Three Floyds Oak Aged Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

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

Notes from Dark Lord Day ’07. 6oz glass in a plastic cup! Black with brown edges, staining the glass with brown, and a tiny ring of tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, bourbon, roasted grain, coffee, dark chocolate, and some alcohol. Flavor added some tobacco, oak, stronger alcohol, pine, bitter chocolate, and a roasty bitter finish peaking at a 5-6. The beer also got a little bit of salty soy towards the finish. Full body with low carbonation. Good amount of boubon in this, though not as strong as GI Bourbon County Stout.

Drank at Three Floyd’s Brewing Company during the 2007 Dark Lord Day: Black as night it had a slight brown head that left some nice brown lacing. The nose was huge and filled with expresso, chocolate and porty overtones. In the mouth it was the most dense, thick, syrupy, oily beer I have every tasted. While the alcohol lever is high (15%) and you know it is there, it is never hot. The flavors from the nose burst into the palate covering every nook and cranny. This is an intese freak of a beer that one can only drink in small quantities. However credit needs to be given as it is balanced which is not an easy feat for something this size.

So... my wife was doing a bit of fall cleaning and came upon my GTMW tasting booklet. Upon perusing, I discovered that this is the only rating that I hadn’t entered from the festival. So, here we go... tasting note verbatim: Lots of the same characteristics of the original. Rich, thick, chewy, sweet and dry malt. I think the barrel aging adds a bit of alcoholic hotness/sour/tart imbalance. Still phenomenal though. Definite whiskey presence. Rich, viscous and perfect on the palate. Would love to try more.

Re-rate. GTMW 2008. Too much tannic, wet wood and an off-putting metallic taste that really takes away from the original beer.

DL-Day (2006). Notes of oak, smoke, hints of dried fruit (berries?) and dark chocolate. Solid black, nice leathery brown colored head. Bourbon and oak stand strong in flavor with nice balance of malt, coffee, and chocolate. Mouthfeel was creamy and thick with a smooth lasting finish. Excellent balance, great beer.

2006 vintage, came solid black with a thin head. Aroma was complex, flavor is very malty with an extremely strong bourbon presence. Thick. Very good.

At GTMW 2007. Thought it was very interesting, but not sure if it was better than the regular Dark Lord I have from DLD 2007. When you drink this beer you can really detect and appreciate all the flavors. It seems like the beers that are aged in Woodford Reserve barrels always turn out very good, without being dominated by the bourbon flavor.

Name: Oak Aged Dark Lord
Date: April 29, 2006
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub
Vintage: 2006
Appearance: solid black, lasting thin fine brown head
Aroma: complex aroma
Body: thick body
Flavor: rich malt flavor, strong bourbon character, lots of oak, thick and sweet

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 9/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: ***4

Name: Oak Aged Dark Lord
Date: April 28, 2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub
Vintage: 2007
Appearance: black, wispy brown head, drippy lace
Aroma: huge sweet chocolate and hot bourbon aroma with roasted intertwined with hops
Body: thick sticky body
Flavor: thick dry dark chocolate flavor, lots of bourbon and vanilla sweetness, touch of ripe dark fruits, creamy coffee comes along after a while, stains the glass brown

Aroma: 9/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***4

Name: Oak Aged Dark Lord
Date: April 25, 2009
Mode: Draft
Source: Tasting, DLD
Vintage: 2009
Appearance: black, wispy tan head
Aroma: sweet bourbon and chocolate aroma, vanilla, caramel candy
Body: huge creamy body
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, lots of bourbon and vanilla, light roasted, oak adds the balance, lots of candy character, a touch of hot fumey alcohol

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.2/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***4

Was pitch black in color with a brown head that retained very well and managed to leave some lacing behind. Nice aromas of vanilla and bourbon, with oak coming into play as well. There was also some roastiness, but the vanilla and bourbon seemed to be the strongest. Taste is a blending of vanilla, maple syrup, bourbon, wood, with a finish of some coffee and bourbon. Mouthfeel is thick and very smooth, the bourbon seems to almost lighten it up just a tad, however. Carbonation was on the lower side of medium. Great beer, and probably even more enjoyed in the winter months by a fire, but this sample was enjoyed out in the sun at DLD. If you are desperate to find out what this beer is like, buy a Bourbon County Stout. BCS is 99% of what this beer is, IMO.