Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

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

Serve in Snifter

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2005 Bomber. Thanks to Oak for an awesome tasting. This guy was involved in a three-way competition at a tasting I went to yesterday. Dark Lord butted heads with Stone RIS and Alesmith Speedway and came out victorious. The pour is opaque obsidian black. I can’t tell if there are any particulates or sediment in my glass at all simply because light can’t penetrate far enough in to reflect off of them. The head is almost as dark as the beer -- a deep sepia with some reverse-flow bubbling. The carbonation pushed the center of the head up so much that the bubbles on the outside appeared to be flowing down. Once the head dissipated (fairly quickly due to alcohol), I could get a better concept of the aroma. It was initially dark, dried fruits -- cherries and raisins -- followed by an espresso smell melded with chocolate and roasted malts. Hop profile is hard to get to, but there’s something earthy going on. There’s a little molasses there, too, but not overpoweringly so. The palate was amazing. It falls somewhere between heavy cream and crude oil. It’s viscous and thick, but not to the point that it sticks around too long after you swallow it. The flavor is immense as well -- tons of roasted malt with a some coffee in the finish. Exceptionally well balanced, maintaining its sweetness through the finish without becoming cloying. Dried fruits are still there, but take on the roasty quality of the malt, unlike in the aroma. Molasses and vanilla are much less notable than in the aroma, giving way to a chocolaty sweetness instead. The finish is amazingly clean for as huge a beer as it is. Simply mind-blowing.

UPDATED: JUN 7, 2008 Multiple bottles, multiple vintages. Finally prepared to give this beer a 5.0. The beer has a consistency and thickness like no other beer in the world. Flavors of black cherry, espresso and chocolate. Intense and incredibly flavorful. I will say, it’s not a 5.0 fresh, but is after some time in the bottle. It’s a very special beer, a showcase of brewing skill.

UPDATED: JAN 1, 2006 I can’t say enough about this ridiculous beer. I drank this beer for the first time on new years eve 05/06, while eating a chocolate fondue. Strong alcohol, coffee, and hoppy aroma. This beer takes a big, fat, thick dump on your tongue, and it doesn’t give up. It’s the thickest beer I’ve ever experieced, but it’s still 13% alcohol, amazing.

UPDATED: DEC 28, 2006 My first 5.0 rating on my 50th birthday! What a way to make my debut on the Masters list

2005 bottle. wonderful aroma of vanilla, dark fruit, some coffee, chocolate & caramel. the look is very, very black with ruby highlights, especially in the lace as it chases its way down the side of my snifter. upon the first sip or two a noticable hop bite is present, but after the third sip or so, everything smooths out. flavor is big and bold with all of the aforementioned chocolate, coffee, vanilla, caramel & dark fruit. in addition the hop bitterness and alcohol shows up in the tail end. very enjoyable. would think this would continue to improve over the next couple of years! thanks rich for sending this one to me about 6 months ago.

sampled the 2004 vintage courtesy of hey_kevin at his Year End gathering, thanks Kevin. this one rates a 5+. I don’t care what some of the naysayers have to say about the sludge, this was an incedibly complex and wonderfully smooth drinking experience.

2006 bottle shared with illini08 Christmas day ’06. the 8 months since I picked this up at DL day have been kind to this bottle. deliciously thick and smooth with no hint of alcohol. roasted malts, chocolate, vanilla, dark fruit, licorice and hints of fruity hops in the background. still the best Imperial Stout around!

Had the 04 right after release and again in Dec. of 05. This beer gets better. the first bottle had at least 2 fingers of sediment and the taste was overwhelming. a year later the sediment was minimal (it’s non filtered). The taste smoothed out. The beer pours like a cream sherry and is too much to drink alone. My wife has used it in cooking and it’s intense flavor really comes through.

