AleSmith Old Numbskull

	Percentile
	100
	overall

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
San Diego, California USA

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution
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Ratings	Average	Score	ABV	Style Pctl	Serve in
762	4.04/5.0	4.03/5.0	10%	98	Snifter

Commercial Description:
Bottle conditioned.
Old Numbskull is AleSmith’s first barley wine offering. You may find the name "Old Numbskull" curious. Barley wine has its origins in England and tradition is to begin the name with "Old": Old Nick, Old Sampson, Old Jock, etc. Tongue-in-cheek is often the spirit in naming a barley wine. After drinking a glass or two, you may agree that Old Numbskull feels like a fitting description. It also reminds us of the Three Stooges, one of the greatest comedy teams of all time, so it's meant to bring a smile even before the first taste. Exotic fruit aromas, along with clean ethanol, caramel, honey and toasty notes are present in the nose. At five months of age, the Numbskull flavor begins malty and the hops become more evident from the middle to the finish and linger nicely in the aftertaste. The aroma notes also show themselves in the flavor.

1999 - waxed cap
2000 - dated as such. Pictured at left
2002 - Silver foil with electric blue design and NO filling in the anvil spaces
2003 - Silver foil with electric blue design and blue filling in the anvil spaces
2004 - same as 2003 but with "Alesmith" below the logo in white lettering.

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Maria (6207), Thisted, Denmark

3.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.7	7/10	4/5	7/10	4/5	15/20

Mar 16, 2009

It is hazy, red bronze with a small, creamy head. The aroma has notes of fruity hops, mango, preserved plums, light raisin and caramel. The flavour has sweetness, notes of malt, fruity hops, mango, preserved plums, spruce, caramel and the finish has a slightly citrussy bitterness.

DrBayern (1135), Morehead City, North Carolina, USA

4.1	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.1	8/10	4/5	7/10	5/5	17/20

Mar 6, 2009

750 m. bottle. Root beer brown with a big creamy light tan head, bands of thick lace. Caramel and toffee aroma, pine and citrus in the background, some fruitness. Big body with lots of richness, very smooth and silky mouthfeel. Good balance of malt flavors and assertive hops avoid the overly sweet character of many barleywines. Long, dry finish provides a satisfying finale.

ddelk (14), McKinney, Texas, USA

4.3	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.3	8/10	5/5	8/10	4/5	18/20

Mar 6, 2009

750 bottle. Pours a deep amber with a relatively small off white head and minimal lacing. Aroma is a somewhat burnt, buttery caramel with a pop of ripe fruit (plum and cherry). Flavor is a wonderful balance of fresh pine and clean hops up front with rich, malty finish of dried plums, caramel and a sweet hint of honey and anise. Excellent!

rederic (1811), montréal, Quebec, Canada

4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4	8/10	4/5	8/10	4/5	16/20

Mar 5, 2009

Slight hazy copper hue, with a beige head, leaving some laces, sweet toasty, caramelized malt, fruity nose of candied orange peels, peaches, apricots, with a hint of liquorish Grand Marnier liquor, with some dried, raisiny, pruney accents, and some bicuity, cookie dough, fruitcake notes in the aroma follows through on a full-bodied palate with a sweet toasted, caramelized malt, fruity, toffeeish, liquorish character, with grainy, candyish brown sugar sweetness, with some flowery hop grassy, leafy, citrusy, grapefruit, candied lemon peel, peachy notes, within an oily resinous, piney mouthfeel, leading towards a warming, malty, fruity, candied citrus, lemon, hop leafy, grassy bitterness finish.

skortila (2903), Bunnik, Netherlands

4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4	9/10	4/5	8/10	4/5	15/20

Mar 1, 2009

Bottled. Aroma has caramel, cognac, grapefruits and hops. Clear, dark ruby-brown coloured with a lasting, off-white head. The taste is sweet-bitter, has grapefruit, caramel, hops, some vanilla and sugar. Good.

IlanMan (817), Appleton, Wisconsin, USA

3.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.6	7/10	4/5	7/10	3/5	15/20

Feb 26, 2009

Dark fruit, malt, and alcohol were prevalent in the aroma. Light brown pour. Had a medium to full body. Had a light caramel and hot alcohol flavor with a light hop finish. Not a lot of over-all flavor which might have been due to high carbonation. Burned a little bit on the way down. Definitely needed more age.

BillKismet (1930), Seattle, Washington, USA

3.9	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.9	8/10	4/5	8/10	4/5	15/20

Feb 22, 2009 Updated: Aug 11, 2009

2006 vintage. Rich tangerine fruit punch color though a vague head. Complex panoply of fruit aromatics including peach and prune, entwined by candi malts. Nice, flush peach and candi malt flavors from caramunich. Well-balanced. Not much bitterness, as this was is well aged and refined, and in its prime. Second tasting: 8/9/09 - Not sure the vintage this time, but a near uncannily identical experience. This time strong oaky, woody and peripheral cola and vanillins crept onto the palate.

oakbluff (298), Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

4.2	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.2	8/10	4/5	8/10	4/5	18/20

Feb 15, 2009

2007 vintage- pours a red chestnut with excellent clarity. A ruby glint comes out of the brew in strong light. Medium sized head, settling down to a frothy off white and some soapy lacing. Nose- caramel, sticky hops, dark fruit. Taste- toasty malts followed by a big hop punch. More bitter than I expected and really cuts into the malt sweetness. Actually this is a very dry barleywine. A little hot in the finish between the booze and the tremendous hop presence. Medium bodied and medium carbonation. A top shelf barleywine.

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