Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

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

05,07,08 vertical at bockhorsey’s pad. Pours oily black with a faint brown ring of foam in each vintage. The 05 was brimming with the aroma of dark fruits, predominantly cherry, and strong notes of black licorice and baker’s cocoa in the flavor. The 07 poured like maple syrup. Frighteningly thick. Loaded with hershey’s syrup and floral red grapes. Next to the others, the 08 was by far the most balanced, with equal notes of baker’s cocoa, roasted coffee, dark fruits, and slight lactose. Based on this vertical, I would drink this fresh instead of aging it, as the result seems to deconstruct the balance.

I think all the hype around this beer is greatly over rated. I have had all the great stouts and this being a good beer is not a great beer. It’s good. There are other beers that deserve to be placed higher on the upper throne of Rate Beer beerdom board. This beer should be in the top 50 but not top 10. But that said this is the beer that started it all.The Dark Lord developed such a cult following it remains a top the ratings, This beer is thick on the palate and almost oily to drink. Lots of flavors come out and almost changes with each sip as it warms. Worth seeking out but there are better beers to be had.

Had a bomber of the 2008 version. Very complex aroma of chocolate, toffee, coffee, licorice and malty dark fruits intermingling together....with the alcohol weighing into the nose for effect. Poured pitch black with a dark brown head that lingered well and left good lacing on the glass. Mouthfeel was bready and chewy, and the taste was a virtual copy of the nose, with each sip accentuating a different blend of flavors. Finish was heavy, long lasting and warming, which was perfect on this cold winter’s night. I’m not a big fan of Impy Stouts, but this beer lived up to its hype.

Thanks to Egadjzis for sharing. 2007 Bottle, and actually turned out to be a very good batch compared to a few others I have had that werent very good. I had thought I didnt like it, but 2007 was pretty good. Pours a dark syrupy oily black with an almost orange-like foamy head. Aroma is very intense- syrupy maple, dark chocolates, tar licorice, a bit earthy and tobacco- fruity raisin and dates, and a medium almost covered up a bit too much- coffee espresso note. Flavor is syrupy sweet, a bit too sweet but kept in balance by the dark charred malts, roasted barley dark chocoalte tar earth and licorice. A bit astringent and tannic in the end but still petty good.

Jet black and very very thick. Molasses like I would say. Brown head but very little of it. Taste of wood, coffee, chocolate, molasses. Citrus undertone. Silky feel in the mouth. Lingering aftertaste. I like this beer very cold myself. Not great with a meal. Excellent conversation piece.

Damn near perfection in liquid form. Had to shell out $50 on EBay to get a bottle of the 2008 vintage. It was worth every penny. I bow down to the Dark Lord. It’s just one of the best out there, if not the absolute best. Pours jet black and thick as hell with a tan head. Aroma is coffee, chocolate, sweet cherries, and roasted malt. Flavor is huge and almost bowled me over. Roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, molasses, maraschino cherries, other fruity notes, smoke, and other things that I can’t even identify. Mouthfeel is extremely thick and oily. It coats your tongue and mouth and you wish the flavor would stick around forever. Man I wish I could make it to DLD this year.

Review #600, tasted 2/3/09. 2008 bottle, courtesy of a few generous traders, poured into a tulip during the Super Bowl. Pours oil-slick black with a big two-finger mocha head that hangs on as a cap and leaves very good lacing. The aroma is thick with deep, sweet, dark malts and tons of molasses and dark fruit. Bakers chocolate and espresso show up in the background. There are plums, raisins and dates along with a hefty alcohol burn in the nostrils. As it warms up, the aroma really explodes. The taste is massive with tons of dark malts, roasted espresso and dark sweet fruit. There are hints of hops in the finish, which, along with the espresso, leave a slightly bitter finish. The roasted character is balanced well by a molasses sweetness that underpins the explosion of other flavors. The mouthfeel is as thick and syrupy as any beer I’ve had in recent memory. Low carbonation and slick on the palate that leaves the malts all of the tongue in the finish. This is a huge beer and one that I am glad I’ve had the opportunity to try. Every sip seems to open up another flavor or layer that I hadn’t noticed before. I started out thinking it was a little over-hyped, but by the end of the bottle I had jumped on the bandwagon. 2006 gold wax-dipped bottle. Tasted 7/5/09. Big thanks to Josh for passing along this bad boy. Compared to the 2008 bottle, this one pours with a slightly smaller head and leaves no lacing, just oily legs that cling to the glass after each sip. The aroma is massively sweet with lots of dark fruits, licorice and dark chocolate malts. There is much more of an old-ale type aroma than the 08 though, with some caramel and toffee sweetness that I didn’t get in the 08 bottle. The taste is the same story as the aroma with some interesting aged components showing up with a lot less heat than the fresh 08. Lots of dark roasted malts, chocolate, licorice and a slightly toasty finish. I’m not getting as much coffee in this vintage and there’s no hops left either. Massive, thick, almost chewy mouthfeel with soft carbonation, but not enough to take away from the thick oily feel. The 06 is a much more refined and well-rounded beer than the 08 was fresh. That said, I actually might enjoy the huge, over-the-top, in-your-face slap in the face of the fresh version. A slightly different beer with age on it, but still world class.

2008 Bottle: Pours an opache pitch black with a small brown head. Aroma is fruity sweet and very rich. Plums, raisins, malty, anise and dark chocolate. Flavor very sweet with dark fruit, rich chocolate, coffee and a nice undertone of flower, herbs and grapefruit. Finish is very long with chocolate, coffee and dark fruit. Large bodied, very silky and smooth texture with only a slight alcohol burn. Now I know what all the fuss is about!