Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

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

2007 sampled at Oldsmar Tap House. (Thanks Tony!) What a treat. An incredible brew with flavors of mollases and caramel. Black as night with only a slight head-almost uncarbonated. Smooth and delicious.

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!!

A synopsis of all the vintages I’ve had: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008. I’ve even had this side-by-side with some of the top imperial stouts out there: Kaggen, Expedition, Old Raspy, etc. Is it overhyped? Yes. Are their better, or equal, imperial stouts out there? Yes. Is this still a damn good Imperial stout? Oh yes!

In every year of this beer the hallmark is always the same. It is an aggressive and in-your-face style of brew. Complexity? Not at all. A mellow and deeply contemplative style of brew? LOL, far from that. No, what this beer sells is evident on its label. It does one thing and one thing very well. To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women? Not quite. Rather, it presents a huge singular flavor that dominates its entire profile. A gigantic tsunami of viscosity paired with a forceful rush of sweet dates, raisons and dark fruit. This signature profile is evident in every year of this beer. Sure there’s variances in the product: the turkish coffee/thicker-than-used-motor-oil of the 2004 or the slightly thinner and green apple flavours of the 2006. However, dispite the variances they all display that one common characteristic that keeps stouties coming back for more.

2007 vintage as gleaned from Theisti’s rating (oh, and now I notice the wax code: ours was definetely grey). One of the beers he generously carried across a continent and half an ocean to bring me and Haukur. Aroma of smoked lamb! Multi-layered flavour; alcohol, dark fruit, but only a little, coffee, dark chocolate, smoked meat... I’m at loss for words. Just try and get some. Hijack planes and demand Dark Lord in exchange for hostages. It’s worth it.

2007 Vintage. 22 oz. bottle from poolboy, shared with haukur and Kalli at haukur’s tasting on 1 May 2008. Pour is all black, with not much of an off white head. Aroma of smoked meat, espresso coffee roast and very present pine hoppiness. Taste is big on the roast, big coffee espresso. More of the smoked meatiness, molasses, syrup, pine hoppiness. Some slight soy, some slight milkiness. Finish is huge, and very lasting. Spicy aftertaste, almost a leafiness to it. Incredibly dense and mouth coating. Taste is everything I want an Imperial Stout to be. This is a beautiful beer.

Draft at DLD08. Jet black with no head and thick as oil. Perfect. Nice sweet aroma. The taste is all over the place. Very complex and very enjoyable. Near impossible to beat. Actually like this more than the oaked.

[08 Bottle - fresh for later comparison - rated 5.7.2008] Pours thick black, a tint of brown, and small brown head, velvety. The aroma screams complexity coffee, molasses, alcohol, varnish, bitter dark chocolate. Wow is that thick and chunky! Its like Hershey’s syrup in the mouth. I have no idea what to make of this body... nearly set pudding. First taste is coffee and bitter chocolate, quickly overwhelmed by the rich extremely sweet Swiss chocolate flavor, with hints of raisins / dark fruits, burnt wood and caramel. Finishes a little bit hot, but the sweetness really takes care of that, licorice / dark chocolate aftertaste, strangely tannic. A brown sticky ring is forming around my lips. All I can think of is Augustus Gloop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [07 Bottle courtesy of Davinci 6/13/08 - ] Awesome!!! what a difference a year makes! notes to follow...9.4.9.5.18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [rating is a combination of both bottles. ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [08 bottle tried march 2009] - cardboard... bleh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [09 draft DLD April 09] - green banana, thinner than usual, less hoppy, okay, banana chocolate milkshake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [08 bottle tried September 09] - soy sauce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [09 bottled tried November 09] - not terrible, a bit oxidized, cardboard

2007 draft version at ’08 DLD. Served appropriately in a plastic dixie cup. Black with a brown head. Nice aroma is sweet black raisons, dates. Smooth, medium/full body. Big, sweet vinous flavors of raisons, dates, and earthy molasses. In fact, this beer was very sweet, after about two sips i thought about checking my blood glucose level. Surely the barkeep must have mistakenly dropped some sugar cubes into my cup. I still have a bottle from 2005, hope it’s not this sweet.