SAVOR wasn’t the only important craft beer gathering that took place over the weekend…3 Floyds’ sold-out Dark Lord Day also attracted thousands…and it was one of the brewery’s best ever.
Built around the release of its prized Russian Imperial Stout, a 15% ABV monster brewed with coffee, Indian sugar and Mexican vanilla, Dark Lord Day which is held annually at the brewery in Munster, Indiana, has become one of craft beer’s hottest tickets.
And tickets to this year’s Dark Lord Day (which always sells out immediately) weren’t cheap…
But the $180 ticket price also included four 22-ounce bottles of 2019 Dark Lord as well as a “rare 2019 Dark Lord variant” in each pre-packaged bag that were handed to each person at random.
According to the brewery there were 13 different Dark Lord variants this year with beer collectors already in the hunt for these hard-to-get rarities…
- (RyeBADL) — Dark Lord aged in rye barrels
- (xBBA xDVR)— Dark Lord aged in bourbon barrels and Divine Rite malt whiskey barrels
- (xRBA xDVR)— Dark Lord aged in rye barrels and Divine Rite malt whiskey barrels
- BBADL — Dark Lord aged in bourbon barrels
- Brosure — Dark Lord aged in ruby red port barrels
- Cavaleiro of Varnov—Dark Lord aged in Calvados barrels
- Chemtrailmix —Dark Lord aged in rye barrels with cinnamon and pink peppercorns
- French Vanilla Militia— Dark Lord aged in Sauternes barrels with vanilla, cocoa nibs and coffee
- Loadstar — Dark Lord aged in Sauternes whiskey barrels with toasted coconut
- Lounge Against The Macromachine — Dark Lord aged in bourbon barrels before being finished in tequila barrels with Mekong cinnamon, cocoa nibs, guajillo peppers and tangerine peel
- Marshmallow Handjee —Bourbon barrel-aged Dark Lord with vanilla beans
- Reptilefund — Dark Lord aged in bourbon barrels and mezcal barrels
- ‘Rrari Crochet — Dark Lord aged in port whiskey barrels with vanilla, freeze-dried strawberries, cocoa nibs and toasted coconut
In addition to the five beers, the $180 fee also included a branded tote bag, and access to various concert events as well as entrance to the festival itself where more than 50 uber-hot breweries from all over the world were serving up their best…names like the UK’s Northern Monk, Canada’s Brasserie Dieu du Ciel, Oregon favs Boneyard Beer and Gigantic…and Chicago players like Off Color, and Pipeworks Brewing.
In keeping with the 3 Floyds ethos the music was serious metal and the Dark Lord Day attendees appropriately buzzed.