Dark Lord Imperial Stout - Three Floyds Brewing Co. & Brewpub

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BA SCORE
96
world-class
-
2,140 Ratings

rAvg: 4.33
pDev: 15.01%
Reviews: 1082
Hads: 1058

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Brewed by:
Three Floyds Brewing Co. & Brewpub

Indiana, United States

Style | ABV
Russian Imperial Stout | 15.00% ABV

Availability: Spring. bottle (1043), on-tap (35), cask (3), growler (1).

Notes:
2004 - Red Wax
2005 - Orange Wax
2006 - Gold Wax
2007 - Silver Wax
2008 - Black Wax
2009 - White Wax
2010 - Olive Green Wax
2011 - Yellow Wax
2012 - Red Wax
2013 - Orange Wax

View: Beers (84) | Reviews (291) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by SWMeyer4141:

SWMeyer4141

Texas

4.5/5 rDev +3.9%

01-02-2012 15:43:22 | More by SWMeyer4141

More User Reviews:

THANAT0PSIS

Wisconsin

4.33/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Three Floyds Dark Lord 2013

Appearance: Dark Lord lives up to its name. It pours an extremely dark brown, perhaps even to the point of being black. There is just a half-centimeter of dark tan head, which is not surprising in its relative absence. The lacing is spotty and minimal, and the alcohol legs are just as intense as the color of the pour. This is a typical looking Russian imperial stout, and, at 15% ABV, it cannot be faulted too much for the lack of head.

Aroma: Huge notes of chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and alcohol jump out of the glass immediately. It smells very sweet to the point of smelling like double chocolate chip cookies. There is a very mild hop presence, but thankfully it appears Three Floyds did not do their signature over-hopping to this beer. The hops combined with the strong alcohol aromas, an underlying cherry, dark fruit, and anise aroma all help to cut the almost overwhelming sweetness. This is a very complex smelling beer, but it is also a bit sweet smelling.

Taste: Apparently the rumors about Dark Lord are true. The beer is just a little too sweet, and the sweetness is not cut by anything really. The hop presence is still there, but in a sweet hop oil capacity rather than a cutting bitterness. The alcohol also just is not enough, in fact it is a sweet alcohol, which only adds to the sweetness. There is just a touch of the green apple flavor that the 2013 batch was rumored to have, but it meshes well with the rest of the beer for the most part, especially well with the cherries and the dark fruit. The chocolate and coffee are there, but it is more of a mocha than the bitterness one would expect from these qualities in a stout. It is a very complex beer, but it is a little bit too cloying.

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel is perhaps the best part of this beer. It is velvety, creamy, slick, oily, warming, and thick. It is everything that a Russian imperial stout should be. There is nothing more to say.

Overall: If only this beer was more balanced. It does not quite live up to the hype, but it is still certainly a great beer. Three Floyds has a reputation for pushing the envelope, and I think it fell right off the table on this one. It is still a very good beer, but it is not worth jumping through the hoops that you must to get it. Try it, but do not trade your left arm for it. 18/20

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 01:42:32 | More by THANAT0PSIS

BradSillars

Illinois

4.25/5 rDev -1.8%

05-18-2013 01:16:50 | More by BradSillars

Ebf

Illinois

5/5 rDev +15.5%

05-17-2013 23:48:29 | More by Ebf

darvinlikemarvin

Iowa

5/5 rDev +15.5%

05-17-2013 18:28:44 | More by darvinlikemarvin

thaghost

Illinois

4.75/5 rDev +9.7%

05-17-2013 17:30:04 | More by thaghost

twenty5

Pennsylvania

4/5 rDev -7.6%

05-17-2013 16:04:51 | More by twenty5

carlosega

Ohio

4.25/5 rDev -1.8%

05-16-2013 20:24:58 | More by carlosega

Rainblows

Illinois

3.5/5 rDev -19.2%

05-16-2013 14:33:35 | More by Rainblows

deekyn

California

4.5/5 rDev +3.9%

05-16-2013 04:07:21 | More by deekyn

cmdmzmjm

Illinois

4/5 rDev -7.6%

05-16-2013 02:15:23 | More by cmdmzmjm

justforrazors

Missouri

4.59/5 rDev +6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Impromptu first review, just finished this bottle and figured it would be a good one to start reviewing with.

2011 bottle, served at 50-55 degrees in a snifter.

A- Jet black, a mocha head quickly appears during the pour but quickly dissipates to nothing. Some alcohol legs.

S- Extremely sweet- Cherries, molasses, and alcohol. No roast or coffee detected.

T- Very sweet, but not overly so. I can taste cherries, figs, molasses, and a bit of an alcohol bite. Finishes like a port, absolutely delicious.

M- Silky smooth, a bit of alcohol bite but it is an easy sipper.

O- This is an excellent beer, but I feel it could use another year or two and hopefully some of the sweetness will die down. It was very enjoyable, and surprisingly I could have drank quite a bit more than the half a bottle I had without getting the full feeling I sometimes get from RIS.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2013 22:30:00 | More by justforrazors