Dark Lord Day (DLD) 2015

Had '11 and '15 side by side and '15 couldn't even compare. I don't think it helped that I was sick the whole day and went to bed with a fever. Still had a blast though. Watching that big freedia crowd, I've seen things now that I can never unsee.

 

Good to know. I guess when I walked through a few times, there was just nothing that caught my eye as anything other than meh.

 

My only real complaint this year is with the line to get in. Had A group tickets...the email said A group line was the north gate and all others were the south gate. Got there around 10:15 and had to wait almost 2 hours to get in the gates. Saw people with all group tickets in the north gate line. A simple sign saying A group only would have cut that line down to a manageable level.

Once we got in, the beer line moved quick. None of the 4 of us got a winning ticket. Got outside and we were going to head over to the guest taps to start drinking when it started pouring. Ended up leaving and grabbing lunch and a few beers on the way home from a local bar.

 

I thought the same thing. Couldn't even see what was on tap until you get through 20 mins worth of line only to find Dogfish Head Namaste, Bells double cream stout and a few more beers that are readily available everywhere.

 

When? Where? I feel like I was being lied to all day there. I never saw any guest tap that was exciting as those!

 

Well I made it all day for the first time. I got there a little after 4 and made it through to see CoC. They were great and so was Obituary. Of course there were the mandatory drunken idiots in and around the pit, but that's to be expected and they ended up eating mud anyway. Caught of little of Big Freida and was actually pretty entertained. There were a lot more people than I expected in that tent and everyone was pretty into it.

Overall it was a pretty good time. Lots of mud, but it seemed like they did their best to fix as much of it as they could. The lines were ridiculous for bottles for some reason. Much worse than last year. And I don't know why anyone would spend hours in line to get a few glasses. Jokes on them though, they lifted the limit in the late afternoon and there was zero line. I didn't see as many people throwing up all over, but maybe all of the rain just washed it away.

Of course there are always the bottle thieves. I'm really surprised Munster PD hasn't started doing stings to catch these guys. Until they do, just watch out for your neighbors at the tables and your drunken friends.

And this guy gets the classiest man at DLD award

 

We had a great time overall. Had E group tickets and took our time checking into the hotel. Left for DLD at about 12:30, noticed 18th Street posted that they still had bottles left, did a u-turn and went there instead. Scored 3 of the 4 variants, had a Hunter Orange on tap and a grilled cheese. Full belly and a few new bottles we were on our way to DLD. Parked at centennial, made our way around the grounds doing a few IP trades with some great BA'ers. My brother in laws trade partner even picked up a few extra glasses for us while he was in line which was awesome!

We hit the guest taps and like many, I was less than impressed. Maybe we just went to the wrong tents? Got into our line after that and had a blast. We were near some very generous people. A couple from the Netherlands sharing Cantillon, also had a bunch of amazing beers I had not tried before. I was shocked at how awesome Surly Darkness really is. I need to track down a few bottles of that for sure. Got our bottles, no golden ticket winners. Decided to put our bottles in the car and once we did the walk we were not heading back in. Hotel, little more drinking and a pizza. Day in a nutshell.

We had a great time and plan on being back next year. I think if you go in without the expectation of the greatest day of your life and just roll with the different things your encounter, everyone can have a great time.

 

I've never had an aged bottle of BVDL that was better than fresh. It is sweet fresh, but that's part it's charm, should have a marshmallow quality to it.

 

My palate was a bit fatigued by the time I had it on tap combined with being soaking wet, it was hard to concentrate on it. I could tell it was a very complex brew, but was forced to drink it too quickly bc my gf wanted leave. At least I have a bottle of it to crack open

 

Did I read glassware will be/is on sale today online?!

 

Oh why must Dark Lord Day only come but once a year?

 

Looks like only the snifter for now. Was hoping to score a goblet online too....oh well

http://www.darkmattercoffee.com/collections/gifts/products/dmc-snifter

 

I was not able to locate any '15 DL in the late afternoon onward as I wanted to try this years out. Seems to me they blew through all their DL kegs in the first half of the day. Lesson learned to show up earlier but I don't recall a similar issue last year. Was able to catch Aquavit BA in one of the tents but after that nary a sight of DL or any variants on draft.

 

I went to the guest taps right when I got through the gates a little after 10 and as usual, there was nobody over there. Hung out there for a little bit and went back throughout the day. Not once did I have to wait for a guest beer (CBS might have been a different story if I was over there when they tapped it). The Pizza Port beers they had on tap were amazing too, Grapefruit Puncher and Citra-R-Ama

What time was it when you had to wait 20 mins? Never saw a big crowd over there all day.

 

You are spot on. By mid-day, the taps were very pedestrian.

 

Anyone get an extra hot sauce???

 

I was in line at the guest taps between 3-5pm

 

The Earl of Biggleswade was out of 648.

 

Abraxus on guest tap was phenomenal. How much were the goblets?

 

The tents between the south gate and the big tent had DL and variants all day. I had BVDL, 2011 BBDL and 15 DL all between 5-7pm with no waiting. Also had Horny for Blood and Baller Stout.