Style: Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 15.0 IBU: 50.0

85/100

Aroma:	11
Appearance:	3
Flavor:	18
Mouthfeel:	3

3 Floyds Dark Lord (2017)

What the brewers say

“A demonic Russian-style imperial stout brewed with coffee, Mexican vanilla, and Indian sugar, this beer defies description. Available one day a year, in April at the brewery: Dark Lord Day.”

What our panel thought

Aroma: “Molasses, sherry oxidized character with moderate raisin, Tootsie Roll, dark brown sugar, dark cherry, plum, and blueberry notes. Light ginger spiciness, Moderate alcohol lingering as it warms.”

Flavor: “Like eating an alcoholic gingerbread house. Heavy sweetness, molasses, gingerbread spiciness that extends into the aftertaste. Cloying sweetness covers everything but the gingerbread. Finishes with light bread, chocolate, and coffee.”

Overall: “Too sweet, too much molasses and sugar, cloying. Other characteristics are present such as spiciness, coffee, and vanilla, but they are diminished by the sweetness. One ounce is almost too much.”

What our editors thought

Review printed in: Porter & Stout (February-March 2018) (View All Issues)

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Three Floyds Brewing Co Dark Lord 2022

“Big bittersweet chocolate aroma with light coffee, black cherries, tobacco, leather, plums. Moderate caramel and treacle enhance the sweet chocolate in the flavor, then black cherries and overripe black plums chime in.”

Three Floyds Barrel-Aged Dark Lord De Muerte

__Aroma:__ “Concord grapes and cherry cough syrup followed up by pumpkin. There’s some chocolate in there and maybe some spice. But a lot of root vegetables, such as sweet potato and carrots. Weirdly reminiscent of processed baby food.” __Flavor:__ “Earthy maple sweetness up front. It’s quickly crushed by waves of pepper heat. The beer is thick, but it’s hot from spice and alcohol heat. Lot of fruit in there, squash, concord grape, and artificial cherry. Very sweet and syrupy with a touch of umami.” __Overall:__ “The thick and viscous body is visually exciting, but one whiff of carrots and peas in the nose jolts you back to reality. On the sip, it gets a bit better at first with a touch of barrel sweetness, but then the vegetal pepper notes catch up and the heat starts to sear the painful memory into a deep part of your psyche that no amount of counseling can cure. Booze and vegetables. Hot and weird.”

Adtoit Theory Double Barrel Death of Cthulhu (Ghost 565)

Aroma: “Rich and vinous, hints of dark cherry and licorice, with warming alcohol and whiskey notes. Really interesting and complex.” Flavor: “The stout is pretty sweet overall—chocolate, caramel, candy sugar, and some dark fruit. The finish is quite boozy and bitter enough to keep it from being cloying.” Overall: “Fantastic aroma and, given the strong boozy barrel character and bitter finish, it’s still relatively well balanced. Basically a strong, barrel-aged breakfast or pastry stout. Great aged character, lots of dark fruit maltiness. Super tasty.”

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