2016 Dark Lord Day

b-boy · Feb 29, 2016

The Dark Lord Day website was just refreshed for 2016.

$200 per ticket - Yikes!!!!

That does include a $40 food allowance, 4 bottles of Dark Lord, and 1 bottle of a Dark Lord Variant. They are getting all the money up front.

I guess if you planned to buy all that anyway, it's not too bad of a price. Still, I'll have a hard time convincing my wife of that.

These festivals are getting expensive.

edroberts · Feb 29, 2016

Very true. It prevents those that just want to get a bottle or two and not fork over $40 in food at the festival from going.... However, given the chaos of what DLD has become it really IS a smart move for 3 F's.

The only real problem they'll have is the blow-back from people that read the $200 headline and don't read into what it actually involves.

tagz · Feb 29, 2016

$32 a bottle! Redonkulous!

LostBoyScout · Feb 29, 2016

Yeah that info was around for a few days now, and while I knew it would create a buzz of complaints on the internet I think it's pretty reasonable for what you get. DLD is the epitome of super-hyped craziness so you've got to be into that to want to participate anyway.

LandoLincoln · Feb 29, 2016

Well, it might thin out the crowds a bit...

Some of the variants that they offered last year sounded disgusting. I really don't want to be stuck with a "Norwegian cuttlefish infused with black peppers and candy canes" variant.

Guaranteed, I could sell it to some sucker that didn't go to DLD.

NothingRhymesWithCurtiss · Feb 29, 2016

tagz said:
$32 a bottle! Redonkulous!

How much do bottles of Darklord go for at DLD? I ask because my boss gave me a bottle last year, and while it was a great beer, it wasn't $32 great.

Doctor_M · Feb 29, 2016

NothingRhymesWithCurtiss said:
How much do bottles of Darklord go for at DLD? I ask because my boss gave me a bottle last year, and while it was a great beer, it wasn't $32 great.

Iirc they were about 25 dollars per bottle.

The regular non barrel aged go for 50-60 on the secondary market. Barrel aged it depends on which variant. 100-150 is not uncommon.

I'll be going again this year ticket or no ticket as long as they don't mess with the bottle shares outside the festival gates. The day they start messing with that will be pretty much the end of DLD for most people.

b-boy · Feb 29, 2016

Last year I didn't get a ticket that allowed me to buy any DL.

It cost me $30 for the ticket, about $20 for food, and I bought 2 beers for $5 each. I also managed to buy a bottle of regular DL for $20 from someone. All-in-all I spent $75, plus I shared a lot of great beer that I'd never be able to get anywhere else. It was a little out of control. It was fun though. I'm amazed Munster hasn't tried to shut the whole thing down. To me the fun part was the beer sharing. Without that, I probably wouldn't go.

With this pricing I'm looking at $200 all in, so I guess it's not a bad deal. It will scare some people away. No matter what you're getting, $200 is a big number for a beer festival. I'm traveling, so I need to factor in 2 nights in a hotel, gas, cab fare. That's an expensive weekend.

LandoLincoln · Mar 1, 2016

NothingRhymesWithCurtiss said:
How much do bottles of Darklord go for at DLD? I ask because my boss gave me a bottle last year, and while it was a great beer, it wasn't $32 great.

Last year it was $20 per bottle (max of 4), and $50 for the special variants. Only a select number of attendees were even allowed to buy a variant. I bought a coffee variant for $50 and sold it to one of my beer aficionado friends for $50. I could have soaked him for a lot more than that, but...eh. I hope he actually drank it and didn't sell it on eBay for a lot more money.

I'll probably sell this year's bottle as well. Ain't no freaking way I'm going to spend $50 on a bomber of beer that I'm going to drink and not resell.

b-boy · Mar 1, 2016

I think the breakdown this year is $40 admission + $80 for 4 DL + $50 for 1 variant + $40 food vouchers = $210.

The website says you're getting $210 worth of stuff for $200.

If I go, I will be selling my variant as well. A guy in the parking lot tried to sell me his for $250 last year. I told him he was nuts.

The big IF is 'IF I can get tickets'. Didn't have much luck last year.

I haven't figured out the ticket purchasing tricks yet. Last year I just clicked the button and waited forever. I heard that was a bad strategy, and that I should have kept refreshing the browser every minute or two.

