Dark Lord Day Recap

Another DLD is in the books. Lots of beer was sold, lots of beer was consumed.

I had a blast.

We left CU around 6:45 after a couple of false starts and headed north to Munster. We arrived about 9:15 and walked up and found my co-worker Gary. He was supposed to ride with us, but didn't leave Tuscola until what we thought was too late, he got there before us.

We walked up the line, and found our usual camp site. Across the street and near the corner. We positioned the new Bruisin' Ales grooler. In our area. I had purchased a folding luggage carrier to help move beer and other supplies around that day, and it was a darn good $20 spent. Walking about a half mile while carrying a case of beer can be really tiring. Carrying a case of water, bags of charcoal, and other items also were that much more convenient.

We were the first ones in the CU Beer club to arrive. When the others showed up, they brought those neat tent things, that just go up with a bit of velcro. We had 2 of the tents at our site. If it rained, we would have been ready, instead, it was nicely just overcast for most of the day. When the others showed, the breakfast casserole arrived. Later, more sausages arrived.

I went down, and introduced myself to the guys who we'd be in line with. They were nice fellows from Louisville. Timothy and (mumbles a name). We later met up with some guys in Chicago, who were camped/tailgating right behind us. That made it much quicker.

The guest taps were set up outside, on the right of the parking lot, towards the street. There was a great selection. (look at list below). From there, I sampled or drank several of the beers. One of my favorite on the day was from Goose Island and was a Bourbon County Stout with coffee and raspberry. I also got the Brooklyn Cookie Jar Porter (yummy); Pizza Port Sticky Stout; Founders el Diablo del Noche (cask; also nummy). Also had the Dark Lord that was on tap.

This years wax is Green. Bottles are available on ebay. When we went through the line, there was a limit of 4 per ticket. Later there was a rumor that the amount was dropped to 3 per ticket. Also available was last years Dark Lord, with the white wax.

I didn't get around as much as I wanted to, and felt kind of rushed to leave. So, in that hurry, I managed to leave behind 4 bottles of green wax DL, which my friends were nice enough to bring back for me, even though I haven't seen those bottles yet. Sadly, I left my Dogfish Head bag somewhere. No one in the beer club seems to know where it is. Sadly, it's also not available online anymore.

I still didn't manage to meet too many people that I know from online anywhere. The Hoosier Beer Geek people had a DORK LORD tent set up, which was cool.

To sum up, I met some cool people; drank some great beer; bought some great beer; ate some good enough food; and didn't spend anywhere near as much money as last year.

I've been looking at video's on youtube, but haven't seen myself yet. I saw my chair, and Gary, but not me.

Dark Lord Day tap list

List is from the Full Pint.



Stone Brewing
Vertical Epic 08-08-08
Old Guardian 2006
Old Guardian aged in Red Wine Barrels

Southern Tier
Choklat
Javah
Oak Aged Unearthly

Bells
Hopslam
Poolside
Barrel Aged Hell Hath No Fury

Gouden Carolus
Cuvee’ The Emperor Blau 2007

Upland Brewing
Infinite Wisdom Triple
Light Wave
Scotch Ale
Firkin ? (surprise)

Founders
Kentucky Breakfast Stout
Double Dry Hopped Centennial IPA firkin

New Belgium
Eric’s Ale

New Albanian
Old Ale

Dogfish Head
Fort
Burton Baton
Old School

Van Steenberge
Klokke Roland

Victory
St Victorious
St Boisterous
Smoked Oatmeal Porter

Dark Horse
Double Crooked Tree

Petrus
Oud Bruin

Ommegang
Belgian Pale Ale

Schlafly
Quadruple
Barrel Aged Smoked Porter

Brooklyn
Brewmaster’s Reserve Cookie Jar Porter
Brewmaster’s Reserve Sorachi Ace

Sierra Nevada
30th Anniversary Fritz and Ken’s ale

Pizza Port Carlsbad
10th ann. Bel strong ale

Pizza Port San Clemente
B.A. Infamous Imp stout
Sticky Stout

Cigar City
Brandy winter warmer

Surly
Tea Bagged Furious Firkin

Flossmoor
.357 imp pils
1492 IPA

Avery
Moloch
Maharaja
Bourbon bbl oatmeal
Meph addict
Depuceluese
Joe American Pil
Uberschwein

Boulevard
Tank 7

Firestone Walker
Union Jack
Pale 31

Nice list.

