2013 Dark Lord Day

My negativity for Three Floyd's was abandoned Saturday, April 27.  The combination of the company, the beer, the weather, and the overall atmosphere made this one of the best beer events I have ever attended.

Three Floyd's expanded the festival grounds this year, working with the Town of Munster and their neighbors to essentially double the size of space for attendees.  The brewpub was closed, but there were plenty of tables available with food and beer, especially with Dark Lord being poured from the tap for those willing to pay $10 for a 10 ounce cup.  Yes, I was one of those people.

Two entrances allowed for traffic to be spread about and the ability of beer buyers to break away from the general admission pack during their allotted time made the flow of patrons work wonderfully.  The one drawback was the Dark Lord bottle allotment went from four to three, but price was the same.  

The name on the ticket philosophy seemed to have worked, but I will readily admit there was a loophole that was easily exploited.  I was the guest of a group A buyer and he was my guest as a group B buyer.  I did walk away with six bottles of Dark Lord, but I also sold three for face value for a guest who was unable to attend.

Personally, my friends and I had a great plan and it worked to perfection.  We arrived on the scene at 5:00am and was blessed with a relatively close parking spot.  We set up our grill and tables and cracked open a Founder's CBS at 5:15 to celebrate the day.  At that point, there were already 40-50 people lined up  at the north entrance camped out and enjoying their brews.

Our position was right in the pathway for everyone parking at Centennial Park and walking to the festival.  Let me tell you, bacon is amazing leverage that early in the morning.  We garnered a lot of attention from passersby with our tailgate and we were afforded the opportunity to meet people from across this great country and try beers we would never have the ability to buy.

Aside from the much loved April 27 sunburn, one sorry sap of a soul that maliciously stole our 2013 Barrel Aged Vanilla Bean Dark Lord, and some choice words from the love of my life about dedicating 16 hours of my weekend for beer, Dark Lord Day 2013 has made me look forward to Dark Lord Day 2014.

In Anticipation of Dark Lord Day

Tomorrow is the big day.  The weather forecast currently is looking infinitely better than the rain and cold that plagued last year's event.  Three Floyd's has published some more up to date information on darklordday.com.

This is all good and well, but the information provided really does not lend any further insight to those who may be new to the event and even seasoned veterans.  I even asked a lawyer to review the post and decipher the meaning behind the words but he also was dumbfounded.

Do not cross railroad tracks except at a designated crossing.  This is always sound advice and FFF throws it out there from the start.  I believe this is the result of patrons parking in the residential area behind the brewery and just climbing up and over the embankment.  A nice warning, but one that may go unnoticed.

The festival grounds are not well defined.  FFF tells patrons the way to line up and enter, but not conveying where the gates will be other than with directional language (for example, line up at the north, the line for sales is on the west, etc.).  If you are unfamiliar with the area it would be worthwhile to use your favorite GPS mapping program and review your compass use.

Parking is also up in the air.  Centennial Park across Calumet Avenue made $3,700 last year with patrons parking their cars and hiking over.  Always a viable option.  My understanding from the help of beeradvocate.com discussion threads is that FFF will have Indiana Ave completely closed off.  Not sure if that's true, but until I have my scout finish his drive-by I will keep this as purely speculative.

Finally, congratulations to Mike Cate who scored himself the 15 year anniversary Three Floyd's Baller Stout with this submitted story:

Craziest thing I ever did for a beer? Not sure if I would define it as crazy but it was definitely unlikely...

I'm a big St.Louis Cardinals fan and love going to Milwaukee a few times a year to catch Cards/Brewers games. The fans up there are a blast to be around. Truly professional drinkers. And what makes it even better is that they're drinking delicious New Glarus, Lakefront and Central Waters beers. Can't beat that! Anyways. I went to Brewers Opening Day last year against the Cards and befriended several people in my row. Shot the shit about beer, homebrewing and baseball. I was living the life.

Turns out this old man who can barely get around is a huuuuge beer fan. As in he goes to all the big beer festivals across the county (Hunaphu Day in Tampa, KBS release, GABF, etc..). We got to talking about Dark Lord and he said that's the one he's never had (tickets selling out so quickly and all). I told him I go virtually every year and could help him out next time I'm up. He liked the sound of that.