LandoLincoln · Mar 1, 2016

b-boy said:
I think the breakdown this year is $40 admission + $80 for 4 DL + $50 for 1 variant + $40 food vouchers = $210.

The website says you're getting $210 worth of stuff for $200.

If I go, I will be selling my variant as well. A guy in the parking lot tried to sell me his for $250 last year. I told him he was nuts.

Two years ago, a guy I know got one of the vanilla bean bottles and was walking back to his car with it and someone asked him if he'd like to sell it. The guy said, "sure, for two hundred bucks" thinking that there's no way in hell anyone would shell out that kind of money for a bottle. The person whipped out his wallet and produced the money without batting an eye. Paid for his whole weekend with that one bottle. Some people get really freaking crazy on Dark Lord Day.

TallDan · Mar 1, 2016

LandoLincoln said:
Two years ago, a guy I know got one of the vanilla bean bottles and was walking back to his car with it and someone asked him if he'd like to sell it. The guy said, "sure, for two hundred bucks" thinking that there's no way in hell anyone would shell out that kind of money for a bottle. The person whipped out his wallet and produced the money without batting an eye. Paid for his whole weekend with that one bottle. Some people get really freaking crazy on Dark Lord Day.

I have a similar story. I walked out of the building with a Vanilla Bean bottle a year or two ago, just 20 feet from the table where i paid $50 for it. Someone standing right outside the door asked me what variant i got, I told him, he offered me $200, i said no, he offered $250, i said no. My thought was that I wanted the bottle, didn't want to sell it, i wasn't even really listening to the $ involved. As i walked away, i said to my friend "did I really just turn down $250 for a bottle of beer I paid $50 for two minutes earlier?"

And that bottle is just sitting along with a bunch of other bottles of beer in my cellar right now.

HarborTownBrewing · Mar 1, 2016

Some friends of mine and I do beer-shares every 6 months or so, and people always show up with DL or a Goose Island variant. I don't pay attention to non-homebrew beers, so I have no idea what's in and out (I was probably the last person on the planet to learn about Mexican Cake).

Anyways, only now am I realizing these people were bringing $60 in bottles to these parties. I sure feel like a cheap ass now!

A buddy asked me if my wife and I wanted to go this year. Sounds fun, but for $400 between the two of us I could buy a nice espresso machine or TV or something.

lupulinaddict · Mar 1, 2016

We went to sf beer week a few weeks ago and a bar had an event with a vertical tasting of dl. We got 2012,13,14,15 2oz pours and a 2oz of 14 bcbs to fill up the wood plank for $50. He was selling bottles of 2015 for $100. I saw two guys buy a bottle, to rich for my blood, but I got the empties to put in my bar for free!!

OkanaganMike · Mar 1, 2016

This sounds like marketing genius. Create enough stir then soak the sh!t of everyone just to get in the door to look at it. I'd love to try it but reckon I'll steer clear. Sounds like a Gong show.

TallDan · Mar 1, 2016

From the outside, DLD makes no sense at all. Spent a ton of money to stand in line all day and walk away with some bottles of overpriced beer. Maybe hear some death metal bands perform.

Yet somehow, every year, I have a blast and want to go again the next year.

It's just like the people who look at woodstock from the outside, not enough facilities and food, people have to be airlifted to a hospital, it was a disorganized mess, and then it rained and turned into a mudpit. But nobody who went regrets the experience.

LandoLincoln · Mar 1, 2016

OkanaganMike said:
This sounds like marketing genius. Create enough stir then soak the sh!t of everyone just to get in the door to look at it. I'd love to try it but reckon I'll steer clear. Sounds like a Gong show.

Lordy, the money that flows through that place on Dark Lord Day.

The best parts of the day for me are going through the endless lines of metal barricades and bottle sharing with people around you. I must have tried about 80 different beers last year just standing in line. Every commercial beer you can imagine is somewhere in that line.

And then there's the guys that set up on the picnic tables and the tables are just covered with bottles. Chat them up a bit and they'll let you sample pretty much whatever you want in exchange for some of your beer.

The most intense bottle sharing goes on before the place even opens up, apparently. I've never been one of the crazies that stands in line before the place opens (I always make sure to show up around 1 when the first wave of people are already cleared out).

