Phillips Brewing – Trainwreck Barleywine 2013: Another cellar tester, this one was brewed in Victoria, BC at a strength of 10% and was poured into a snifter at home
Aroma and Appearance: When held up to light it reveals a dark mahogany colour with a finger of foam and a bit if bubble action. The aroma was brown sugar, cinnamon, raisin, molasses and nuts.
Flavour: I was perplexed by this one, for all the aroma there was very little flavour. When I drink barleywine I pour, wait a good 5-10 mins until it hits the right drinking temperature and this one needed to sit for like 20 minutes before any real flavour revealed itself. Finally, I got some malty sweetness, toffee notes, dry bread and a bit of boozy.
Overall Impression: It’s ok, but sadly not near any other barleywine out there.
Rating: I gave it a 6/10, above average rating when compared to other beers, but for the style there is a lot of better stuff out there.
Food Pairing: Some salty meat like prosciutto, or Hungarian salami may bring out some more flavour in this one.
Not on my buy again list unless the newer vintages get better reviews.
West Coast Beer Geek 
Reblogged this on Make Beer not War.
Weird as fresh it was quite harsh.
I had heard that so I sat on it for a while, I find most Barleywines need to tone down a bit so I generally won’t touch them for at least 6 months after release, except for Thor’s Hammer which is an immediate multi-growler fill upon release!
Good call there with Thor’s Hammer!