This beer greets you with a hearty aroma consisting of coffee, malt, molasses, hops, dates, and a sweet spice smell that sneaks in from the background. It fills the glass with a thick black liquid that settles under a thick cashew brown head. The taste is a reward. Its strength grabs you and reminds you that this is not for the weak beer drinker. The beer is heavy yet extremely smooth. The rich taste of heavy malt greets the palate then a hearty coffee taste takes over. This beer fades with a healthy bitter nut taste rolling down the throat.

Rating #500 - 22oz 2005 bottle - Pours the darkest black I have ever seen. Not one bit of light dares to penetrate this motor oil thick brew. A dark mocha head graces it then drops back to a film that laces the sides of the snifter like a milkshake in layers. Aroma is of roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, plums, and a bit of bourbon. Flavor is smoky, almost burnt, coffee, molasses, chocolate and a touch of vanilla, a nice citrus hop finish makes this a delight on the tongue. The mouthfeel is quite heavy and thick. It coats the inside of your mouth like a sticky chocolate milkshake and is oh so smooth to drink. Not one bit of the alcohol can be found except for the warmth at the end of the sip. Absolutely decadent and beautiful. If there ever was a perfect beer this really has to be it.. I don’t know really what to take points away from this for so I’m just going to give it my perfect 5. A masterpiece and very worthy of it’s spot in the ratings!!

UPDATED: MAY 14, 2008 This is as good as it gets #700 and i am glad to be able to do it, a dark as night pour and a vicious and thick beer very enjoyable and another great beer from Nick and the guys.I have been drinking this since 2003 when it was sold in growlers and it has gotten better each year.CHEERS!!

2008 bottle. Stood in line for 3-1/2 hours for it. Pours a black that light can not penetrate. It is a black hole sucking up light around it, it’s so black. This is real motor oil looking. Pours out the same way oil looks when you pour it into your engine. Creamy chestnut brown head faded very quickly into a thin ring along the edge. There’s no lacing but you can tell by the smell that the molasses is gonna stick to everything! There’s a great smell of molasses and dark chocolate, plum, cinnamon, a hint of cherry and there is absolutely no coffee at all. You can also smell the 13% and it does smell amazingly delicious with all that sweetness coming up with it. This is the big boy of sippers. This beer is not for the faint of heart. you have to really be a serious Russian Imperial Stout lover to drink this beer. It’s as if someone angel had added steroids to a regular RIS recipe. Yes I said angel. This beer is how WE SHOULD ALL KNOW god exists and he wants us to be happy. Huge sweet molasses, caramel, dark bitter sweet chocolate up front, plum?/prune?, honey somewhere in the middle along with more chocolate (like frosting) and bourbon soaked cherry in the middle-end with a huge bite of sticky-gooey molasses in the very back of this bad ass MFer! Wow. And Wow again. So F’N good. This beer is surprising smooth for such a big hitter. It’s not completely full bodied but it’s very close. I think it’s a good thing because being just shy of full bodied may be why this is drinkable. It does feel like it has some thickness to it that can’t easily be split up even in your mouth. It’s what I imagined the feel (not taste) of motor oil would be. This beer is way to drinkable. And that’s both a problem and a good thing. It’s a problem because this beer isn’t available on your corner at your local store. So you savor each and every bottle and each and every sip, to the last drop. It’s limited production is what makes this beer amazing. See if I could buy this beer regularly, I’d want to drink it every day. I’d also want a steak and a huge piece of chocolate cake to help me get my fix. This beer is way too damn good! It’s like crack but in beer form. You just can’t get enough. And as soon as it’s gone, You want more, and more, and more. Can’t wait for this one to mature in my cellar. Man I’m already thinking of how to plan my next trip to DLD. This beer is top notch! Thank you Three Floyds! mmm mmm good!

Bottle (from the november 2005 RB-tasting at Dixens place - notes have been damaged by flooding of my basement, but this was such an insane tasting for me as I was new to such massive tastings, so I gave up on the detailed notes quite early). 2004 version. Licorice allsorts, burnt coffee, good bitterness. GREAT! All that was readable...my first and only one of two I’ve scored with a 5.0. Love this beer!