Darklord Day 2017

You guys are killin me today

Yeah, they're safe from us. I'll be hydrating Friday at home.

 

At this point, I feel sorry for everyone else at the fest wondering what all of these psychos are yelling about.

 

One year Dogfish Head sent Bourbon Barrel Aged Palo Santo. That was fun.

Beyond that I don't think I've ever had anything that was wacky wild on a guest tap. But they're not usually my jam

 

Off the top of my head:

Founders CBS
Toppling Goliath King Sue
Hill Farmstead Mary / Citra / Society & Solitude
Cigar City Huna
Cigar City Sherry Marshal Zukhov
Bruery Rue d'Floyd
Firestone Parabajava
Dark Horse BBPt5
Perennial Abraxas
Boneyard RPM

Usually see some Pipeworks, Port Brewing, Mikkeller, Stone, Surly, Goose Island as well.

As for Three Floyds taps, I have had various barrel aged Dark Lord variants, Dark Lord vintages, and barrel aged versions of different beers they have (Blot out the Sun, Moloko, Behemoth etc..)

 

Those are the last people at DLD I'll be feeling sorry for. There will be far worse things said and witnessed that day. I'm wondering what the next drunken DLD mascot will end up being called.

 

North Gate people from last year remember the chaos that was the "Staging Area".

#TheNorthRemembers

 

I'm not worried about the efficiency of the bottle pick up line. That should go super quick. I'm much more worried about the line to get into the fest, and group A people potentially not getting into the fest in time.

The lines for the guest taps are nuts if the weather is nice. Expect about 30 min to grab a pour during the middle of the day. However, the bottle shares in the guest tap lines are just as good as anywhere else. Made some great people and had some great beer in the draft lines.

Some memorable beers

King Sue
Parabjava (before it was ever bottled)
Hill Farmstead Citra
Huna
Bourbon Barrel Plead the 5th
Abraxas
CBS (didn't try it unfortunately, keg kicked 2 people ahead of me)

 

My reccomendtion to any newbies, if you're showing up early, go straight to the guest taps and see what they have. For the first 90 min after the gates open, the lines are very manageable/non existent. It gets crazy later in the afternoon.

 

I don't have as much experience as most in this thread, but the taps seem like a crapshoot. An example: I strolled past the FFF taps by the south tent and I saw nothing but regular DL and shelfies. 15 minutes later, a guy in my group comes back with several pours of Dwaren Power Bottom.

I definitely need to check the taps more often this year, though that would require being at least slightly less drunk.

 

Map usually comes out later this week

 

I know this is a given but I was talking to Cigar City Brewing customer service representative this morning and she said that a pretty large group was headed up to DLD this year. There could be a big opportunity to get some of the El Catador releases on the guest taps.

- Double Barrel Hunahpu
- Look to the Cookie
- BA Marshal Zhukov
- BA Penultimate Push

 

Me too. I never really spend much time at the taps. I'm always in the tent shares. I guess the idea of waiting in line to pay for beer when I could be sharing and drinking better beers in the tent never really appeased me. Part of this has to do with bad luck I'm sure as just about every time I've been at the guest taps there's never been anything I consider good on tap.

 

I'd have to say that FFF Pear Bear is one of the most sour beers I've ever had. Can't say that I've tried any from Upland.

 

I most definitely understand the difference between revenue and profit. Even if it is a $1.5MM day profit, that is still over $136K per hour. If you don't think that is real money, please write me a check for $136K.

My point was that I am not greedy to want a decent variant. If you don't think FFF makes money hand over fist at this event, I would strongly disagree.

 

Yeah, I'm not getting how it's somehow wrong to want Handjee/FVM instead of two vintages when we're all paying the same price.


With that said, if I get 2 vintages I'll trade them for a Handjee.

 

Upland sours are much better now than they were a few years ago. A few years ago they were easily more sour than Pear Bear...which was a pretty solid beer IMO.

 

The Cigar City event FFF had a few years back was amazing. Whales galore. I can only hope the Hawks beat the Lightning in another series in 2018....

 

The Dark Lord Fortune #9,911,151,515

He who wishes to make money hand over fist must be skilled in the art of Handjees.

 

Whenever Pear Bear was released last I bought 2 bottles. I like real sour stuff, but the first bottle was almost too sour for me to drink. I drank my second one a few months later thinking it might even be more sour, but it was not. I would call it tart, but hardly sour at all. Didn't seem like the same beer.
I also heard Skull Ole was really sour. Had that on tap last DLD. It reminded me of my second Pear Bear, tart but not that sour.
I guess bottles can vary in all styles.

 

I thought (and the BA Ratings seem to reflect it) that Pear Bear was the best sour FFF has done. I found it to be tart, but balanced versus Skull Ole which was just industrial grade bathroom enamel remover mislabeled as a sour....