My shot at Dark Lord, brewed on Dark Lord Day!

[saq]

Racked to a nice and super clean corny today. This beer smelled so good. Its going to need a few weeks to finish up and age properly. Its going to be a hard wait!

 

[conpewter]

Sweet! Sounds like it is coming out very very nice. I love the conical, very nice that it is high enough to gravity drain to a corny.

 

[saq]

Did a test from after its been sitting in keg bulk aging (uncarbed) since 5/26. A slight drop to 1.030 so 13.8%! Again this is an uncarbed sample taken at room temperature.

Appearance: Black with some brown at the edge of the glass. Didn't get much foam since I used a thief.

Aroma: Mild to Moderate Dark Roast combine with some slight bready esters. Slight sweetness probably from vanilla and molasses.

Flavor: Heavy dark roasts, unsweetened almost bittersweet chocolate, touch of nuttiness, some dark candied raisin, and a kiss of vanilla on the aftertaste. The flavors are so blended I can barely quite pick any one thing out. Pleasantly bitter, but not excessively like some American styles. An interesting balance.

Overall: Pretty damn good for a uncarbed room temp sample. The alcohol level is not evident in the taste, but it certainly does a good job of warming you up.

 

[saq]

Well I kind of overshot the attenuation a bit. It just finished some bulk aging 5-26-09 and am now putting it in rotation for drinking during this weekends brewing. I took a gravity sample @ 65f and it says its at 1.025. That comes out to be roughly 14.41%. Tastes pretty ******* good! It looks like chocolate milk too which is kind of crazy.

 

[saq]

I ended up leaving this guy for bulk aging in the fermeezer a bit longer. I just took a sample and the alcohol bite is almost gone and its starting to taste mighty good! I'm trying to restrain myself from throwing in my last bag of bourbon char!

 

[slimer]

Nice! Did you see my thread about mine?

The vanilla/oak intrigued me so I'm doing it to mine as well.

 

[saq]

I did a beercation to San Diego and traded some beer with people so I chilled, carbed and bottled this mofo. Here's a sample, its really good!

Appearance: Black. Viscous, with some small brown head.

Aroma: Intense! Dark roasty malt, molasses, burnt toast, hint of cocoa and vanilla bean.

Flavor: Dark roasted malt and barley come through at the front, competing with a big chocolate character accentuated by the molasses. Hints of vanilla bean sneak in and some lingering coffee notes come through at the end.

Mouthfeel: Thick, but not as thick as I was expecting probably due to the high amount of honey/molasses that fermented out pretty well. Its pretty clean feeling but very intense.

A higher mash temperature might help get the mouthfeel to its desired point, along with a slightly less attenuative yeast. I might split out 1g of this later into a 1g growler and put some of my bourbon char in as I think that is going to take this beer to amazing territories.

 

[conpewter]

I did a beercation to San Diego and traded some beer with people so I chilled, carbed and bottled this mofo. Here's a sample, its really good!

Appearance: Black. Viscous, with some small brown head.

Aroma: Intense! Dark roasty malt, molasses, burnt toast, hint of cocoa and vanilla bean.

Flavor: Dark roasted malt and barley come through at the front, competing with a big chocolate character accentuated by the molasses. Hints of vanilla bean sneak in and some lingering coffee notes come through at the end.

Mouthfeel: Thick, but not as thick as I was expecting probably due to the high amount of honey/molasses that fermented out pretty well. Its pretty clean feeling but very intense.

A higher mash temperature might help get the mouthfeel to its desired point, along with a slightly less attenuative yeast. I might split out 1g of this later into a 1g growler and put some of my bourbon char in as I think that is going to take this beer to amazing territories.

Looks really good! I tried mine last night and I think my very early high fermentation temp caused some fusel alcohols, I've got some ingredients to try again though. Really glad it turned out so well for you, awesome

 

[user 22118]

I still want to see a picture of a glass of this stuff. I like the shot glass shot, but how about a bigger glass!

