Port Barrel Aged Barleywine
Blindman Brewing

Poured at fridge temp. Pours a muddy brown with no head, as expected. The nose is very dark-fruit forward. The port obviously plays the role here. Port, blackberries, earthy, toffee, oak, grapes, and an every-so-slight hint of hops.

The taste is wonderful. Diverges quite a bit from the nose. I get slight citrus peel, pipe tobacco, black licorice, burnt toffee, port, resin, leather, and unripe peach. Very smooth mouthfeel.

The aftertaste lingers for an extended time, delighting the senses with evolving flavors. Starts fruity and becomes a bit smoky. Very intense. Overall, a wonderful beer that lies at the fringe of barleywines.

Port Barrel Aged Barley Wine pours into my glass dark, leathery brown with ruby highlights and completely still. Blindman Brewing has chosen to present this barleywine uncarbonated to highlight the port barrels they aged the beer in.
The aroma is rich and enticing. Foundation of barleywine supports the rich, tawny aromas of port. The nose is sweet, vinous, lush, and full of ripe dark fruit. Ripe dark fruit marry seamlessly with the vanilla scented aroma of wood combined with the deep, oaky aroma of the barrel itself. Caramel malt provides its own sturdy support for the rest of the flavors presented in this barleywine.
This barrel aged barleywine supports a massive flavor profile. On the one hand you have the malt oriented flavors of the barleywine itself. Up front flavors of caramel, fig, date, and toasted bread lead into solid flavors of fruit and wood given by the port barrels. First I taste the ripe orchard fruits followed immediately by the musty flavors of well used oak.
This is a very impressive barleywine, made more so for me by the fact that I'm enjoying this thing without carbonation.