I think the luck of the Irish was with me yesterday.
Managed to secure two Golden Tickets for the upcoming Dark Lord Day on Saturday, April 25th at the Three Floyd’s brewery in beautiful Munster, Indiana just outside of Chicago. They cut off the online sale of the tickets just a few minutes after I made my purchase, so it seems I got in right under the wire.
Unlike past Dark Lord Day festivals, they decided this year to use a ticket system to guarantee the 2,000 or so ticket holders their allotment of Dark Lord (I’m guessing 5 or 6 750 ml bottles depending on yield), and discourage the inevitable line cutting and general chaos that ensues at these types of beer release events. Anyone without a ticket can still show up and buy beer, but they’ll need to stand in line and try their luck with the rest of the mob. All in all, I think the new system seems to make sense, and is supposed to make for a more orderly and enjoyable day for everyone.
For those out there wondering what would possess me to drive 7 or 8 hours to stand in line for a handful of beers, Three Floyd’s Dark Lord, a masterfully designed Russian imperial stout, is considered by many to be one of the best beers in the world, currently rated #4 on Beer Advocate’s “Top Beers on Planet Earth” list. I was able to get a very small sample of it at last year’s Surly Darkness Day thanks to a fellow trader who poured some for us as we stood there freezing our asses off in the October morning chill. From that small sip, and based on reviews and discussions with fellow beer geeks, this legendary beer is deserving of every last bit of credit it gets. If this year’s version is anywhere near Surly Darkness 2008 (and I’m certain it will be), the drive to Chicago to get it will seem like a relatively insignificant hurdle to contend with.
My brother and I are planning to make the drive down on the 24th, and possibly hit up some other Chicago breweries that same evening like Goose Island. We’ll head out to Dark Lord Day on Saturday morning, enjoy the festivities and probably load up on other great Three Floyd’s stuff like Alpha King, then drive back into the city and take in a White Sox game Saturday evening. Sounds like my buddies Dave over at The Drunken Polack and Stu at Friday Night Beer are making plans to attend, so I’m sure we’ll meet up for a few.
Really looking forward to what should be a great weekend.
March 18, 2009 at 9:41 am
That’s so awesome. And you’re gonna have TWELVE bottles of Dark Lord? Jesus. You’ll be like the Fort Knox of beer.
They have Oaked Dark Lord on tap at this too, right?
Gonna be an amazing day.
March 18, 2009 at 9:48 am
Yeah, I’m guessing I’ll have all 12 since my brother (who enjoys beer but isn’t a beer freak like me) likely won’t want his allotment. Too heavy for him.
I think they will have that on tap.
March 18, 2009 at 10:40 am
350 for hotel, airfare, and rental car. I’m 99 percent sure I’ll be there. How the hell am I going to get 12 bottles home?
Goldfarb don’t take this the wrong way. I hope Syracuse loses so you can go to Darklord day =) Don’t shoot me!
March 18, 2009 at 11:55 am
Ha. I won’t shoot you. Last time Syracuse got upset in the first round began one of the great benders of my life. That was 2005 and Vermont. A loss to Stephen F. Austin might start a bender that would culminate at Dark Lord Day!
March 18, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Excited but I think my girlfriend is going to be pissed! Anyway, you’ll have to give me your cell phone number the closer we get.
March 18, 2009 at 5:15 pm
But she probably won’t be as pissed as Aaron’s wife, who he’s leaving on her birthday weekend. Boo. Just kidding (on the square), honey – if there must be a mistress, I suppose let the mistress be beer…
March 19, 2009 at 9:45 am
I’m sure you’ll do a write up on the event, right? From reports of years past, I’ve never really wanted to go to this event. Even though my inner beer geek feels incomplete for not having tried DL, I’m pretty satisfied with the rest of the RIS’s available in this market.
Also, Madison is a great stop along the way. Ale Asylum is close to the highway and has some good offerings, and there is a really good new beer bar called the Malt House (convenient to the highway as well).
March 19, 2009 at 9:52 am
Excellent, thanks for the tip forbiddendonut. Haven’t heard of Ale Asylum. I’m also thinking of stopping in at Tyranena.
And yes, you can bet I’ll be doing a write-up…maybe even a multi-story series depending on how crazy the weekend gets with people like Dave at The Drunken Polack!
March 19, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I may have 2 tickets for this. Ask Dave about it and/or check you yahoo mail.
Also I have written a post about Ale Asylum, one of my first posts:
http://fridaynightbeer.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/madison-and-the-ale-asylum/
I actually had half a six pack of their Ballistic IPA last week in WI Dells.