A journey for the stouthearted

MUNSTER | Fans of a special Russian Imperial stout are counting down to Saturday when Three Floyds Brewery unveils Dark Lord, an oak-aged ale that is sold only one day a year.

This scarcity is expected to bring up to 8,000 of those fans from across the country - and reportedly, from around the world - to the microbrewery at 9750 Indiana Parkway for the fifth annual Dark Lord Day.

Although admission to the event is free, only those with Golden Tickets will be guaranteed the purchase of this highly desirable libation, said Lincoln Anderson, sales manager for Three Floyds.

"We did a take-off on the Golden Ticket from 'Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' this year," Anderson said.

In past years, fans lined up hours ahead of time and the brewery ran out of the Dark Lord supply. This year the tickets will be honored from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. If there is Dark Lord still available after 5 p.m., others attending the event will be able to purchase it, Anderson said.

The Golden Tickets went on sale online on St. Patrick's Day for $10 each, with proceeds going to the several charities.

"Ticket sales were limited to two per person and four per household to ensure that everyone has a chance to get some Dark Lord," he said.

Bottles of Dark Lord will sell for $15 each and there is a limit to how many a ticket-holder can purchase. That limit wasn't available at press time.

"This is a real intense, old-style ale and is a difficult, expensive beer to make. It's labor-intensive," Anderson said.

"It is consistently rated one of the top 10 beers in the world."

Three Floyds will offer a variety of its other specialty beers for purchase in addition to Dark Lord. Several "guest beers" also will be honored during the event.

"We allow people to bring limited amounts of beer for trading and sampling with other beer lovers. The idea is to celebrate craft beer, not have a raging kegger. Please no kegs and be respectful of the event," Anderson said.

Food, including pierogi and barbecue sandwiches, will be sold during the event, which lasts until 8 p.m.

Among the bands tentatively scheduled to play are Imperial Battlesnake and Sybaris.

Parking at Three Floyds is limited and is a situation police and Three Floyds management watch carefully, Munster police Lt. Kurt Matz said.

"We ask that people not park in other businesses' lots unless they have permission. Three Floyds will have additional parking posted on their website," Matz said. Some Chicago bars and restaurants are offering bus rides to the event, although Three Floyds isn't sponsoring buses.

"We encourage people to car pool and have a designated driver," Matz said. "And we discourage camping."

Three Floyds management has experience hosting this event and hires a number of off-duty police officers to work security during the event, he said. Munster police also will be present.

"We will enforce the disorderly conduct ordinance, and we won't tolerate things like parking next to fire hydrants," he said.

"We've not had problems in the past, and we don't anticipate any this year."

For more information, visiti darklordday.com.