Darklord Day Golden Tickets cluster fuuuuuuuk

I got mine and Kridz tickets ordered, did you get your order processed?

The announcement that tickets were available came at about a couple minutes after 7 pm central time.

It linked you to http://3floyds.myshopify.com/. The site is still up, and seems to be working better now.

The initial rush was probably insane. The myshopify server definitely couldn't handle the load of thousands of eager beer people trying to get tickets at once. I got several messages from friends saying they were having trouble getting through.

There's also several tweets discussing the issues with the site. Everyone does seem elated that they finally did get through. That, or they quit.

I'm not sure the number of tickets they are going to sell, but my confirmation number and the girlfriends were about 2,500 apart. So, they went pretty quick.

If you are still looking for them, try quickly. If you missed it, someone will be selling the tickets on EBay, as soon as they are received.

The amount of beer per ticket hasn't been released yet, neither has the price.

Again, you can probably expect to get 4 bottles for each ticket, at $15 per bottle. Your 8 pack of beer will cost $120.

I'm not sure what Three Floyds can do to prevent the frustration that many people expressed this evening. They need to find an online retailer that can handle thousands of simultaneous requests. Shopify just didn't cut it.

Additionally, the earlier message of "after work" was kind of bogus, as it caused many people to think that the tickets would go on around 5 pm central time. This left several people (including myself) sitting at their desks, thinking that at any moment, the tickets would be available. How many people were panicking thinking they would be on their drive home when the sale was announced?

Having the sales on St. Patrick's Day was probably also a bad idea. With the ambiguity of the sales being today, many die-hard beer fans stayed up all night waiting for the announcement (Hoosier beer geek for example) I did it last year, this year I made sure my phone would wake me. Those people who stayed up all night, probably spent the rest of the day waiting for the message. Now, on one of the world's most popular alcoholidays, they haven't slept, and are probably really cranky.

I'm still going, and I still love the beer.

Just got a message that 10 minutes ago, a buddy got through with number 6778, which is about 2,500 after kridz number.

See you on April 24.

Some other comments from friends...

"is it legal to bill 3 floyds for that hour of my life that i'm never getting back?"

"Screw you 3floyds. Was on site immediately and never did get an order page. Site was a big f'n joke. $40 shipping? Piss off."

"I'm trying to get a damn golden ticket, but the site is down :("

(I got my tickets) "me too... but it was like pulling teeth"

"Anyone else getting the "we are having technical difficulties"?"

(at 7:20) "i think they are sold out" me: keep trying "i will keep trying"

*edit* well, it's about an hour and 20 minutes after the sale started, and the website is saying they are sold out.

*edit #2* 3 Floyds has an updated blog post.

All shipping charges are being removed. So if you had the $4 one or the $20 one, you won't be paying that.

Darklord Day Golden Tickets

According to a recent Three Floyds tweet, Darklord golden tickets will go on sale "after work".

After work we'll put the pot of golden tickets at the end of your rainbow.

So, if you did this year, what I did last year; you are probably going to be really tired. I hope it doesn't ruin your St. Patrick's Day, many people's favorite alcoholiday.

Tickets will probably be available at the Darklordday.com website. They cost $10 each, and you can get 2. A household can get 4. If you have any friends, they can get 2. Last year, each ticket allowed you to purchase 4 bottles of Darklord. The beer has been coming in 22 ounce bombers, and normally cost $15 a bottle. Since you had 2 tickets, you could get 8 bottles. Then you could fill up the other 4 spaces with other beers. Last year, the beers you could get included their collaboration with Dogfish Head entitled Popskull, and the collaboration with Mikkeller named Oatgoop. The previous year, the other buzzed beer was the Mikkeller collaboration, Hvedegoop.

There's no word on what other beers will be available.

