Dark Lord (2018)

Yeah, it was good. Sweet but not overly so.

 

I actually thought it was less sweet than regular because the sherry made it drier and less thick. One of the few variants I've had where the barrel actually changes the texture.

But that was Cavaleiro of Varnov, not Brotilla. Didn't realize Brotilla was sherry.

 

First time checking in since the fest. I think it was probably the most well-run DLD yet in that I most definitely got to try more variants on tap than I ever had. The lines for them were a joke, but that was totally to be expected. The bum out on the tap front was that for me, the guest drafts may as well have been non-existent where previous years I enjoyed quite a few.

Got to try Cavalieros, got 3 pours of Chemtrail, two Handjees, Ronaldo and regular 18. REALLY wanted to try that SpaceForce but it just didn't work out.

Awesome sharing as always, pretty entertaining drunken crowd, bottle pickup was super quick and easy- Group B waited until about 12 and ended up with a Chemtrail mix for the 2nd year in a row.

Pig Destroyer was awesome too. Left after they played and was surprised to see Handjee sitll on at two tents with little to no lines. They had a bunch of that stuff this year.

 

1) is Brotilla (Carcavelos) sherry? I know it is Portuguese wine but that's all.

2) the pour of CoV (the variant I got in my allotment) was noticeably thinner than regular DL or any other DL variant I tried Saturday.

 

People also panned Chemtrailmix before last year and now it is the most popular variant.

It's a Portuguese fortified wine, similar to sherry and port which are both fortified wines, but it is its own thing.

 

Had a great time. Got to the fest at about 10-10:15. I was a big fan of the announced DL variants timed tappings. I was able to get hung, handjee, FVM by waiting in line. Someone gave me a taste of Spaceforce (which I thought was maybe the best one, but only had a taste). Then after 6 pm chemtrail was just sitting there at lazer so I got a glass and then cavaleiro was also sitting there at a tent so I tried it as well. I spent way more money then I planned to spend but I guess that was the whole point. I came home with 3 unopened beers and I stuck to the 72 oz rule. definately glad I changed out most of my stouts for hops/lambics/goses.

I dont see the problem with long lines. The entire festival is basically a standing affair only. You can stand in a line or you can stand in a circle, what is the difference? Only time i thought I was going to get screwed was the 3pm handjee tapping when the line became a cluster fuck. But they must have had a larger keg or multiple kegs because we still got pours about a half hour after tapping. Hung at noon was a single 1/6 barrel so it probably didnt last as long.

I didnt have anything super crazy sharing with others, but did get to try some decent beers. I got drunk but not overly so and wasnt even hung over which was nice. left the fest at about 8:30 fully coherent and with 2 handjees.

 

Closet to madeira.

 

Has anyone tried turtledogg???

 

It's Port wine just from a different region of Portugal. Sherry is Spanish I believe.

 

This was the one line that was really bad for me. We got in line and never moved - it was ridiculous. We ended up getting a pour from someone else, so it was nice to at least try it, but that line was stupid.

 

Zero cardomom in either of those. Chances of them being better than those two are very high.

 

Ginger is a big no for me though. Pepper is a possible gamekiller too. Had 2016 Muerte and the older red wax Cognac ancho/guajillo at the fest, and both tasted pretty similar, totally like a literal bowl of chili or maybe chiptole Spaghettios...

 

Not yet! I love the untappd scores from “draft.”

Unless there is a picture, I don’t believe it.

 

Maybe off topic, but for the metal-minded folks out there, Scorched Tundra (Local Option's beer-forward metal fest) released it's 2018 Chicago fest info http://scorchedtundra.com

 

Yeah, I was talking about the Cavalerio. I didn’t try the Brotilla.

 

Regardless, I think this goes without saying but it really doesn't get said enough, or like, ever, but I can not express how easy it is to drink Dark Lord on draft. Standing outside in a festival atmosphere...that shit goes down like melted dark chocolate ice cream. I think a few of the bodies on the floor might attest to that.

 

12,000 new cases of diabetes can't be wrong....

 

Meddle Coffee Bar in the West Loop has a limited amount of Blood Lord available, grabbed two pounds as I was too damn lazy to wait 3 hours in line for it.

How much were they charging at DLD? It was $25 a bag at the coffee shop.

 

A few random thoughts from a first-timer:

• Pretty much everyone I interacted with was really chill, and was more than happy to share whatever they had even though I couldn't really reciprocate with equally rare stuff. I had heard horror stories of people only sharing when someone had an equally whalezy quid pro quo, so that was nice.
  
• Note to self: for future DLDs, bring wet naps. Lots and lots of wet naps.
  
• As mentioned, the Dark Matter line was ungodly long, easily topping out at more than 3 hours by late morning. Since I was around a cool group of people, it's not like I missed out on a whole lot that I would otherwise be doing, but there was a few points where the line literally wasn't moving for more than 20 minutes and I don't get why. By the time I was at the front of the line, everyone seemed to get their orders completed in under a minute, so I'm not sure what the hold up was before then.
  
• In what may be a Dark Lord Day first, I actually wish I had indulged more. I held off on trying a lot stuff early to preserve my palate for the tappings and then I missed out on most of the ones I wanted to try anyway. Beginner's trap, I guess. Still managed to try Chemtrail '18, Hung Drawn and Spaceforce, so I could've done a lot worse.

All and all it was a lot of fun, and I'd definitely go again.

 

$20 a bag on their online shop... but you should have gotten a free coffee beverage with your in store purchase...