Dark Lord Day 2011 from outside the gates (click to enlarge)
We're happy to say that the Three Floyds crew were paying attention, and got this one completely right.
Yes, there were still giant swirling lines. But this year there were plenty of staff on hand to let folks know where to go and what lines to work through. The back entrance of the building was opened up, giving that line a place to go and opening up more space in front of the brewery.
The Dark Lord purchase process went smoothly, with the audience divided into three groups, each with a different window to buy their beer.
The carry-in and beer sharing aspect of the event continued as it had in previous years, with a sprawling lawn chair and picnic table shanty town set up just in front of the pub.
The guest taps were certainly noteworthy, with big, complex beers showing up from all over the country, giving fans a taste of breweries they may never be so fortunate to visit.
The overflowing toilets from last year? Gone. The ability to pre-plan for crowd size meant that plenty of porta-potties were available, and - unless I'm mistaken - there was even a sanitation crew on site early on to make sure things went smoothly.
Yes, it was crowded. But the spirit of the event remained, with good people sharing good beer in the spirit of beer brotherhood and sisterhood (mostly brotherhood).
Despite 10 tickets among our group, none of us won the limited release bottle lottery. If you won and want to share, you know where to find us...
Kudos to Three Floyds and our brothers and sisters in beer - Dark Lord Day remains the best craft beer release in the country, and we're already excited about next year.
Dark Lord Day 2011 from inside the gates (click to enlarge)
Want to compare this year's Dark Lord Day to the previous three years?
Click here for our 2010 coverage
Click here for our 2009 coverage
Click here for our 2008 coverage
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