There will be bands playing throughout the day, normally starting after noon.

There will also be ATM's on site, since it's a cash-only operation.

With the $20 for golden tickets, which will ensure that you get your share of the beer, you also get a free glass of the beer, per ticket. Your total investment, based on four $15 bottles per ticket will wind up being $140 (20 for tix, 120 for beer). Take more than that, because you'll want more.

Here's what you can expect throughout the day.

Show up early (don't get there at 11, there will be a HUGE line; early means about 8 or 9), take the first parking spot on the road that you can find. Start walking, following the crowd. They know where they are going. Go stake out your position in line. Get to know the people in line with you, you'll be with them for several hours.

Since you now know your line neighbors, go for a little walk. Check out what guest breweries are inside. Have a beer. Last year there was a cask section of beer. Have a cask beer. Get in line for the brewpub. Go inside, see what they have on tap. Last year there was 3 version of Darklord on tap; regular, oak aged, and vanilla bean. HAVE THE VANILLA BEAN!!! After you are done in the brewpub, GET OUT!!! There is a line to get in. Don't sit in there all day: one comes out, one goes in.

Make friends with everyone in every line you are in. If/when you cut in a line, offer the people around you beer.

Take a sampler glass with you, don't take a big ass Fat Sandwich glass! Go visit the tables and tables and tables of beer. Try stuff you haven't had. SAMPLE IT, you aren't there to drink all the beer that someone else brought.

Bring something interesting (beer) with you. Bring a cooler with good beer in it. Bring sandwiches. Bring other things to munch on. Find a camping spot across the street from the line. Set up shop. Take a grill. Take food to grill.

Have a designated driver.

Make pretzel necklaces.

Don't get into a fight (no matter how much I try to provoke you).

Don't get fall down drunk, if you do, don't be surprised if people laugh at you.

Don't break your bottles.

Do drink plenty of water. Do eat. Do have fun. Do walk around. Do meet people. Do prepare for any kind of weather. It's been warm, it's been really cold, and it's been rainy in the three years that I've gone. Be ready for all the weather. Shorts under jeans is a good idea. Do take sunscreen. Do put sunscreen on your bald head! (or sides of your mohawk)

Dark Lord Day 2009, Recap

Well, another Dark Lord Day has come and gone. It was a hell of a lot of fun. For some reason, getting drunk on some of the best beer in the world seems to be more fun than getting drunk on other stuff. Wonder why that is?

On Friday night, Kridz, Paddy, and I headed up to Flossmoor Station. Flossmoor routinely has something going on before DLD, so we wanted to go to that. We didn't quite make festivities, possibly Bar-B-Q on the back, but we did get to try some of the White Lady (a belgian wit) and Shimkos Simcoes. The White Lady wasn't the beer for me. Paddy ordered it, and I had a sip, but it's a Belgian wit, and try though I might, I can't drink that stuff. It also had chamomile in it, and I really can't drink that. We had some 3F Rabid Rabbit a couple weeks ago, and I couldn't finish my glass of that. The Shimkos' Simcoes was a great IPA. Noah recommended it to us before his phone died. After we sat down to eat, Noah walked up to our table. He was leaving, but while leaving saw my car and came back in. I had the fish and chips, which are AWESOME at Flossmoor. Kridz had a pizza and Paddy had... something. I think I also had a Killer Kapowski. Which was a really good Baltic Porter. For some reason, those (baltic porters) seem to have a sharp bite to it, like a rootbeer.

After we finished eating, we headed up to my sisters in Lockport. Walked around her neighborhood for a while, then went to bed. Woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, got some text messages, then headed to Dark Lord Day. The text messages both said the same thing, 4 bottles per ticket :(. Oh well, that's better than 3.

We got there around 9. The CU Beer Club was set up directly across the street on the grass, had our little tailgate section all set up. We drove past, found a place to park, then lugged our cooler, chairs and other stuff up to the area. Tom was in line, holding the beer club's place. There were at least a dozen of us, so we were one of the larger contingents there.

