Dark Lord aged vs. Dark Lord fresh?

i had the 2010 at about 1 year old, then again on DLD this year (so 2 years old), and i found i liked it slightly better younger. it felt a bit tired aged 2 years IMO. still a very nice beer but nowhere near as good as the top-end stouts we have nowadays.

 

Had a 2012 the other day and we poured out probably half the bottle. I was going to make a post on here to see if anyone who lived near me wanted some. It was terrible but to be fair, I thought last years was terrible too and 2010 isn't much better. 2009, however, also was not good. 2008, now that was a nice beer. I'd say age it for 4 years and hope for the best. FT: DL 2012

 

Trade for 3 Dark Lord 2011 2-3 months ago. Had the first one with a friend maybe a month ago, it was a SWEET mess. I though my friend was about to cry, he was so devastated! He wanted so much to love it!

I ending up trading one; the other is on his way out as well...Now I have three Black Tuesday to drink, hopefully it's not that sweet!!!

 

I have had both DL and BT multiple times, including having them both within the past couple of weeks. BT is much sweeter than DL, but the beer itself is in a completely different league. The barrel presence and slight alcohol add some balance, but make no bones about it, BT is one of the sweetest beers out there. If you don't like sweet (or dessert beers), don't expect to be a big fan of BT.

 

Having had it several times fresh, and aged, I have universally preferred it with time in the bottle. It's hard to have an apples to apples comparison, because each year is pretty different. But 11 is better NOW than it was last year. 10 is better NOW than it was last year. Just my opinion. And so your statement.

 

Very different "sweet" sort of flavors though. I could imagine someone disliking DL and loving BT.

The key with either beer, IMO, is that you're not drinking that whole bottle solo. That's like eating a whole chocolate cake by yourself. It's not going to end well. Share, and you'll savor and enjoy more.

 

Without question, for example I despise Southern Tier's Choklat and Creme Brulee, but love BT, which are all very sweet, but obviously different beers. I'm just saying if you don't like sweet beer, don't EXPECT (or hype yourself up) to be a big fan of BT. If you do end up liking it, great. The fact of the matter though is, it is fantastic stuff.

And if you could put down a bottle of BT by yourself, you are a beast, and a drunk one at that.

 

Challenge accepted.

 

I have a '12 that im not sure if I should drink soon or let sit... I had a 2010 about 6 months ago and thought it was reaally sweet. Anyone have any insight onto how the '12 is drinking?

 

I see what you did there

 

I have found that if I don't like a beer at least pretty well when it's fresh, it isn't going to turn "great" when it's aged. The reason this comes up so often with DL is because every year has been so ridiculously different. People tend to think age will make it better because 2007 and 2008 are drinking awesome... well, I'm here to tell you that those beers were off the charts when they were fresh too.

Try it now. If you like it but have a small issue with sthing about it, age it. If you think it's crap, trade that sucker away because it's not going to transform into a drastically different beer.

 

This year's dark lord is INCREDIBLY sweet... You could even go so far as to say that "brown sugar" is one of the predominant flavors. Would probably benefit from some time.

 

Had a '09 Bcbc maybe 2 months ago and found it sweet, but very enjoyable. Hated both '11 Dark Lord (and the '11 120 minutes we had the same night).

I have 3 bottles of '11 BT, will probably drink one in the next few days. Will definitely post my comments here!