Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

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

Don’t know quite where this came from but as if by magic appeared on the table at The European Beer Festival 2008 Kobenhaven, if it was Mikel, thank you very much Poured shark eye black, quite unbelievable mouthfeel rich, complex, stunning. Lovely creaminess, plenty of dark fruits, velvety, can’t be bothered to rate anymore, really lovely stuff.

This appeared on the table at EBF 08 at some point, and I’m eternally grateful. Black with a thin brown head. Nose is sweet, malty, talc and antiseptic. Mouth is sweet, oaky, smooth, creamy, chocolatey, chewy liquorice. Despite all this pounding my tastebuds had just had, it finishes relatively gentle. So thick, but absolutely superb.

Courtesy growler. You are the man. I have been wanting to try this one for a really long time. 2007 bottle. This one glugs out of the bottle just like used, thick motor oil. Pitch black body with a small tan head that quickly settles to a thin film. This one just looks thick and massive. The aroma is rich and decadent showing massive amounts of dark and milk chocolate, fudge, roasted coffee, dark fruits, and vanilla. The flavor is equally as impressive and complex. More dark fruits, licorice, and raisins coated in the chocolate and espresso emerge in the taste. The sweetness is balanced out by some bitterness from the copious amounts of hops and smoothed over by some vanilla. The flavors attack the palate from every angle showing it’s true depth. Full bodied and the thickest mouthfeel I’ve ever felt in a beer. The body is very visocus and smooth and coats the palate and hides the alcohol beautifully. A long bitter-sweet chocolate finish leaves you wanting after every sip. This is the best imperial stout I have had to date, and certainly seems hard that anything could top it. This is one of the few beers to me that actually lives up to the massive hype that precedes it.

A customer at my work gave me this, so cheers to him! Pours the thickest oily sludgey black colour you’ve ever seen. Thick thick muddy soupy black, is the best way i can describe it. Aroma is strong of alcohol right away, smoke, black licorice, oak and coffee grounds. Taste is crazy, almost chewy. I shared this with several different people and we all had different reactiosn to it. But i loved it. TAste is of wood, bbq, toffee and coffee. NIce beer.

2008 Bottle. Pours out a pitch 100K old oil topped with a small brown head. Aroma of coffee, smoke, pit fruit and plent of other greatness. Tast is just the same WOW. I don’t even know what to say. This stuff is so tasty. I would like a 04 or 05. After this one was a little hot.

2007 bottle. I enjoyed this beer, but not as much as the Bells Expedition Stout. Poured black with little/no head. Aroma of dark fruit and roasted malt with burned coffee. Flavor was of coffee, roasted malt and molasses. Full bodied. Not my favorite by far. I guess being hard to get makes it better? *cough* *sarcasm*

07 shared with my dad. Wow! I’ve been saving this for #100 and it was well worth the wait. Pours a dirty motor oil black with a thin almost brown head that left almost no lacing. The complexity of this beer starts in the nose with aromas of chocolate, coffee, caramel, molassas, smoked wood, dark fruits, and light alcohol. The flavor is similar to aroma with added earth tones and a long, very long warm finish that bounces from sweet to bitter untill your ready for another sip. Flavor is so full and complex yet nothing over powers anything else, which is beautiful aspect of this beer. Huge body, very soft carb, thick syrupy texture, and crazy creamy complex feel. This is the best imperial stout I’ve ever had. The only negitive is the price tag, but you forget about that when you take that first sip.

2008 Bottle. Black with almost no head. Aroma of dark fruit, prune juice and licorice. Thick creamy and sticky mouthfeel. Taste of over ripe dark fruit, prune juice, licorice, molasses and slight grassy hops. Complex and rich. Some alcohol burn. Not the best RIS I’ve had, but in the top five.