When the doors opened at 11, there was the surge. It took a good 20 minutes before the line moved next, but then it went pretty rapidly. In between the beer line, and the brewpub line was the free sample (ticket punch) line. There was a lot of jumping from one line to the next. The actual Dark Lord line seemed just as long as last year, I wondered how it was any better... it wasn't necessarily, just a bit different. I'm sure the people at the end of the line were happy to know that they were guaranteed to get beer, unlike last year.

It seemed to go well, and somewhat quick, as they opened the line up to people without tickets around 4 (if not before then).

Inside the brewpub, which had the longest and slowest line, there were three varieties of Dark Lord available. On the left, is Vanilla Bean '08, which is my favorite. It is possibly my favorite beer in the world. In the middle is this years DL. On the right is the Oak Aged. Both the vanilla and the oak were last years, that had been set aside and were aged for this event. They were outstanding!

There were tents set up with all kinds of beers. Skot had 17 beers that he hasn't had before. I'm not sure how many I had. The PopSkull collaborative beer was outstanding. Between Kridz, Paddy and I we got 8 bottles of that at the house.

Other than a couple of bouts of rain, the worst of which occurred when I was sitting in the brewpub drinking those 3 glasses in the picture, it was a beautiful day. It was slightly overcast, so only the whitest of people got a slight sunburn. It wasn't too cold, nor too hot, so that was really nice. Everyone seemed really friendly. We made pretzel necklaces, but they got stale quick, due to the humidity. A drier day would have kept them fresher. Still, everyone loves pretzel necklaces. Don't get medium sized pretzels... just get small ones and the big fat ones. Medium sized ones break too easy. We made ours with string for beading, so that was convenient.

We met some great people there, some of which seemed to have made it to my blog already, mostly by searching for Urbana Mohawk Dark Lord, or Urbana Mohawk beer guy.

I never did find where the guest breweries were set up. Last year they were in the corner, this year... dunno.

It was a blast, thanks to 3 floyds for making a great beer, and for having a great day.

Why it should be more than 3 bottles per ticket of Dark Lord

Ok, it had BETTER be more than 3 bottles per ticket.

A bottle of Dark Lord will be $15. In years past, you could get a 6 pack, that's $90. If it's 6 bottles per ticket, like I'm assuming, it's now $100 a six pack. Most people got 2 tickets, so they are going to spend $180 on the beer, and $20 on tickets, that's $200 for a case of beer (22 oz bombers are 12 to a case).

Skot seems to be set thinking there will be a 3 bottle per ticket limit. That's gonna wind up being 6 bottles, $90, plus $20 for the tickets, and I would be pissed if I only got a six pack of beer for $110.

Any less than 3 per ticket, and the outrage from everyone will be WAY more than the people who bitched last year about not getting any.

So you are going to Dark Lord Day...

If you've been before, then this is just a refresher; if you haven't then here's some info you might want to know.

1. Directions. If you have a GPS, you should ensure you know the address; enter it now.

9750 INDIANA PKWY
MUNSTER, IN 46321

It's real easy to get to, Take Interstate 80 (east or west) Get off at Calumet Ave, Exit 1. Drive on Calumet for about 3 miles (you'll be heading south). Turn Right onto Superior. You should see cars and people walking now. Park... follow them. Three Floyds will be posting parking instructions on DarkLordDay.com soon. So check there before you leave. (Edit; according to the latest email, they will not be posting parking instructions online, but supposedly there will be signs on the road)

2. Show up early. Yes, I know the ticket says if you show up between 11 and 4 that you'll get beer. You will still be standing in line. Tickets sold out in hours, and they said that there were 2,000 people (not the final number)... so that's a long line.

3. Be prepared to stand in line. Make friends with the people around you. You will be with them for a while. Don't be surprised if they become good friends by the end of the day; you do share great taste in beer with them, so you'll have something to talk about. If you are in line for 4 hours, don't worry, you can probably talk about beer for that long. Having friends in line is nice for when you want to get out of the line, go inside the brewpub and get a beer, and not have to go to the end of the line.

