Beers that taste like Darklord

@NHhomebrewguy Edit your title if you can - "Dardlord" - to Dark Lord. Otherwise, I'm sure the peanut gallery will be unkind to you for making such an egregious error.

Cheers

 

It's unique for better or worse. The best advice I can give you is to imagine a really big/sweet imperial stout that has oxidized.

Edit: I think the Deschutes Collage Conflux #1 might be the closest thing I've had to it, and that one isn't too hard to come by.

 

Kikkoman's finest

 

Beat me to it.

 

We did a vertical of every normal version except the initial 1st batch about a year ago and even the old ones were really sweet. The other elements (teriyaki oxidation being a prominent flavor) really changed the sweetness into something else with the oldest vintages. I can't recall the exact year, but there was an outlier that was better and more balanced than the others. I'm thinking maybe 2010?

 

I think the last 2-3 years have been the sweetest of them all, I drank 2014 on tap at Dark Lord Day and I didn't think it was terrible. It was pretty sweet but I think most have said that they mellow out over time, I have 11-14 and looking forward to doing a mini vert of all them.

With regards to a beer like Dark Lord, I cant think of any off the top of my head, its pretty unique and pretty sweet.

 

It could have been 2011. It was around that period of time, so I'd go through with it. You might like it anyway. I know at least a few people that honestly like most Dark Lord vintages.

 

2011 has been, IMO, the best DL year in the past four... That being said, there's sugar, molasses, tons of caramel malt within the beer and I'd expect every year to be sweet, Oh well, sharing is caring especially with people whom you might overwhelm with your craft beer generosity. To compare: A fresh Black Tuesday has crazy sweetness.

 

2 beers that I find similar to dark lord: world wide stout and avery Mephistopheles

 

It shouldn't be all that hard to trade for Dark Lord. They release something like 15k bottles each year. I have traded for various vintages on multiple occasions with limited local beers including one off growlers and other small once a year releases. You should have no problem getting Dark Lord with beers you can get in the north east. Cheers!

 

First thing that came to mind when I finally tried Dark Lord was Worldwide Stout. It was nice to be able to try it but I don't feel the need to seek it out again since I can get WWS at my local bottle shop.

 

If you want to try it, I'd go ahead and trade for it. I don't think you'll have to give up too much to get a bottle of it. I have to think that up in New Hampshire you should be able to get something that folks in the midwest would be happy to swap for.

I've only tried DL once (l2014 edition at a recent bottle share) so I can't claim that I understand all the criticism. I thought it was really good. However, if you want to trade for it you might want to do a little research first and make sure you're getting a good vintage. Folks that get that beer every year are more than happy to tell you which vintages are good and which ones to avoid.

 

I think you should still pursue it. It won't be that hard to get. I actually like it a lot. The best vintage I ever had was a 2010 with about 3 years of age on it. It is sweet, sure, but still a good beer. I will second the World Wide Stout comparison, and offer Plead the 5th as somewhat of a comparison.

I would recommend trying it for yourself and making up your own mind on whether you like it. I enjoy a lot of beers that others might not and vice-versa. That's what makes it fun.

Good luck.

 

I've tried a few Dark Lords and think they taste best the year of release. Never came across the soy thing until I tried an older one.

Have to admit I quite like it and I'm glad they're not too difficult to get.

Only wish I could try a Bvdl to see if it lives up to the hype.

 

Oh it lives up to the hype and way past it.

 

Just pretend I inserted a nice photo of soy sauce right here...

 

I haven't had anything quite like it, but if you like DL, you'd probably like Darkness (which doesn't help you very much, because it's harder to get, and the non-BA version wasn't even released this year), which I think is better (my favorites in the non-BA realm).

Also, I think that Founders Imperial Stout is a good idea if you like thick, hoppy, slightly sweet stouts. It won't have near the heart-stopping sweetness of DL, but it's much easier to find, and should be around right about now.