3 Floyd’s The Dark Lord
05. Feb, 2010 
8 Comments
Hey everybody and welcome to the Brew Review!
The Dark Lord Cometh and the Dark Lord kickith my ass. This is probably the most important and exciting review that will ever happen on the Brew Review. Today I review 3 Floyds Brewery’s Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout. So what makes this so special? Well for those of you that don’t know about the Dark Lord it is only produced 1 time a year, and is only available for purchase 1 day a year. Dark Lord Day! A festival that brings people from all over the country to 3 Floyds brewery just to get their hands on this embellished Russian Imperial Stout.
I have to give a big thanks to my buddy Adam P. for sharing his last remaining bottle with me. The Dark Lord comes in a 22 ounce bottle with a protective wax covering on the cap and hellish design on the front. We drank from the 2008 vintage of Dark Lord that originally cost like $15.00 that would sell on Ebay for 3 to 5 times that. Adam thank you for keeping it and thank you for allowing me to drink it with you.
About The Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout
I am going to let 3 Floyds describe this one themselves.
A demonic Russian Style Imperial Stout, brewed with Intelligensia coffee Mexican vanilla, and Indian sugar this beer defies description, available one day a year in April at the brewery, Dark Lord Day.
3 Floyds didn’t have the ABV listed on its site, but other places around the web have estimated that this beer comes in at about 13% ABV.
My Review
The Package
The packaging for the Dark Lord is nothing short of astounding. It is mean looking with it’s wax covering and comic book style Dark Lord on the front of it. Throw this together with the festival and rareness of this beer and it is a marketers dream.
The Pour
You will never find a beer thicker than this. I dare you to try. It is blacker than black, no light comes through, you can’t see anything behind the liquid. Now add to that a motor oil like finish that coats everything it touches. You take a drink of this beer and it looks empty, but if you give it five minutes to settle down from the sides of the glass you will see that you really didn’t drink any of it. The head on the 2008 was almost gone. But what kind of carbonation can you expect after a beer sits for nearly 2 years. I have a video coming of the beer settling down the side of the glass. I just need to pick up a micro USB cable so I can get in on the computer from my phone.
The Nose
On the nose Dark Lord is wild. It has aromas of dark fruit, chocolate, coffee, and even a little tobacco. But I here each vintage is different.
The Palate
The Dark Lord has more flavor components than I thought was actually possible for a beer to have. Everything in the Dark Lord is exagerated beyond belief. You can pick it apart and pick it apart again and I guarantee you will continue to find new flavors in there. I swear I tasted Chocolate, Coffee, Prunes and Raisins, Cough Syrup, and Tobacco. Mix that with the high alcohol content and you have got a winner for beer with most flavors.
However, with all that said…
The Dark Lord is a perfect example of a beers parts being greater than its whole. It is probably the finest crafted beer that I have ever had the opportunity to drink. It brings everything to the table. A great package, a great pour, A great nose, and amazing flavors, but it is simply undrinkable. The thickness and texture that coat your mouth combined with the mixtures of taste and alcohol make this beer a sipper for a group of enthusiasts, and not a beer for everybody. You will not be able to finish a 22 oz bottle by yourself. You will not be drinking this beer on a daily basis, you will not drink this beer with food because it is heavier than anything you could eat, and you will not be drinking this beer to feel refreshed. You will not be drinking this beer for any reason other than tasting it with other beer lovers.
The Rating
3.5 out of 5 beers.
If I ranked this beer in on its individual parts, and not on its whole it would have easily scored a 4.5 or above.
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The lord of all beers!!!!!! I am so envious of you. I would love to get my hands on some of this fine beer. Thanks for the review and if you get any this year save some we’ll have to indulge in some fine beer drinking.
I am going to have to make sure to get out to Three Floyds for Dark Lord Day to experience the thrill of joining in with other beer enthusiasts from around the country and the world. It’s pretty exciting that we have something so cool right in the area. Maybe Northwest Indiana one day will become the Napa Valley of microbrewing.
Now, I’m curious to read how Dark Lord compares to Crown Brewing’s Russian Imperial Stout.
Keep up the great reviews. I enjoy reading and learning about new brew offerings.
Chris,
Thanks for stopping by the site, we really appreciate it. And Northwest Indiana is definitely on its way to being known for beer. The 6 local breweries are creating great beers and will only grow in popularity in my book.
I haven’t had Crown’s Russian Imperial Stout yet. I will have to try it and compare the too in a head to head battle.
Thanks, I will I love doing it. I will be sure to stop by your site to see what you have going on over there too.
Adam
So everyone knows, fanbrew, will be promoting at the dark lord on 4-24
Petry,
Do you know something I don’t because to my knowledge tickets aren’t on sale yet and I don’t know when they will be. Be my beat on the street and get me those tickets.
Adam
Adam,
Great addition of the video!!!! Looks great!!!!
Many cultures have their own “Man test” to determine manliness(sp?). You have the one with the bullet ants, or the ones in Africa where you have to go out and live on your own all painted in white. My point being, THIS BEER should be the test in the USA! Forget cars, and sports…its all about the beer people! I would like to try to drink this dark lord by myself just to prove you wrong Adam.
Robbie,
Don’t get me wrong. I drank it so I passed the man test. I mean one of the most important laws of beer is that if you open you drink it until it is gone.
But this beer is something else. It is more like gelatin than beer.
Adam