Well, SWMBO and I popped open a Dark Lord last night.
I intentionally let a little bit sit out over night. I poured it into my hydrometer tube and now I have a burning, burning question. Who in their bloody right mind would make a beer with a terminal gravity of 1.071??!!!!
Clone it? Hell no. I'm actually tempted to add the 5 remaining bottles into a carboy and referment it down to a respectable FG!!!!! LOL
It tastes good. Not much hop flavor or aroma, which is fine for the style, but kind of sucks when you are chewing on a stout with a finishing gravity over 1.070. Despite the lack of hoppiness, it may age well. The aroma was dominated by a familiar fruity-ale aroma that should probably age well. It smelled of cherries, sweet nuts, and vanilla.
Mouthfeel was very dense smooth and thick, as you'd expect. However, they probably could have achieved the same sensation with a little bit of oatmeal.
There was virtually no head, however, what little head it had, a single layer of bubbles, actually hung around through the entire glass which was nice.
There was also a noticeable tartness, like from black patent or perhaps that old stale coffee tinge. They do say it is brewed with coffee.
I think the key to this beer is to try to balance the sweetness from the high final gravity with the bitterness of black patent.
Anyway, according to stuff I've read online, this beer has an alcohol content of 13%. Maybe it was so in years past. However, given the fact that SWMBO and I polished off a pitcher of margaritas with dinner, then split a bomber of my 5.2% Hefeweizen, then had one of my stouts at 6.4%, then had a Maibock at around 7%, and I had at least 2/3rds of each of those, and then I polished off 3/4ths of the Dark Lord and was still standing, I suspect they may have simply missed their target gravity this year. In order to have a 1.070 FG and 13% ABV, the OG of this beer would have to be about 1.170. That's about 55% attenuation.
Drink it from time to time? Sure. Clone it? No thanks. I know I can do better....