 

[saq]

I need to do dishes really bad, just got back from vacation. I'll put some of my sampling glasses in the wash tonight and get a proper picture. It looks just like any other stout...

 

[user 22118]

All beers look the same, but that isn't the point amigo we still like to see what yours looks like

 

[saq]

Ok you asked for it!

 

[user 22118]

ahhh, that's nice. Dark SOB for sure. It would be interesting to get a clear wine glass and swirl it and see if there are any "legs" for lack of a better word. That should show the viscosity and alcohol content. Not expecting an action shot, but for your own good might be useful.

 

[FailureDrill]

This looks awesome. I bought all the stuff for this and will be pitching it onto a US-05 yeast cake which came from two packets. I'll update it as it goes.

 

[saq]

Be sure to aerate the beer a lot and give it some nutrients in the boil, you are going to need help getting good attenuation with this big of a beer!

 

[FailureDrill]

Brewed this as a 2.5 gallon batch today. Made some changes to the recipe, specifically going only with Warrior hops so I didn't have unused portions. Also, I had a slight bit more Molasses, .75 lbs instead of .63. Other than that no changes. After a 90 minute aggressive boil, I got 5 gallons of wort boiled into 2.5 gallons. I estimated around 60% efficiency would be my goal with such a large beer. Hit 61% with an OG of 1.136. Poured the 2.5 gallons into 6 gallon Better Bottle onto a US-05 yeast cake which came from using two packets of dry yeast on a strong brown ale and then shook the crap out of it till it was a foamy . Within 10 minutes there was blowoff tube activity. Within 45 minutes there was about 3 inches of krausen and climbing. Good thing there is plenty of headspace. Thanks for the recipe, I'll update as it chugs along.

 

[saq]

Sounds nice! Good luck with your FG!

 

[slimer]

You'll like this style of beer. My version tastes awesome.

 

[FailureDrill]

One week in, it is down to 1.035, which puts it at 13.32% It still going to sit in primary for another week, and then probably two weeks in a secondary with some oak chips and vanilla bean (not sure if it will be a bean or extract at bottling). Looks like thats 72% attenuation for that US-05 yeast cake. I think it drop another few points.

The taste was actually pretty smooth and the alcohol burn was not prominent, but in the background. Black as night with a little brown around the edge. The molasses was prominent, but not overpowering, with the tast of coffee and dark chocolate in there also. I'm sure the molasses will tone down a bit as it ages and should blend well with the oak and vanilla.

More updates to follow, thanks for the recipe.

 

[FailureDrill]

Left this in primary for 4 weeks. It finished fermentation at 1.032 (13.75% abv) with a very compact trub bed at the bottom. I wanted to try to Oak this so I racked it to a smaller 3 gallon carboy onto 1 Oz. of Lt. American Oak Chips which had been soaked in Vodka for about an hour. After a day on oak, you could smell the aroma similar to bourbon coming through (read Awesome). After eight days on the oak chips, I was able to bottle almost two gallons exactly. I only used 1 oz of corn sugar to carbonate it at the low end of the stout range.

Taste at bottling was great. I could notably taste chocolate, licorice, oak and some vanilla (and I don't have a good palate for these things). The alcohol was not prominent, but present. Definitely viscous, with long brown legs when swirled in the glass. My wife thought it tasted like a "desert beer" and asked that we open a bottle after each Thanksgiving for the next five years. I will have to take her up on that.

This is by far the largest and most complex beer I've constructed to date. I would recommend everyone take on at least one beer this large just for the learning involved. I think I will find myself being a BIG beer addict.

My first one will be cracked sometime around Halloween so I will update with pics then.

 

[conpewter]

I'm thinking as soon as I get my brew system fixed and some money I'll brew this recipe. I may do the 2.5 gallon batch like FailureDrill did as that would be easier, though I would need a 3 gallon secondary.

