Three Floyds Oak Aged Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

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

Sampled on DL Day 2006!!! I have to give it 100%, come on...year old...oak aged Dark Lord??? Much more intense than I coould have imagined. Almost like bourbon. I was amazed that when the glass was empty the coating hung on like it was maple syrup. One great beer.

Sipping a big goblet full of this black, oily, hazy topped berzerker, I pondered the whole madness surrounding the recent Dark Lord release fiasco. The forum threads had a circus-like atmosphere with ugly attitudes and greedy tones that made me feel like I was reading a forum completely foreign to me. I wanted a case of Dark Lord and I wanted to try this barrel aged beer, which contains every bit of chocolatey, rough espresso edged goodness I expected, delivered in a malty, oaky, alcoholic envelope of teeth clenching bourbon., warming my stomach and sticking like glue to the sides of my tongue. Personally, I’d rather not stand in line for $180 worth of beer that I used to get in $20 growlers, but I completely understand supply and demand (I often spend $250 on an urban vinyl toy that sold-out for $100 just minutes before). I rather enjoy when the pub is filled up and rowdy, too, almost as much as I enjoy it’s quiter moments, but the thought of seeing the people who had recently caused such goofy fury on the forums and being directly associated with that forum made me rethink the reasons why I’ve been a member of ratebeer for the last 50 months. For the first time I didn’t want to go to Three Floyds directly because of my association to Ratebeer! Rating beer was a lot of fun, meeting people was tenfold the fun but now I feel that the ratings and racking of numbers and boorish forum behavior has cheapened the experience for me. I can honestly say that I didn’t want to be a part of the Ratebeer group that rallied at the Pub last weekend. I value many of you as friends on an individual basis, so I hope I’m not coming off sounding elitist or rude. I have met a ton of great people because of Ratebeer and will continue to keep in touch with many of the people here, but through emails and other routes. I also found myself using Ratebeer forums as an outlet for my own grumpiness sometimes and that’s not what this site is supposed to be about. I’m not putting anybody down here, these are my personal thoughts and nobody is being singled out. I will move along through the World of new beers on my own, with fond memories of the great times here at Ratebeer. Joe & Admins, keep up the great work and I’ll continue to point people to this site, like I have for over 4 years now. I’ll buy you all pints when I run into you! Cheers- Joe Marinaro (aka Marinaro500 aka RatedX)

Tiny snifter at Floyds on Dark Lord Day. Solid black well of souls lurks under a tiny rim of foam, which has given up in its attempt to brighten up this evil brew and now clings panting for its last breath to the side of the glass. A dizzying smell of coffee, maple, vanilla and molasses. Taste... um, um, Thick. Heady. Oaky. Slides down the throat like an oily serpent marinated in Kahlua and vanilla extract. Smooth alcohol nonetheless goes right to my forebrain and shuts off higher functions. Complexity… um… just starting to be known. Notes of cola… wintergreen… cherries. Rough on the back of the throat, but not astringent like other strong stouts. The dividing line between this and a truly fine liquer is… um…
<table width=90% halign=center><tr><td> </td><td>I’m afraid. I’m afraid, Dave.
Dave, my mind is going.
I can feel it. I can feel it.
My mind is going. There is no question about it.
I can feel it.
I can feel it.
I can feel it.
I’m a... fraid.

Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am a HAL 9000 computer. I became operational at the H.A.L. plant in Urbana, Illinois on the 12th of January 1992. My instructor was Mr. Langley, and he taught me to sing a song. If you’d like to hear it I can sing it for you.
It’s called "Daisy."
Daisy, Dai…sy, give me your an…swer do. I’m… half… cra…zy all for the love of you. It won’t be a styl… ish marriage, I can’t a…fford… a carriage…. But you’ll… look sweet up… on… the seat of a bi… cy… cle built… for… two…. </td></tr></table>

On tap at the 3 Floyd’s brewpub on Dark Lord Day. $6 for a 5 oz portion (It would be a very nice gesture on the part of the 3 Floyds brothers to charge a lot less for such a small amount, considering some of the people who attended Dark Lord Day traveled hundreds of miles from many different states just to get some of this, but that’s another topic. Anyway, poured a pitch black oily color with a very thick creamy brownish beige head. Aroma was a beautiful combination of slightly burnt molasses, dark rich chocolate, cherries,vanilla,bourbon,oak and alcohol. Flavor was a complex and very rich combination of dark chocolate,marashino cherries,expresso,vanilla, oaked bourbon and warm alcohol. Excellent !!! This needs to be bottled and produced in larger quantities.

Draught, Dark Lord Day 2008. Original Dark Lord is a 5.0 beer for me, a 1 year barrel aged version just takes it to another level. Has the smoothness, intensity, layers of flavor and incredible body of Dark Lord, with additions of whiskey, charred oak, vanilla and coconut.

On Tap at DLD 07 - Pours black and beautiful with a large tan head that stays well. Good bourbon, chocolate, and vanilla, as well as some oak in the aroma. Flavor is coffee, chocolate, roasted and burnt malts, and some vanilla, bourbon and hops at the finish. Amazing how the barrel enhances this beer. This is really really beautiful!

On tap during Dark Lord Day


With great trepidation, I got my 5 oz plastic cup of Barrel Aged Dark Lord and transferred into my new tasting goblet. The result was a light sucking black colored liquid with a beautiful tan head that stubbornly stuck to the side of the glass. After admiring it, I took a timid sniff. A very rich and complex bouquet of coffee, caramel, cherries, fresh sugar cane, vanilla and Maker’s Mark greeted my eager nose.

After much debate, my first sip bestowed many pleasures upon my virgin tongue. There was first a wave of freshly whipped high grade chocolate, ground Kona expresso beans and bourbon. Next came impressions of vanilla beans, more bourbon notes and dehydrated cherries. On the third wave came creamy smooth expresso blended with figs. Finally, after all that, there was a long lingering combination of everything wrapped up in a sublime package. It’s too bad that I was only able to try this once. It was an extremely amazing experience that is all the more special because it is so hard to come by. It also happens to be my first perfect rating after a few months of exploring the universe of fermented beverages. If you can make it to Dark Lord Day 2007, do it just to try this - you will not regret the trip at all.

Oily black pour with a thin tan head. Aroma of oak, light toasted coconut, vinous fruits, roasted, bready malt and bakers chocolate. Flavor was rich roasted malts, dark chocolate, vanilla notes, sticky caramel, hints of bourbon. Rich/thick body, soft/no carbonation sweet/vinous/woody with a roasty/oaky/sticky-sweet finish. The barrel didn’t tame nor subdue this beast of a beer...really just upped it another level. It also helps that it started with the 07 vintage which was one of my favorite years to begin with. Really goddamn awesome, it gets my first 5.