Dark Lord (2018)

Yes, but it can only be served if a showtunes band plays DLD.

The whole place is already one big pit of misery so dilly dilly.

 

WARNING. ACTUAL INFORMATION

I believe anything other than beer is prohibited, that said, they don't read the labels and if your mead is in an approved container, like a bottle or can, it will make it through just fine.

I have seen them say no to flasks and growlers.

 

You can find a very small amount of Casey bottles from time to time and a wider variety of Weldwerks cans have been getting more and more distro the last few months. They all sell out pretty quick though. BP does not distro at all. Every now and then they’ll have bottles for public sale in the taproom but for the most part you have to be an Agent (their version of a yearly beer club member) to obtain bottles.

 

What a coincidence, as I'm planning on bringing all of these.

 

Not to be that asshole, but can anyone give me a crash course into what to expect if i happened to get tickets?
I realized a couple days ago im only like an hour and a half away, im a beer snob and a metal head so its sounds like my jam. just not sure what to expect, if someone could clarify. thanks

 

^What an asshole.^

Dick move.

My god what do you take us for?!

 

JK ...and welcome to the pre-shitshow shitshow. Btw, what you can expect is an experience not unlike curling up fetus style in a human-sized washing machine filled with pastry stouts while centipedes crawl down your pants.

 

i was thinking more a time frame of events but i suppose this might be helpful

 

This is a good resource for you: http://darklordday.info/index.php/Home

Typically, the group you score on your ticket determines a rough timeline for you, as it assigns a time for you to line up to get into the brewery and pick up your bottles. But aside from that, the rest is up to you. Some choose to line up many hours before gates open, bottle share in line and so forth. Once inside, you can scour the tap stations, while many people bum rush the Dark Matter tent to purchase limited coffee bottles or swag. Around 5 bands will play throughout the day but it's not a primary draw for most, as most of the space inside the gates is dedicated to areas to bottle share space, piss break pods, and the tap and food stations around the perimeter. Everything is subject to change, as the festival has tried different strategies out pretty much every year. This last year, they went back to a cash-based system for everything in the festival aside from the bottles you pre-paid for.

 

holy shit the draft list looks insane. do people tend to bring more to share or buy drafts? and when you say line up, do you mean single file or like a tail gate? And by bottle sharing areas I hope that includes seating (?)

 

You forgot the disclaimer. Allow me to assist:

WARNING. ACTUAL INFORMATION.

 

Assuming nothing changes, even though it usually does, I'll give you a quick rundown. Remember, how early you arrive, how much food you eat, and how much beer you drink can completely help or derail you at any one of my points. That being said, simply put:
1. Arrive at DLD and wait in line
2. Bottle share, or not, whilst in line
3. Enter the festivities
4. If you're not a group A ticket holder you can hit up a food station, grab a table under the tent, grab some merch, walk around aimlessly, share beer, get in line at the FFF and/or guest taps. If you are a group A ticket holder you'll get in a line to pick-up your allotment.
5. If you're any group other than group A be sure to get in line during the required time frame for allotment pick-up.
6. Have fun.

 

I have to imagine being group A kinda sucks if you gotta walk around carrying a sack of gold all day

*edit: also what is parking like, im not from the area and am assuming a couple thousand people dont fit nicely into an existing lot

 

People tend to drink more via shares than drafts.

Single file cattle corrals abound.

In my experience, the only seating I've found 99% of the time is the ground. Once or twice a bench opened up, but don't bet on it. Standing burns calories and keeps you alert

Most people are walking around with ~50lbs of weight on their backs all day regardless, many of those beers can be just as if not more rare than the ones you're picking up.

Don't expect to leave this festival and wake up the next day feeling great about life.

 

There are thieves afoot. Seriously. Guard your stuff, and your drunk friends’ stuff. Lurkers be lurking.

 

Damn. How early is too early, and how early gets me a parking spot

 

Don't even consider driving. UBER, taxi, stay at nearby hotel...

 

What he said. If you can stand under your own power at the end, you're doing better than at least 50% of the attendees.

That said, my group drove last year, arrived between 7:30 and 8, and we were in the same industrial park. There are several lot options down Calumet, but proximity and cost will vary.

 

understood. thank you guys for the help!

 

Like others have said, you'll end up walking around with 50lbs of random shit in your back-pack anyway. I like group A because I like getting there early and drinking all day. Last two DLDs, I arrived at 6-6:30A.M. and bottle shared until the gates opened. Then got my bottles and was able to stumble around the fest for the rest of the day checking out taps and sharing some more. Just depends what you're looking for out of the experience. I've been to 3 DLDs and feel like I'm finally getting to the point of knowing how I want (hope) my day to go.

Also, Group A use to be much more coveted than it was this past year. In years prior you had either scratch off tickets (before everyone was guaranteed a variant/vintage bottles) or it was first come first serve, but in either case Group A got the ability to choose what variant bottle they wanted. Naturally, Marshmallow Handjee/Vanilla Bean Dark Lord was always the first one to go which wasn't fair for rest of the festival goers. Last year was the first year that earlier groups weren't guaranteed first come, first serve (all variants and vintage bottles were randomized across all the groups).