But this is the kind of bottle sharing that goes on in the line. Imagine a 1/4 mile long road that looks like this:

Woe to the people that have to clean up after this weekend. If glass recycling were profitable, they'd make a mint.

If you like Death Metal music, it's a pretty good music fest too.

Quite a few good food vendors. Lots of other beer vendors selling some good beers at not-outlandish prices.

The porta johns are a freaking nightmare. 75% of them are filled to the brim. May as well just pee on the floors inside of them, because that's where your pee is going to go anyway.

And if you like watching extremely drunk people do drunk people things, it's very amusing / alarming. "Is that guy dead? Has anyone checked to see if that guy is dead or just sleeping?"

Not a lot of fights, though. I don't think I've ever seen anyone get into a fight. I guess people that like to drink and brawl tend to steer clear of the expensive stuff.

BGBC · Mar 1, 2016

Who brings a Mickey's to share at DLD?

treacheroustexan · Mar 1, 2016

BGBC said:
Who brings a Mickey's to share at DLD?

Who cares, everyone's having fun.

I'l be going with my friend if I can get tickets!

Munster51 · Mar 1, 2016

I have worked DLD every year since 2008. The crowds have gotten larger and Three Floyds management has done a superb job of keeping up with the crowds. The event is ever evolving. People are always complaining about the prices of Dark Lord and the variants. Every year there is a table set up just outside the entrance where people are buying the regular bottles of Dark Lord for $40-$50 each. Last year the limit was only 3 bottles BTW. The secondary market on the variants runs up to $400 for a bottle of Vanilla Bean. I know of some people who are planning on going just to hope to score a Vanilla Bean bottle and sell to pay for their ticket.

Price Breakdown:
$20 per bottle Dark Lord x4 guaranteed - $80
$50 for Variant- $50
$30 entrance ticket -$30
$40 voucher for Food/ Drinks - $40

So it is a break even point if you were planning on going anyway and buying all you could.

Hello · Mar 1, 2016

So you're paying $30 just to get to the event and then you get the bottles and food? Is anything being served beer wise at no additional cost?

I'm not certain I see the total value in this one. Unlike Huna where you pay $100 for 4 bottles (or $200 for 8) and you pay $100 to get into the joint and drink like a king for a few hours. Is that any more or less worth it than DLD? I am not sure. To me it kind of is. I paid $100 for the NC Rare & Vintage, got a t-shirt, I heard there was food but you couldn't convince me to stop drinking and eat, and I walked away with a glass that I destroyed by accident. At Huna, I expect much of the same beer, if not even better, no t-shirt I guess, and 4 bottles of stuff. So to me it is worth it.

DLD, I think I'd toss the $30 fee aside, look at the $40 in food and wonder what that really gets me, and then of course the bottles. I'd do it once just to see what it was about.

As for the resale of variants, I have not seen a vanilla bean hit $400, but I am also not active on BA which is where I think that craziness goes on.

TallDan · Mar 1, 2016

Hello said:
DLD, I think I'd toss the $30 fee aside, look at the $40 in food and wonder what that really gets me, and then of course the bottles. I'd do it once just to see what it was about.

Tickets to get into DLD for several years now have always been about $30. All that ever got you is into the festival. This year is no different. I have always spent about $200 per person at DLD by the time it's all said and done anyway.

The downside i see to high ticket prices is the combination of that and the fact that they're non-transferrable. Previous years, if something came up and i couldn't go to DLD, i was out $30 for the ticket. This year I'll be out $200.

Doctor_M · Mar 1, 2016

Hello said:
So you're paying $30 just to get to the event and then you get the bottles and food? Is anything being served beer wise at no additional cost?

I'm not certain I see the total value in this one. Unlike Huna where you pay $100 for 4 bottles (or $200 for 8) and you pay $100 to get into the joint and drink like a king for a few hours. Is that any more or less worth it than DLD? I am not sure. To me it kind of is. I paid $100 for the NC Rare & Vintage, got a t-shirt, I heard there was food but you couldn't convince me to stop drinking and eat, and I walked away with a glass that I destroyed by accident. At Huna, I expect much of the same beer, if not even better, no t-shirt I guess, and 4 bottles of stuff. So to me it is worth it.

DLD, I think I'd toss the $30 fee aside, look at the $40 in food and wonder what that really gets me, and then of course the bottles. I'd do it once just to see what it was about.

