Anyone who has heard of Three Floyds has probably heard of their special brew Dark Lord. If you happen to be in this category, then you also know the title of this blog is a bit of a joke. Dark Lord is far from decent and the exact opposite of little.
Let's step back a bit...
I'm one of the few who grew up actually liking the taste of beer. It seemed like any time my dad had a beer, I was allowed a little taste. I'd bet it bothered him that I never turned down his offers due to the fact that there are alcoholics in our family's history. Either way, I always had a swig... just one... of MGD. Gross, MGD. But at the time it was glorious. Beer from my dad, and shit, I liked the way it tasted. I'd mention it to friends and they couldn't believe I actually liked the taste of beer. What did they know? They were only 9 years old, like me.
Sure I roll my eyes at MGD now but I can't hide the fact that it lit a fire in me. I'm sure you have that beer for you too. I just hope it was something better than MGD.
A second beer caught my attention at a later age. When I turned 21, MGD's bastard younger step-sister named Natural Light took a backseat proceeding my college days to a beer I now hate. But at the time, I have to hand it to Blue Moon. Oh God I hate Coors now, but like I said, at the time, Blue Moon was important for me. Blue Moon was my gateway beer. I left the BMC's of the world, that's Budweiser / MillerCoors to the layman, and moved on to something other than light beer. Okay, it's a hefeweizen, but it IS something. I started to realize other beers, better beers, existed.
Then...
The true revelation came a few years later. I was reluctant to drink a pale ale based on my reaction to Rolling Rock. You know, that olive juice with a beer label on it. Wait, that might be unfair to say. I was drinking Natty on a regular basis when I first had Rolling Rock. I was far too beer-immature at the time although I've yet to have a Rolling Rock since. But fuck it, Rolling Rock is owned by BMC now so I don't care.
Back to pale ales... After hearing of my upcoming New Year's Eve trip to Chicago, my brother Jason asked for me to pick up some special beer from a brewery called Three Floyds for him that is no longer distributed in Ohio. This beer, now legendary in my eyes...
Let me skip to present time just for a second: So legendary for me that it's comparable to Steve Yzerman, my childhood - tween - teenage - okay, twenty-something hero who I've never met but is God-like in the fantasy world I live in. Who could possibly be that good to meet that kind of expectation? Well that's what I think of Three Floyds' Alpha King Pale Ale.
Alpha King was the seed of my beer obsession. "What the hell is this?" I thought as the first swig touched my lips. "A drink only fortunate men have ever been lucky enough to have tasted." That was me channeling Harrison Ford's motivation on set during the last takes of I. J. and The Holy Grail. But shit, it was true. This was the beer that changed my drinking life.
I loved it. Bitter? Sure. And holy shit... all that flavor! A new world opened for me, and here I am today, gushing and rambling on about it, but it's all true. IPA's are quite the beer to jump to from BMC don't you think? What a strong flavor differential. This beer is why I started brewing for myself. Oh, the possibilities. But...
It's nothing compared to Dark Lord... the end of the line. Imagine, to the far left you have the watered down BMC and to the far right, the end all / be all... Dark Lord.
Dark Lord is nothing short of true legend for the beer connoisseurs world. It's released on one day every year in one location in the United States... Munster, Indiana. Unless you're willing to pay hundreds on eBay, this is the only place you can find / buy this beer. It's considered one of the the very best beers in the world. I must say, it's mystique and mythical propaganda and presentation from it's maker does not hurt it's popularity.
I could go on and on about what it is, how it tastes, how it smells, how it looks and most of all... how it feels. But... That would be like telling you the ending of the greatest film ever produced without the opportunity of seeing it for yourself.
I will end with this...
Fortunately for me, I have great friends that look out for me and make that trip to Munster when I'm unable to which is how I've sipped on Dark Lord for myself. Each time, it has been cracking open one of those black bottles before an extremely special occasion in my life. The first was to celebrate my directing debut and the second... the night before my wedding.
Today's Brewline:
I have four bottles of the legendary concoction left... I can't wait to drink the next. Not only for the Dark Lord, but also for myself since it will be one hell of a special occasion.
na zdraví.
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