Bourbon Barrel Aged Vanilla Bean Dark Lord - Three Floyds Brewing Co. & Brewpub

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BA SCORE
100
world-class
-
490 Ratings

rAvg: 4.72
pDev: 7.84%
Reviews: 185
Hads: 305

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
Three Floyds Brewing Co. & Brewpub

Indiana, United States

Style | ABV
Russian Imperial Stout | 15.00% ABV

Availability: Spring. on-tap (139), bottle (29), growler (17).

Notes:
No notes at this time.

View: Beers (83) | Reviews (292) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by birchstick:

birchstick

Missouri

4.65/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle 347 of 934 - 2012 Vintage

A - pours black in color with a nice white rim on it

S - nose is a beautiful bouquet of vanilla, bourbon, and sweet milk chocolates

T - sweet vanilla upfront moves on to goey milk chocolates. Spicy bourbon with a nice amount of vanilla moves in to mix things up on the palate. Ends with the vanilla and bourbon. Sweet, fudgy chocolates, vanilla, and bourbon is the theme to this beer. Mmmm

M - smooth and full bodied

D - really sweet, delicious, and complex. Something about this beer put it into the 5 category taste wise for me, making this a serious contender against any barrel aged beer out there. Now, on to the rest of the series...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62508184@N03/8159864035/in/photostream

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2012 03:05:43 | More by birchstick

More User Reviews:

oldp0rt

Quebec (Canada)

4.75/5 rDev +0.6%

05-22-2013 23:57:43 | More by oldp0rt

grover37

District of Columbia

4.75/5 rDev +0.6%

05-22-2013 04:19:28 | More by grover37

CosmoHopHead

Kansas

4.75/5 rDev +0.6%

05-21-2013 04:01:01 | More by CosmoHopHead

jeonseh

Indiana

4.73/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

A - Dark chocolate brown with a thick syrupy body

S - Bourbon with tons of vanilla, marshmallow and caramel. Light bourbon and oak to it as well

T - Caramel, marshmallow, tons of vanilla, nice bourbon presence to it. Good vanilla and sweetness in the finish. Oaky bourbon presence to it that gives it a slight kick as well as a slight booziness. Good balance between the sweetness and booze

M - Thick syrupy body to it with light tinge of oak to it in the finish

O - Great BA vanilla beer with a good vanilla sweetness to it that is crossed with a nice bourbon spiciness. Definitely worth tracking down a bottle

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 02:12:49 | More by jeonseh

ShawnMH

Indiana

4.5/5 rDev -4.7%

05-19-2013 14:55:47 | More by ShawnMH

Fux

France

4.81/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

One of the highlights of last 2013 CBC. The keg was gone within a quarter but I was lucky enough to get two glasses of this!
A: Black, opaque, dense. Small mocha head which holds pretty well.
S: Fabulous nose, complex, deep, on vanilla, chocolate with a woody scent, cherries, slight touches of dark fruits.
T: On the palate, I got mainly chocolate, roasted malts, some ashes and also vanilla, bourbon, dark fruits and sherry. This is not exactly an explosion of aromas but more a travel within savors. The one you want to go slowly into and stop to pitch your tent wherever you're pleased enough to stay.
M: The mouthfeel is exactly the same as in the regular version, that is simply perfect. Smooth, light but high bodied, never sticky, perfectly drinkable, also perfectly sippable!
O: Vanilla does a great job in this beer, perfectly mixing with the cherries and ashes notes of the base beer, giving more complexity and richness. This one is probably worth the hype!

Serving type: on-tap

05-19-2013 13:06:29 | More by Fux

haknort

Illinois

5/5 rDev +5.9%

05-19-2013 03:28:04 | More by haknort

myersk27

Indiana

5/5 rDev +5.9%

05-17-2013 03:46:00 | More by myersk27

justforrazors

Missouri

4.94/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

2013 Vintage, bottle 428/711

Split with my friend Keith who attended DLD with me this year. Served in a FFF mini-snifter. Reviewed from notes.

A- Upon pouring, a mocha head quickly appears and dies down within 30 seconds, leaving a ring of foam around the rim of the glass. The color is opaque black, thick like motor oil.

S- The first thing I can smell is a very strong bourbon barrel presence, but it is quickly joined by vanilla, coffee, and a sweet molasses like aroma. Excellent aroma, it definitely invites you to take a drink.

T- I don't think it would be possible to use any more descriptors for this beer. Black cherries, prunes, vanilla, followed by some tobacco and caramel with bourbon strong on the finish. There is a lingering sweetness that is very familiar from regular dark lord on the back end, and surprisingly little to no alcohol bite, even with the bourbon flavor being so apparent. There is no detectable hop bitterness.

M- Silky smooth, yet very thick at the same time. This is definitely a sipper, but it is very easy to drink. Low-medium carbonation is right on for the style. The flavors linger and change over the incredibly long finish, definitely over a minute later I can still taste the beer.

O- This is a very enjoyable, incredibly complex beer. I'm glad I hadn't drank anything before this, because it was such a pleasure to really get into this beer and enjoy the full range of flavors you can get from it. The bourbon is there on the nose and finish, but the vanilla really outshines it, at least in my opinion. I'm sure that will die down with time, although I think this is simply amazing as it is right now. It was an honor to drink this beer, so very glad I was able to score one this year!

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 03:43:21 | More by justforrazors

BigbROB

Illinois

4.5/5 rDev -4.7%

05-16-2013 17:27:35 | More by BigbROB

SchuStar

Illinois

4.75/5 rDev +0.6%

05-16-2013 16:30:58 | More by SchuStar

Benjiehorn

Illinois

4/5 rDev -15.3%

05-16-2013 14:33:45 | More by Benjiehorn

mjohnson17

Illinois

3.75/5 rDev -20.6%

05-15-2013 17:53:49 | More by mjohnson17

Jeffo

Netherlands

2.58/5 rDev -45.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Thanks to a few people we were able to put together the entire vertical and almost all the BA variants. Lots of fun gents!

From a 750 into a snifter
2012 vintage
Bottle 921 of 934

APPEARANCE: Just like all the rest of them. Pours relatively clear for an imperial stout. Produces a small, one finger medium-looking head that quickly fades to a wisp and ring. Black body in the glass with some carbonation evident. Only a ring remains until the end and leaves no real lacing down the glass. A little too light a pour and an average head at best.

SMELL: Vanilla extract reminding me of those vanilla candles you buy at bath stores. Artificial and somewhat off-putting. A touch of bourbon barrel under the chemical vanilla aroma, but not much. Unfortunately this is one-dimensional and artificial, especially compared to the brandy vanilla version.

TASTE: Touches of bourbon barrel and oak peek through, but this is a one-dimensional vanilla extract bomb if there ever was one. All vanilla up front and into the swallow, then a big, vanilla dominated aftertaste with some oak and sweet caramel trying in vain to get through. Tough going and very little complexity.

PALATE: Slightly lighter than the base beer, but still big enough. Just like the other DL variants as well. Medium body with medium levels of carbonation. Creamy enough, goes down fine and finishes rather sticky on the palate. A bit of a burn and some heat lingers.

OVERALL: I can see why some people might like this. There is lots of vanilla, much like a vanilla cake or something like that. As a beer though, this is not something I'd want more than a small taste of. One dimensional, artificial and quickly tiring, this is not something I'd get too excited about drinking again. The brandy vanilla version was more natural that this one. Still, definitely a fun pair to try. Cheers gents!

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2013 13:17:04 | More by Jeffo