As for the resale of variants, I have not seen a vanilla bean hit $400, but I am also not active on BA which is where I think that craziness goes on.

Assuming they don't mess with the bottle sharing inside of the gates having access to those bottle shares is worth the 30 bucks to me. I hate standing in line for a pour of beer ( like you would do at hunapu) and honestly the bottles I've had tastes from during DLD were unreal I can't believe I am drinking this beer kind of beers.

I have been to GABF twice (once as industry ) and plenty of other festivals and nothing compares to DLD. Even if you don't care about DL you could sell it for an inflated price / trade it.

Bourbon vanilla dark lord sells for 4-500 on secondary beer sites quite often. My friend that went with me to my first DLD in 2013 got one. We opened it a few months ago..... was definitely the best DL I've ever had but I am glad I didn't have to buy it at an inflated.

Munster51 · Mar 1, 2016

The Hampton Inn, the only hotel in Munster is usually booked a year in advance. That is where I have seen the VBDL go for insane prices. I watched a guy pay a lady $100 for her "winning"' scratch-off ticket last year. He was pissed when he found out there was no Vanilla Bean left. I forgot what variant he bought, but he essentially paid $150 for it.

Munster51 · Mar 1, 2016

Doctor_M said:
Assuming they don't mess with the bottle sharing inside of the gates having access to those bottle shares is worth the 30 bucks to me. I hate standing in line for a pour of beer ( like you would do at hunapu) and honestly the bottles I've had tastes from during DLD were unreal I can't believe I am drinking this beer kind of beers.

I have been to GABF twice (once as industry ) and plenty of other festivals and nothing compares to DL. Even if you don't care about DL you could sell it for an inflated price / trade it.

Bourbon vanilla dark lord sells for 4-500 on secondary beer sites quite often. My friend that went with me to my first did in 2013 got one. We opened it a few months ago..... was definitely the best did I've ever had but I am glad I didn't have to buy it at an inflated.

The Indiana Excise Police is who has cracked down on brining outside alcohol onto the grounds. Trust me, the Munster Police who work the event all volunteer to, do not care about the outside bottles, and have had "full tributes" left on their squad cars.

Doctor_M · Mar 1, 2016

Munster51 said:
The Indiana Excise Police is who has cracked down on brining outside alcohol onto the grounds. Trust me, the Munster Police who work the event all volunteer to, do not care about the outside bottles, and have had "full tributes" left on their squad cars.

So there will be no bottle share inside DL this year?

Doctor_M · Mar 1, 2016

Munster51 said:
The Hampton Inn, the only hotel in Munster is usually booked a year in advance. That is where I have seen the VBDL go for insane prices. I watched a guy pay a lady $100 for her "winning"' scratch-off ticket last year. He was pissed when he found out there was no Vanilla Bean left. I forgot what variant he bought, but he essentially paid $150 for it.

Correct. We booked our room at the Hampton Inn 11 months in advance (the earliest they will let you) and it will be our 3rd year staying there. In 2013 I counted 5 bottles of utopias opened that night (different vintages)

treacheroustexan · Mar 1, 2016

We have the best western in schererville booked because they will have a shuttle back and forth from DLD. Only a little over $100 a night.

b-boy · Mar 1, 2016

The bottle sharing makes the festival. It gives you a reason to open up all the fancy beer that's sitting in your basement. I had a 3 year old bottle of Bolt Cutter last year. If I didn't go to DLD, it would probably still be in my basement. I also did a flight of Vertical Epic (07/07/07-12/12/12) that I shared with several people. that was fun. I was glad to get those 5 bottle out of my backpack. Again, they'd still be in my basement if I didn't go to DLD.

There was a lot of New Glarus and Surly being passed around, which were all great.

Advice: Don't drink an entire bottle of Bolt Cutter while you're waiting in line. You need to ease into DLD or it will be a very short day.

TallDan · Mar 1, 2016

Doctor_M said:
So there will be no bottle share inside DL this year?

I'll defer to munster51 to clarify his own statement, but i believe the change he's referring to happened a couple years ago, which led to the "no coolers" rule and them searching backpacks to ensure nobody was bringing in very large quantities of beer. They want you to bring a bottle of huna or parabola, but don't want you to bring in two cases of budweiser.

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