4. Be courteous. There will be beer tables set up by various groups. There will be some of the greatest beers in the world sitting on those tables. Don't be an ass and get a whole glass of something you haven't had before. Get enough to sample the beer then move on. Don't take the bottle. For Jeebus sake, don't steal someone's growler!

5. Eat something. If you aren't going to be purchasing food (they have some decent food, but it's kind of expensive) take some with you. Take a cooler, preferably one on wheels, you'll be moving a lot. Put beer, water and some food in the cooler. You will be there a while.

6. Don't just stand in line. Go in the brewpub. Go in the back way into the brewery, where it looks like people are leaving with their precious precious Dark Lord. Go listen to the bands. Go get some of the beer from the guest taps.

7. Take cash. Take LOTS of cash. I repeat TAKE CASH!!! The nearest ATM is a LONG walk away. There will be many people who hit that ATM on Saturday. Don't be surprised if it's out of money. Go to your bank on Friday. If it's like before (which is my guess) each ticket will get you 6 bottles of beer. You should have two tickets, that's 12 bottles at $15 each. That's $180 right there. If you forced a friend to get you two more tickets, that's $360. They do NOT take anything other than cash. Have yours ready. The brewpub will probably take your card for beer and maybe some grub, but don't count on it. You don't want to cut into your Dark Lord purchasing funds by buying a sandwich inside. Your girlfriend probably won't be taking any money, so be prepared to buy her a sandwich. Don't run out of cash.

8. Take sunscreen. Weather.com says it's going to be 73 (updated to 78) and partly cloudy on Saturday. This will probably be one of your first times out in the sun for an extended period of time this year. You'll be standing in line, mostly facing north and west. Your head and face and back of your neck can get sunburned. By the time it turns red, it's too late. As you leave the brewery with your box of beer, you'll see a whole lot of red faces, yours might look like that too. If you are wearing sunglasses, you'll probably look like a raccoon. If you have a Mohawk, you'll probably have 2 red sides of your head. Wear sunscreen. Dress appropriately. If you are from Texas, realize it will probably be kind of cold there when you first arrive. Take a jacket or sweatshirt. When it gets warmer, you can later throw them in your cooler, or walk back to your car. If you show up at 8 in shorts you will be cold... you will be cold for a while.

9. Take a folding chair.

10. Take beer. Take something from your region and make sure it's great (don't bring BMC). You'll be surrounded by people, not from your area, who can't easily get the things that you have. Last year we were in line with 3 guys from St. Louis; two guys from Texas; and a couple from Cleveland. Skot and Brad were with people from Wisconsin. If you can pick up a growler from your local brewery, that'd probably be awesome. Put that in your cooler, along with some little cups.

11... can't believe I forgot this at first. TAKE A DESIGNATED DRIVER! You will probably get drunk. Don't drive.

Some other things you might want to do:

Make a pretzel necklace.
Take a camera.
Take a friend (they may not get DL bottles, but they can buy glasses).
Take hand sanitizer.
Take sunglasses.
Take a sweatshirt.
Take water.
Skip out on your cousins wedding and go to Dark Lord Day.

(EDIT/Update) Weather.com now says that it'll be about 70 degrees at 9 a.m. but throughout the day there is a 40% chance of thunderstorms and wind. So dress (or pack) appropriately.

Beer Tickets You Wish You Had #2

Horray, they arrived. This will be the second in the series of Beer Tickets You Wish You Had.

The first was Great Taste of the Midwest. This one is Dark Lord Day 2009.

You'll note it says something like Bottle Limit Set on Day of Event.

You'll also note that it's more of a purple ticket with gold... hehe.

Skot has informed me, he got his. Sammons got his, Kridz got hers, and Paddy's were also at the house when I opened mine.

I attempted to TWEET it last night, but it didn't seem to go through as I also CC'd someone else on my phone that the tix were at the house.

Did everyone else get theirs?

They are already on Ebay, current price is $100 (make that $177)(make that $14,999.44... WTF???)(it seems that auction has been pulled) (but it's been reoffered by Mr. DB, and the bidding is up to 1 grand).

Also, some jackass is selling a (a, that's 1) ticket with a buy it now of $399, there are 5 available on EBay right now (make that 9 now).