To make a long story short, his son called me a few months back out of the blue and said his dad wanted me to go ice fishing with the 2 of them. I guess his dad wasn't doing real good and held trying a Dark Lord pretty high on his bucket list. So after a few days of trying to explain to my wife the unlikely scenario of driving up to Wisconsin to go ice fishing with an old man and his son whom I met 9 months before (and only hung out with for the duration of a 6-0 Brewers victory), I went up and had a blast. I went ahead and brought all the vintages of Dark Lord I had, shared some beers, caught some fish and had a good time.

I didn't leave empty-handed either. The old man gave me several vintages of Surly Darkness which I've always wanted to try (but the trading pricetag is always too unreasonable) as well as a Goose Island King Henry.

Another Dark Lord Day?

Oh yeah, I volunteered for it.  I didn't volunteer, I set up my laptop right next to my desktop and loaded the ticket site for Dark Lord Day on both at approximately 11:45am Central Daylight Time.  I frantically hit refresh on both as the minutes approached: 11:56, refresh; 11:57, refresh; 11:59, refresh. 12:00, here we go!

The Facebook brigade was in full force today.  First, Three Floyd's didn't post the ticket sales link in their status until 11:57am.  Honestly, if you were on Facebook waiting for that to appear you were not going to secure tickets.  The bevy of comments that ensued spanned from, "I got mine" to "FTS!"  But this is what Three Floyd's does, this is what it has been doing as of late.

At 12:49pm the Facebook status indicated tickets finally sold out.  Of course, after I secured a pair on the laptop I tried for a pair on the desktop and not a single group had a ticket available.  This was at 12:03pm.  Server problems? Sure.  However, if you didn't time that refresh just right, you were screwed.

The ticket sales medium that Three Floyd's has chosen does have issues, but I can't think of a fairer process, especially now that they are trying to affix the purchaser's name to the ticket and will be checking identifications at the door.  But the major flaw in this year's ticket sales was the missing Group A.

Upon entering the screen to buy tickets, any chance at selecting Group A was gone.  I know there are people who bought these tickets online, but the option was never presented to me.  I really didn't think of it at the time because the brewery does a very good job treating their ownership and VIPs so I just assumed that these tickets were reserved for them.

The ticket distribution system is set up like you're going to see a concert.  I complain a lot about Three Floyd's, but in this regard there is no suitable alternative.  If you insulate yourself and just sell tickets to the local patrons you isolate your brand and it might not have become the global phenomenon that it is.  But if you open the availability to the masses, the surest way is selling the tickets like any band performing in concert.  Here's your chance, good luck!  So you've been to 9 DLDs in a row but now your screwed.  Get over yourself.  Heaven forbid you share in your good fortune for nine years and let someone else try a beer that is one of the best in the country.

The one downfall is admittance onto the grounds.  Although I was lucky to get Group B tickets, I know I will be resting on the pavement in the early A.M. that morning because getting into the brewpub is half the battle.  All ticket holders are welcome at 10am, regardless of group.  Last year I had Group A and by the time we made it into the festivities and in line to purchase the beer, we had a half hour left in our buying window.  So this year, more of the same.

I am a seasoned veteran by now and am prepared for all Dark Lord Day entails.  My friends secured their tickets with little hassle as well so it should make for a good post in the future.  I promise I'll try to be more positive this time around.

If you are reading this, please leave a comment.  I want to know the most outrageous thing you've done for a beer (could be dollars spent, distance traveled, etc.).  You must leave a comment with your full first and last name with a valid email address.  The week before DLD (April 21st) I will consult with IndianaBeer staff and we will pick a winner.  The winner will receive their choice of Baller Stout, 2012 Dark Lord, or 2013 Dark Lord.  I know they might not be the rarest beers, but they are the ones I have at my disposal.

This Just in From Dash-In!! - October 19

Dash-In has Southern Tier Pumking beer on tap once again and tomorrow, October 20th, they will tap Three Floyds Zombie Dust at 4p.m.  Get you some!!  (https://www.facebook.com/DashInfortwayne)
(http://www.stbcbeer.com/) (http://www.3floyds.com/)