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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m4rest88 (216), Beverly Hills, California, USA

3.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.7	8/10	3/5	6/10	3/5	17/20

Sep 28, 2008

Pours with a hazy/marky amber hue which sits below a small off white head that is mostly diminishing after a few moments. Aroma is of sweet malt, dark fruits, and some strawberries. I smell hints of honey and caramel as well. Flavor is of candy, honey, and of bitterness. The bitterness is pretty strong. Sweet beginning followed by a pretty strong bitter ending. Syrupy texture with light carbonation. I feel that it was overly bitter. Would have tasted better had it been toned down a tad bit. Not bad nonetheless.

MuttyD (93), Cambridge, USA

4.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.6	9/10	4/5	10/10	5/5	18/20

Sep 27, 2008

Cloudy orange/yellow color with no head. Very low carbonation. Aroma is of honey & fruits. Flavor is of ethanol, honey, fruits, and slightly bitter. Alcohol is very well hidden.

illinismitty (1795), Nashville, Tennessee, USA

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

Sep 24, 2008

2005 bottle courtesy of Zug4abby. Pours a murky amber orange with an off white head. This still has a nice nose of fruity ale esters, sugary malt, and cherry. Full bodied with a rich, somewhat chewy texture. Nice mouthfeel. Flavor of caramel, toffee candy, dark honey, and a very subtle smoke phenol countered by a very subdued hop bitterness (due to the room temp cellaring). The attenuation is nice, sweet without going over the top (like Avery). Warming finish without the booziness. Solid beer, but perhaps I sat on this a tad too long. I need to quite cellaring shit and just drink it. I bet this is even better fresh.

Butters (1648), Virginia, USA

3.5	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.5	8/10	4/5	7/10	3/5	13/20

Sep 20, 2008

Oxidationfest Tasting at illinsmittys curtesy of Illinismitty. 2005. Burnt orange translucent pour with thin ring of off-white head. Reminds me in every way of the decadence, but a much hoppier, and not as much dark fruit. Sweet and bitter finish. Enjoyable, abut not as much as the decadence. Much hoppier than the barral aged.

dalekliz (546), San Diego, California, USA

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

Aug 29, 2008

On tap at the brewery for RBSG 08. Pours a clear, amber-brown with a small, off-white head. Bitter hops aroma, with some malt and figs notes. Very bitter taste, of hops and a hint of sweeter malt. Lingering clean bitterness. Really tasty and drinkable barley wine.

maniac (2628), Richmond, Virginia, USA

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

Aug 29, 2008

On tap at Alesmtih during the RBSG Pub Crawl Tour on 08/01/2008. Clear golden body with a small creamy light tan head. Big hop and caramel aroma. Sweet caramel and big hop flavor, some citrus and light floral hints. Medium full body with moderate carbonation.

ElGaucho56 (390), USA

4.1	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.1	7/10	4/5	9/10	4/5	17/20

Aug 24, 2008

Silver foil, blue lettering, sliver color in the anvil, 750 ml bottle. Pours a ruddy brown with minimal head, pours a little stronger and thicker on the second pour. Nose is musty roasted rich malts with an underpinning of slightly minty leaf hops; very rich and full on the palate, starts with ruby malts then moves towards a lovely cocoa character before finishing with a warming oaky scotch character and a hint of leafy hops. Wow is about all I can say.

ucusty (1885), Wake Forest, North Carolina, USA

4.1	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.1	9/10	4/5	8/10	3/5	17/20

Aug 21, 2008

Bottle from 2006. Thanks to Paul and Josh for these bottles! Copper cloudy pour with a thick tan head. Rich malty aroma combined with a huge fruity presence. Hops, honey, caramel malts, and a little heat on the finish... Well balanced and it really mellowed out with some age. Another fine beer from Alesmith! N’yuk- n’yuk-n’yuk!

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