 

[FailureDrill]

After about two months in the bottle, I cracked one open.

Appearance: Black as a Coal Mine at night. Not much carbonation, though a tiny film of bubbles escorts the fluid to the bottom as it is consumed.

Aroma: There is a sweetness there, a stong aroma of licorice, the oak comes through and an obvious strong malty presence.

Taste: Interesting to say the least. At about 14%, the alcohol is not nearly as strong as I expected. Quite drinkable in that regard. The Molasses/licorice is the strongest flavor, followed on by a roasted taste which gives way to the hop bitterness at the end. I think there is some dark chocolate there also.

Overall: Definitely a sipper, a 12 oz bottle should be SHARED by a friend. I think I would certainly tone back the molasses next time to let the other flavors through, possible let it sit longer on the oak chips. Without much carbonation it has the consistency of a hearty red wine, leaving stickiness on your lips as you drink it. Overall, I would say it was a successful brew. Certainly learned a lot about my system while making it. In regards to brewing, I think using the leftover runnings as a smaller beer would make alot of sense. I am going to remake this one, but change the recipe towards a different direction. I'm also going to keg the batch, bulk age it for a while and then bottle it form the keg with Biermunchers system to give it the proper carbonation I think it needs.

Thanks for the recipe!

 

[slimer]

A beer in this style shouldn't have a lot of carbonation.

 

[FailureDrill]

Mine was basically flat, which I think was from not enough corn sugar and the high ABV. I think with kegging I can control it and get it to the level more mirroring commercial variations.

 

[saq]

I saw some activity in this thread and remembered I had a bottle of The Emperor thats been in the fridge for a few weeks, heres a fully mature review! It is MUCH better than the last time I tried it. This beer should age pretty nicely.

Appearance: Black, very very black. Thin dark tan head that sticks around and after a while settles down to a crown. Jostling of the glass during drinking seems to kick up a little more carbonation.

Aroma: Huge and complex yet approachable. Bittersweet dark chocolate, molasses, some dried fig/date and raw bready aromas, some roastiness and maybe a touch of sherry-like nice oxidization.

Flavor: Big, enticing, bold, very smooth. Again a fine bittersweet dark chocolate becomes a good comparison. A little initial almost chocolatey sweetness up front before almost coffee-like roastiness, some molasses sweetness and mead-like fermented honey characters (2lbs of honey), some dark malts and bitterness as it finishes. The flavors are huge you have to take a few sips before getting a real handle on how many things are going on here.

Mouthfeel: Ultra rich and intense, but surprisingly not super thick due to the 80% attenuation and because of this it doesn't tire on the mouth. Oily, coats the mouth and lingers for a while. It engages the mouth and takes it for a ride. Since this is a sipping beer I feel it is quite good.

Overall: This is one mother of a beer and definitely a sipper. The alcohol is well hidden but the warming in the chest is noticable. It barely avoids being too big and too sweet and doesn't come down harsh.

I'm really enjoying this beer now, I'll have to have some buddies over and we can crack open a Dark Lord and Emperor bottle and do some comparisons.

 

[dcp27]

Wow this beer sounds amazing. Did you ever end up comparing it to the real deal? You mentioned swapping in Special B, but is there anything else differently you would do now that its matured?

 

[saq]

I haven't done the tasting yet. I have a bottle of 09 and a bomber of my attempt that I need to crack open and compare. Probably in a few weeks I'll get a chance!

 

[slimer]

I haven't done the tasting yet. I have a bottle of 09 and a bomber of my attempt that I need to crack open and compare. Probably in a few weeks I'll get a chance!

Wait another month and you can do a vertical tasting.

 

[saq]

Wait another month and you can do a vertical tasting.

If I can get my hands on a bottle of 2010. Any takers?

 

[humann_brewing]

awesome saq, if you were to change anything with the recipe, what would it be?