Phillips Brewing Co. – Trainwreck Barley Wine (2013)

Rating

4.2 out of 5

Appearance

3.7 out of 5

Aroma

4 out of 5

Flavour

4.1 out of 5

mouthfeel

Total

4

4 out of 5

Overview

• Brewery: Phillips Brewing Co.
• Beer Style: Barley Wine, Barrel Aged
• Pros:

  Smooth Barley Wine flavour

• Cons:

  Big and boozy brew

• Conclusion:

  A boozy but rather smooth Barley Wine from Phillips Brewing.

The Trainwreck is back for another run from the Phillips Brewing Company. This Barley Wine is a big 10% ABV and you better believe that it packs a punch. The Victoria BC brewed beer pours into the glass a deep copper colour topped with three fingers of thick and reasonably quickly dispersing head. As the head settles, the glass is left with a residue of lacing. The Trainwreck smells of a lightly oaked, strong ale with notes of orange, toffee and caramel along side a light boozy-whiskey scent. While the bottle does not actually mention barrel aging, the aroma hints that it may have spent a brief duration in a barrel. The flavour is rather smooth with biscuit notes along side a light orange flavour. Toffee makes up a sweetness in the beer before a boozy finish comes into play. Again a light barrel-aged flavour comes in with a vanilla smoothness and oakiness that may just have come from aging in a whiskey barrel. As seems to be the case with a lot of barley wines in 2013 the Trainwreck is smoother, and even better than 2012. I can only imagine at this point what this beer may taste like a year from now but aging will only do good things to this big and strong barley wine from the Phillips Brewing Company.

Alcohol – 10%
Size – 650ml
Price – $7.25 (Cold Beer and Wine)
phillipsbeer.com