Dark Lord Day 2011

Date: April 30, 2011

Overview

Dark Lord Day 2011 was held on Saturday, April 30th. There were a number of big changes this year which were necessary after the extreme crowds and issues in 2010. An event planning company was hired to help run the event, along with a private security company. Tickets were sold through an actual ticket vendor, Music Today, which was better suited to handle the web traffic for ticket sales. The tickets were also unique, bar-coded tickets. This would help prevent counterfeit tickets from being an issue.

Another large change was the decision to only allow ticketed guests access to the festival. A fence was erected around the Three Floyds parking lot, and access to guest drafts, the brewpub, porta-potties, and food was only available to those with tickets. This helped manage the crowds that would arrive to a more predictable amount. Ticket sales were also reduced from roughly 8,000 to 6,000.

This year also marked the introduction of group sales times. When you purchased your tickets you choose between 3 time slots (A, B, or C) during which you would pick up your 4 bottles of Dark Lord. This was intended to help alleviate the huge lines. This was also the first year barrel aged variants were available for purchase via a scratch off on the Golden Ticket. In the bottle sales lines, attendees would receive a commemorative "Golden Ticket" with a scratch off portion. Winners of the scratch off had the option of purchasing one barrel aged Dark Lord variant for $50.

A decision was also made this year to only serve barrel aged Dark Lord variants on draft inside the brewpub. None of the outdoor tents would be pouring it. With limited space in the brewpub, it required a very long wait to get in.

With the fence, festival attendees were crowded in the Three Floyds parking lot. Chairs and full size coolers were allowed, and much of the available space was occupied by groups of camping chairs and coolers. These items would be restricted in the future.

2011 was also the first year parking restrictions were put in place in the industrial park surrounding Three Floyds. Parking was restricted to one side of the street on Indiana Parkway, Superior Drive, Progress Ave, and Valparaiso Drive. Nearby businesses sold parking for anywhere from $20 to $60, however there were still lots available with free parking.

Randy Mosher was there signing his Tasting Beer and Radical Brewing books.

Details

Wax Color

Yellow

Allotment & Price

4 bottles. $15 a bottle.

Attendance

Estimated 6,000

Weather

High: 71 °F Low: 48 °F

Clear most of the day, with scattered clouds at times.

Ticket Sales

Cost: $10

Vendor: Music Today

Date: 3/19/2011

Number of tickets sold: ~6,000

Tickets went on sale on Saturday March 19th at 1:00 pm Central time. They sold out quickly in about 23 minutes. As with previous years you could purchase two tickets per person, however a single person could no longer use both tickets to receive a double allotment. They were required to bring a guest to use the second ticket.

Tickets were sold through a ticket vendor and bar-coded to prevent counterfeits.

Ticket details announcements form Three Floyds:

-Tickets are $10.

-Tickets go on sale Saturday, March 19th.

-Tickets will be sold through an online ticket broker.

-The link to the ticket site will be posted midday on the 19th on our blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

-Tickets will be required to attend. Police will be enforcing a no loitering policy in the industrial park.

-The admission ticket also guarantees your allotment of Darklord during sales hours.

-You can buy two tickets per person, but remember tickets are admission tickets as well, and allocation is per person not number of tickets.

-When purchasing tickets there will be three time options for bottle sales. (morning, afternoon and late afternoon) ABC groups

Tips for a successful DLD ticket purchase

1) Bookmark our Facebook page, Twitter, and appropriate Beer Advocate and Ratebeer forums ahead of time. The link to tickets will be cross posted across the internet, not only onDarklordday.com. The ticketing site we are using should not be affected by the volume of people trying to buy tickets but our own sites may.

2) When buying tickets, make sure you enter your shipping address correctly. Double, triple, or quadruple check. Tickets are going through a third party this year, so if you make a mistake, we will not be able to help you like in years past.

3) Tickets go on sale at 1 p.m. CDT on Saturday March 19th. Two tickets maximum per person.

