Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

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

2008 bottle. pours a motor oil like thick black. with a nice espresso like thin head. smells of heavily roasted malt, burnt coffee, dark chocolate. Very complex. taste is very similar to the nose roasted malt, burnt coffee, dark chocolate, caramel. A very complex and intense beer. The mouthfeel is ridiculous, so think almost milkshake like. A wonderful beer.

2006 bottle. Thanks to seaoflament who was sharing this at the Angels Share release at Port/Lost Abbey. Also thanks to Hophead22 for finding his user name on here for me! Pours thick and black with an orangish brown head. Aroma is fantastically full of dried fruit, chocolate, toffee, a touch of vanilla and a bit salty. Flavor is superbly balanced with alot of everything but not too much of anything. Roasty, chocolatey, a touch of coffee and everything else that was in the aroma. Full bodied is an understatement. This stuff is almost cough syrup thick. Maybe a little too thick, but as good as it tastes it doesn’t really matter. A fantastic brew, definately in my top 5 list of stouts.

Many thanks to JRob for sharing this bottle of stouty goodness with me. What a huge beast of a beer. The name quite suits it. Pours deep, dark, oily black. Lovely complex aroma, coffee, chocolate, with some dark fruity notes as well. Flavor equally complex, thick in the mouth, with a touch of bitter at the end. Definitely not for everyday consumption (or for the fainthearted), but worth the effort it takes to find it.

Thanks to JMFG for finally getting me a taste. It was worth the wait. 2007 vintage. Both aroma and flavor have some amazing complexity with chocolate, raisins and vanilla flavors dominating. The alcohol is almost non-existent in the flavor, as the other flavors mask it very well. This is a delicious beer.

2007 bottle. silver wax, thanks to the cheeseman for hooking me up with this! i’ve been waiting years!! Pitch black pour, this beer is like a black hole, no light will escape. Crazy thick, this is really old motor oil. Aroma is LOADED with burnt malt, soy sauce, sweet chocolate, cocoa powder, touches of coffee, and some dark brown sugar. Flavor is sweeeeeeeeeeet, with some notes of coffee, and lots of sweet malt. this is not as bitter as i expected, its quite balanced between the sweetness, and the bitterness. What an amazing beer, a true curl up and sip beer. i love it, and i wish it would never end. This is really true to the hype!!!!! Im in love!

2007 bottle from a trade with footbalm. Thanks again. Poured ultra dark brown, bordering on black with a scant head that was somewhere between brown and orange. No lacing, but a thin layer of what looked like crystallized brown sugar formed on the inside of the glass. The aroma was thick rich cake batter chocolate. The only other time I remember smelling chocolate that thick was in Sam Adams Triple Bock. Cinnamon, light coffee and some hops as well. The flavor was chocolate, cinnamon and as it opened up, some piney, earthy hops. Lots of sugar present. The mouthfeel was thick yet drinkable. 13% ABV was expertly hidden. It’s a big beer. I don’t know that it’s the best beer.

(666) Bottle courtesy of BlackForestCO. Pours black, absorbing all light, putting forth a small, chocolate head that recedes quickly to nothing like it was pulled back into the depths of Hell. Wow, what a nose. Huge nose of dark fruit, raisin, plums, dates, lots of rich, dark chocolate with notes of fresh pouch tobacco and alcohol. Mouth feel = Epic Win! Thick, viscous and oily slick, almost velvety. Taste is chocolate, raisin, fig, plum, roast, alcohol warmth with a Hersey Kiss finish and after. Slightly bitter at the end. Very sweet, just shy of cloying, which may balance out a bit with age, but for a mouth feel like this, I’ll deal. A freaking fantastic beer. Totally worth the hype. Wow. Thanks so much, Jake, for the hook up.

From bottle courtesy of dpjuart. 2008 vintage. Yowzah! Rich and malty aroma with chocolate, coffee, and light oak. Vinuous, soy sauce, chocolate. Freakin’ amazing. Really nice aroma that lasts and lasts. Dark black body, topped with thin tan head. Viscous oily heavy body with medium carbonation. Starts and stays incredibly sweet, with viscous rich malty character- chocolate, coffee, light oak, vanilla and caramel. Alcoholic warming. Incredibly flavorul and a bit too sweet. Aftertaste is like a Hershey’s Kiss with light bitter hoppy character. This is a really fine brew with incredible flavors and profiles. My only negative critique is that it is a bit too sweet, and I’d love to have it a few years from now.