Found someone who wants to trade a DL '11 for a '12. I have a '12, but have tried neither, what say you to this deal? I know if you've never had a beer, drink it fresh for perspective, but I heard some talk about infections on the '12 and older vintages of DL seem to garner more praise.
We just had an '11 side-by-side with a '12 the other day and all 3 of us preferred the '11. The 12 just had an "off" taste, though certainly drinkable.
I HATED '11 fresh, but when I tried it two months ago, it was my favorite vintage of the '08-'12 vertical that my friend and I did for his birthday. The bottle of '12 that we opened also had an off flavor to it (green apple, but not sour green apple, more of a golden delicious). Some people have claimed to not find any off flavors in their bottles of the '12, so your mileage may vary.
I havent had the 12 yet (i have some, just havent cracked them open), but I can tell you in my opinion, and in the opinions of 3 good friends and my dad, that the 11 is one of the worst beers we've ever had. Drain poured into the garden on Fathers Day. I have one '11 left, and will sit on it for 3 more years or so. Also depends on the quantituy you have. Im assuming you only have 1 '12. If you do make the trade, my advice would be to sit on the 11 for a couple more years, as its drinking really bad right now (again, my opinion, fortsambo [edit: and markintihar] says otherwise)
Did an '11 and '12 side by side with iL0VEbeer on Saturday. We both preferred the '12. It was smoother, and incredibly easy to put down. Both beers were fantastic though.
I say make the trade and get your hands on the '11 DL. '12 Dark Lord is nowhere near drinkable now IMO. The '11 is still pretty harshly sweet, but not nearly as much as the '12. I'm willing to bet that this time next year the '11 will be much, much better than the '12.
I really loved the 2011 fresh. Now the huge coffee-forward flavor has fallen off a bit, but it is still quite good. I had 2012 on tap at DLD but haven't cracked a bottle of it yet do I can't say how the bottles are holding up. Surprisingly, the 2009 was my favorite back in Feb when we did a 2006-2011 vertical. It has really grown into a nice beer now. The 2010 has gotten much more enjoyable as well, and the 2008 seemed to be right at the tipping point where it might be ready to start falling off. I liked the 2006 and 2007 least-- though they were still drinkable and enjoyable on some level.
This thread is the perfect example of the awesomeness (and for some, not-so-awesomeness) of the complexity of Dark Lord. Everyone prefers something different about each particular vintage. Personally I think it's great.
We just did my vertical about two weeks ago, from '08-'12. Here were my rankings: 1. 2010 2. 2008 3. 2011 4. 2009 5. 2012 Let's just say, 2012 was horrendous, though I'm sure with time it will become way more drinkable (like every DL).
I see. I'd stand pat then. You don't know what kind of conditions the 2011 has been kept in. If I was 100% that it was cellared correctly (it would take some extremes to make it go bad in a year IMO, but you never know), then I would make the trade, but it wouldn't be something I would NEED to do. Either way, you're going to be drinking a tasty beer.
The '11 had a weird ashiness in it fresh. The '12 on the other hand was drinking really nicely at DLD.
