Another Three Floyds treat brought back from Hudson, Wisconsin. Label copy: "Black sun has a nose of coffee, roasted malts and piney hops. This medium bodied stout has a broad depth of maltiness and a clean dry finish."
Rather perfunctory, short and sweet and to the point. Way too normal for Three Floyds. By chance, I had been holding onto an old bottle, because I liked the label design so well, and here's how they described it then:
"An inky black stout with a lugubrious brown foam ring in the glass topped by an attractive oil slice. Enticing aromas of deep roast coffee plus touches of vanilla and snake. Flavor is very complex, with chocolate, cherry, and dried fruit dominating.
Creamy smooth mouthfeel, very thick and full-bodied for the style. All this malty sweetness is balanced by the hops up front and the roasted malt bitterness playing against the sweet caramel flavors at the end."
That doesn't sound like a brewery talking. "Lugubrious?" Well, maybe it sounds like Lagunitas or Stone. ..."for the style", though? That definitely sounds like an online critic talking. And it reminded me of the situation when 3F first bottled Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout. The description on that label was lifted word for word, with some editing, from a review by a prolific BeerAdvocate user whose online handle was named either after a Spider-Man villain, or his acerbic nature. I remember asking him how he felt about that, and he said he was honored. I'd be, too, but also a bit miffed that I wasn't asked or even told about such appropriation. To each their own. This could have been from his review of this beer, but I have no way of knowing, since he had his 2000+ reviews deleted from the site, at his request, after a quarrel with the site's owners. I didn't see any other revews that speak of lugubrious brown foam rings. Not mine, no, sir.
Speaking of me, here's what I wrote about the Black Sun on first review, January, 2007:
"Solid black, with a nice, creamy tan, espress-tinged head.
Aroma: nice stuff in here! Licorice, spice, dark fruits, grape, raisins and plums,...quite a treat!
Taste: smooth, clean, and silky, lean-bodied, some darker fruit, slight syrup, mild molasses. Easy-drinking, classic for the style. Full flavor, though I'm a bit let down that the intriquing aroma didn't follow through in the flavor as much. It's not supposed to, and it's quite excellent for what it ought to be...in fact, this would be a regular treat for me, if I could get it around here.
Another treat from the Floyds!"
So, that means I liked it. Still do.
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