolatey alcohol. Sweet syrupy malt. More alcohol roasty coffee and sweetness than chocolate, but it’s still definitely huge. This beer is huge man. A lingerign sweet, yet somehow bitter enough not to be cloying, finish with alcohol. Very nice. I’d argue it’s worth the hype, and I hate hype.. My glass was coasted in a DL film even after a few more beers!

This bottle was a birthday gift from my most generous friend, OhioDad...Thank you Scott for letting me into the realm of the Dark Lord...THE BEER: I have been hearing about this beer since I first joined the sight...So expectations were very very high. I saved it for my 300th rating. The pour was thick and dark. Like pouring chocolate syrup! No head what so ever for me. The smell...GOOD GOD...It smelled like a Hersheys dark chocolate bar...I could have just sat around sticking my nose in it all night, but, well, that wouldnt have been nearly as fun as drinking it. THE TASTE: Yum. And WOW...Taste was soooo smooth. Not at all what I was expecting out of this monster. Sweet chocolate. Cherries. Coffee. Some figs, or prunes, maybe, followed by a giant alcohol kick. I swear I taste some sort of bourbon as well...This beer got tons better as it warmed...Or perhaps it was because I got warmer. I am not sure, but this was an absolutely delightful experience. I dont know that I would go stand in line for it for three hours like some of you, but I would certainly drink it any time! One of the best blended beers I have ever tried. 2007 bottle.