4) Your ticket is your admission to the grounds. Beer allocations will be on a per person basis. Holding two tickets in your hand will not give you two allotments of Dark Lord.

5) All tickets are good for general admission. Your ticket will have an A, B, or C sales time assigned to it. Group A will be from 10am to noon. B will be 1 to 3. And C will be 5 to 7. This will hopefully cut down on the time everyone has to spend in line.

This is still Dark Lord Day. We're looking forward to all of the beers that people bring to trade, the awesome lineup of bands, the ultimately unique experience that Dark Lord Day is and has become. The guest draft list is coming together nicely, food preparations and planning are at full speed, there is even a Czar of porto-potties this year. Good Luck Saturday and we look forward to seeing you April 30th.

Taplist

Guest Taps

• Victory Smokin' Oats
• Victory Pursuit Ale
• Victory Scarlet Fire
• Victory Headwaters Pale
• Victory Braumeister Pils
• Schlafly Kolsch
• Schlafly Imperial Stout
• Schlafly Export IPA
• Schlafly Summer Lager
• Schlafly Brewmaster Weisse
• Van Steenberge Monk's Ale
• Bells Expedition Stout
• Bells Double Cream
• Bells Batch 10,000
• Bells Oatmeal Stout
• Flying Dog Raging Bitch
• Boulevard Tank 7
• Boulevard Single Wide
• Dark Horse Scotty Karate
• Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree
• Brooklyn Brewmaster Main Engine Start
• Firestone Walker Double Jack
• Firestone Walker Robust Porter
• Dogfish Head My Antonia
• Dogfish Head Worldwide Stout
• Dogfish Head Old School Barleywine
• Dogfish Head Burton Baton
• Ommegang Gnomegang
• Brouwerij Bavik Petrus Aged Pale
• Brouwerij Bavik Petrus Oud Bruin
• Brewdog Paradox Smokhead
• Left Hand TNT Weizen Doppelbock
• The Bruery Saison de Lente
• The Bruery Loakal Red
• The Bruery Old Richland
• Goose Island Bourbon County Stout Rare
• Schlenkerla Fasten Beer
• Schlenkerla Eiche
• Schlenkerla Maerzen
• Furthermore Knot Stock
• Furthermore Oscura
• La Rulles Estivale
• Aventinus Eisbock

8Sierra Nevada Oliva Dubbel

• Oakshire Heart Shaped Box
• Oakshire Imperial Overcast Espresso Stout
• Pizza Port - Ocean Beach The Jetty IPA
• Pizza Port - Ocean Beach ABLE
• Pizza Port - Ocean Beach Tarantulas
• Pizza Port - Solana Beach 1 Down Brown
• Pizza Port - Solana Beach ABLE (different beer)
• Pizza Port - Solana Beach Swamis IPA
• Pizza Port - San Clemente Doheney
• Pizza Port - San Clemente Pier Rat Porter
• Pizza Port - San Clemente "Pseudo"
• Pizza Port - Carlsbad Farley
• Pizza Port - Carlsbad Barreled Night Rider
• Pizza Port - Carlsbad Dubbelicious
• Pizza Port - Carlsbad Poor Man's IPA
• Founders Breakfast Stout
• Founders Nemesis
• Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout
• Founders Backwoods Bastard
• Founders Newaygo County Cherry
• Founders Devil Dancer
• Founders Double Trouble
• Cigar City Milk Porter
• Cigar City Big Sound Scotch Ale
• Stone Double Bastard Chipotle
• Stone DDH Sublimely Self Righteous
• Stone Smoke Porter with Vanilla
• Stone Bourbon BBL Aged Smoked Porter
• Stone Bourbon Arrogant Bastard
• Thirsty Dog Barrel Aged Siberian Night
• Southern Tier Oat
• Southern Tier Back Burner
• Southern Tier Mokah
• New Albanian Hoptimus
• Revolution Barrel Aged Sodom

Bands

• The Lonesome Organist
• Indian
• Sweet Cobra
• Lair of the Minotaur
• Bible of the Devil
• Slough Feg
• Sybris

Photos

Photo Album