Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

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

Serve in Snifter

White wax (2009) bottle via trade. Pours thick oil black with no head or carbonation. Aroma is strong coffee, fruits, plums, vanilla, malts, and sugar. Taste is absolutely wonderful. I had heard the hype, but didn’t know if it could live up to it - the beer surpassed all expectations. Taste is heavy on the coffee, chocolate, sugar, sweetness, vanilla undertones, and light smoke flavors. It’s an almost perfect blend of all that makes an Imperial Stout great. A new #1 in my book. Finishes sweet with a hint of lingering viscosity from the oily mouthfeel. Amazing.

Black. Head is virtually nonexistent. Nose is dark dark fruits, sweet molasses, and tobacco. fruity chocolate, sweet alcohol, figs, raisins, roast, mollases, and licorice stands out in the flavor. Sweet and muddled. Bitter is lingering along with the sweetness. Lios are sticky sweet minutes after a drink. This isn’t bad but not overrated as most beers.

Green Wax Bomber---A Christmas present waiting for the right day to open, turns out that day is the Super Bowl. Pours tar black with a medium, dark tan head. The aroma is overwhelming, you can smell it five feet away, it consists of dark chocolate (lots), coffee, raisins and smashed cherries. At first taste, the beer is too much for me, but as it warms slightly, the taste comes into focus. Note, I’ve stored it in our wine refridgerator. The flavor is chocolate, coffee and alcohol, but not as strong as expected. The high alcohol stuff is a bit hard for me, this is a beer to sip, not drink. Thanks Vic!

2010 Bottle (Green Wax) - Smells of smoke, alcohol, and a bit of toffee. Pours pitch black with a beautiful brown head. Very smooth, smokey flavor. Well-balanced.

Opened a bottle of 2010. Very big. Pours near black with some chesnut brown highlights around the edge. Molasses, muscovado, burnt sugar, coffee. Buttery and really thick. Worth the hype.

UPDATED: JAN 23, 2012 Tasted courtesy of cgarvieuk. 2006 vintage. Thick black viscous pour. Nose is fascinating - soy, marzipan, salty, definite mushroom, hint of dark chocolate. Full, rich body and savoury palate - more mushroom funk, dark chocolate, clean but roasty bitterness on the finish. Sweaty notes also. Coffee in the linger. So much depth, incredibly complex. Wow. Would love to try it fresher, but still quite incredible. Thank you very much for sharing!

UPDATED: JAN 27, 2012 Bottle from Mane Liquor. Orange wax 2005 edition. Pours viscous black with a small, dark tan head. Aroma is big, sweet and aggresive. Loads of vanilla mingle with thick, dark chocolate and sweet molasses. A touch of milk chocolate and fudge entertain a touch of smoke and burnt malts. Heavy stuff. Booze is quite subdued which is nice and surprising but I suppose thats in part due to it being almost 7 years old. Big, sweet vanilla tones in the taste. Heavy cocoa powder and molasses with charred malts and tobacco tones. Full, oily mouth feel with nice bitter sweet length. Good beer and rather happy to have tried this. I have had better though but still a world class brew

UPDATED: FEB 3, 2012 Bottle of the 2009, white wax seal, Craftheads, Shibuya, Tokyo. Colour is dark dark brown with burgundy edges. No Head. Nose is red wine, earthy, port fortified wine, touch of bourbon, but mainly red wine aroma. Taste is red wine, like a fine burgundy, but with more of an alcoholic kick and there’s a bitter earthiness, malty chocolate and some wood fire smokiness. Yes, and the molasses. Not getting much of the coffee although maybe it’s in the bitterness. About three sips in, despite drinking most of the evening I felt a distinct alcoholic fug go up my neck and into my brain. Like when drinking something strong like whiskey. It’s a sipper this one. Is it a beer though? I’ve never really had a beer like this in my life. Would I want to drink this every week? The answer to that is ’not really’. And therein lies the conundrum. It’s sophisticated, complex and possible subblime for a couple of mouthfuls, but it’s not really a beer. It’s more like a glass of fortified liquor to be drunk as an aperitif. And for that reason I’ll never rate it as highly as some, because I don’t crave it like I do other simpler beers.

From bottle. Thanks Craig for sharing. Pours black with tan head. Massive aroma, ovaltine, soy, lots of dark chocolate, vanilla. Taste follows suit, lots of chocolate with a beautiful roasty finish. Massive palate, sweet but cleans away nicely. Tremendous