FG of Dark Lord is 1.070!?!?!

[mrdauber64]

In the recent BYO magazine they did a profile on Dark Lord RIS. They mentioned that the FG on this 15% beer is 1.070. That sounds insane and way too sweet, even the sweetest Port wines and Ice Wines that I've made don't finish that high. Has anybody ever made a beer that finishes this high, or had Dark Lord and is able to tell me if it is overly sweet or not?

Every year I make a big RIS to age until the next winter. One year I did a Kate the Great clone and the past two years I did a Surly Darkness clone, one aged on Oak and the other plain. I've never had one finish above 1.033 and they always tasted good but still a little sweet.

What are everybody's thoughts on making a beer that finishes this high, too sweet or worth brewing?

 

[seefish]

Dark Lord is thought to be too sweet by some, but I would not have thought the FG is 1.070. If it does in fact finish that high then clearly there is no issue.

 

[iijakii]

So that means the OG is what, 1.180 or something? Crazy.

 

[drainbamage]

I'd believe it. It's a huge beer.

 

[Michael_K]

Someone just posted a pic of the BYO recipe in another Dark Lord thread, and it says the FG is 1.054.

 

[day_trippr]

Still, that's huge writ large: maple syrup has an SG of 1.037!

Cheers!

 

[lowtones84]

I would call BS, but the fact that it pretty much just tastes like molasses convinces me.

 

[mrdauber64]

Someone just posted a pic of the BYO recipe in another Dark Lord thread, and it says the FG is 1.054.

The clone that the writer brewed finished at 1.054. He was aiming for 1.070 but he chose a yeast that attenuated too much, he used US-05/1056. He said the next time he would use Wyeast 1968 to get lower attenuation.

 

[bierhaus15]

Some guy on BA degassed a sample of the 2014 and it read 1.070 or there about.

Every bottle I've ever tried tastes like molasses and soy sauce.

 

[Michael_K]

The clone that the writer brewed finished at 1.054. He was aiming for 1.070

Ahh, that part didn't show up the pic. Thanks for clearing that up.

FG of Dark Lord is 1.070!?!?!

 

[stratslinger]

Yeah, based on the one time I tried it, the 1.070 isn't surprising... Thick as all get-out, with a very unique mouthfeel. Definitely a unique beer, and that's probably a good thing.

 

[Ungoliant]

I will also attest that it is intensely thick. It is a pretty intense beer overall, but I didn't think it was too sweet. I had the 2011 version, in fall of 2012, so it had been aged a bit.

 

[ultravista]

That can't be right.

 

[harrydrez]

That sounds like it'd make me sick drinking it. People line up for hours for that?

 

[Ungoliant]

It's worth it. I thought it was really good.

 

[rmyurick]

That's 60% apparent attenuation, which doesn't seem totally out of line. for that big a beer. OG = 1.189

 

[GuldTuborg]

Still, that's huge writ large: maple syrup has an SG of 1.037!

Cheers!

What kind of cheap maple syrup are you using? That can't be anywhere near correct. Where are you finding this data?

 

[mbbransc]

Some guy on BA degassed a sample of the 2014 and it read 1.070 or there about.

Every bottle I've ever tried tastes like molasses and soy sauce.

Same guy who wrote the article. If you have questions, he's VERY responsive on BA.

 

[barfdiggs]

Someone just posted a pic of the BYO recipe in another Dark Lord thread, and it says the FG is 1.054.

Hi Michael,

The 1.054 was the FG of my clone. When I measured vacuum degassed samples of it for the article both were 1.070. De Garde Brewing has also measured the FG at 1.074.

Some guy on BA degassed a sample of the 2014 and it read 1.070 or there about.

Every bottle I've ever tried tastes like molasses and soy sauce.

That was me too.

Same guy who wrote the article. If you have questions, he's VERY responsive on BA.

My updated user name is Scumbag81.

 

[Sleepyemt]

Hi Michael,



The 1.054 was the FG of my clone. When I measured vacuum degassed samples of it for the article both were 1.070. De Garde Brewing has also measured the FG at 1.074.







That was me too.







My updated user name is Scumbag81.

Anything you'd do differently brewing it again?

 

[TallDan]

That sounds like it'd make me sick drinking it. People line up for hours for that?

DLD lines are not like the line at the BMV. They're basically a big bottle share where people shuffle in the general direction of the brewery. Doesn't matter if you're in line for 10 minutes or three hours, either way you're standing around, drinking, and having fun. Shockingly, this is only slightly hampered by cold rainy weather.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Still, that's huge writ large: maple syrup has an SG of 1.037!

Cheers!

What kind of cheap maple syrup are you using? That can't be anywhere near correct. Where are you finding this data?

Can't comment on Dark Lord as I've never looked at a recipe nor have I had the beer...

But seriously, what maple syrup is that low?

It might be 37 Brix. That makes a little more sense, but even then I'd say that's way too low.

I've made maple wine using 3 lbs maple syrup per gallon, and that was 1.085 or so.

 

[iijakii]

Yeah, all I got from it was soysauce as well. Not bad.

 

[barfdiggs]

Anything you'd do differently brewing it again?

To make it closer to DL , just the changes I posted in the article. Switch copitch of wlp001/wlp002 to just wlp002 and compensate for lower abv (due to higher fg) by increasing amount of base malt and jaggery. The changes should make it indistinguishable.

The consensus from friends/judges/brewers that tasted them side was that the clone was more complex and a better beer, probably because it lacked the extreme sweetness (still sweet just not cloying), and had slightly more roast and vanilla flavor.

 

[g-star]

Wow. The one and only time I had Dark Lord was the original 2004 vitage with the red wax cap. I remember reading at the time on BA that it finished around 1.040, which seemed insane then. Can't imagine what it tastes like now.

 

[Calichusetts]