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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kegbear (269), Orange, California, USA

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

Jun 29, 2008

Golden amber pour with thick light tan head. Aroma of toffee. Tastes like a Heath bar without the chocolate. Only a slight hop finish, but this one has aged a bit. Really nice and would definately get again.

chicagodri (1041), Chicago, Illinois, USA

3.9	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.9	8/10	3/5	8/10	3/5	17/20

Jun 29, 2008

Had a bottle of this last night. This is a great barley wine. Pours amber with a thick off white head. This is hard to have the whole bottle by yourself but it is very good. Nice dark fruit flavor. Nice amount of caramel, decent amount of hops. Very good.

ChazMania (411), Pasadena, California, USA

4.1	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.1	8/10	5/5	8/10	4/5	16/20

Jun 24, 2008

Bottled. Huge aroma and a creamy one finger puffy head of glory. The flavor is huge, I wish someone was splitting this with me cuz I doubt I can handle the whole bottle without being tanked. Malts and hops and fruits galore.

Tejas (696), Dallas, Texas, USA

3.1	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.1	6/10	3/5	5/10	2/5	15/20

Jun 19, 2008

I’m missing somethng b/c this one didn’t do much for me. Thought is was too big, to hot and to sweet. I’ll try it again though someday to see if I’m wrong.

BlackDonald (1127), Boise, Idaho, USA

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

Jun 19, 2008

2003 - This is good, but not my favorite barleywine. I like my BWs a little more traditional, and this kind of walks the line of being an Imperial IPA. Would love to come back to one of these when it is aged and some of the hops have died off, I imagine it would be tremendous. Richly fruity with lots of dark fruits, dates and sweetness, and just a hint of spice, with a strong cookie dough maltiness. Dry alcoholic finish.

KAF (441), Coralville, Iowa, USA

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

Jun 15, 2008

Thanks to Arren. Amber color with a thick foamy dirty white head that disipates slowly. Faint bourbon on the nose with some caramel and dark fruit aromas. Complex brew. Dark fruits in flavor with a touch of sweetness and a hint of alcohol with a bit of hotness at the finish.

theisti (1660), Leawood, Kansas, USA

3.8	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.8	8/10	4/5	7/10	4/5	15/20

Jun 12, 2008

750 ml bottle purchased mail order from South Bay in Imperial Bay, California. Not sure age on this, though I purchased it from Joey on the May 29th, 2007. I believe this was a fresh bottle when I purchased it. Pour is a hazy orange and ruby with a very thin off white head that fell to bubbles quickly. Aroma is very full and wonderful. Immediately, get quite a bit of caramel sweet citrus and malt. Very much an American Barley Wine nose. Underneath, a bit of honey, some grainy, floral earthiness. Faint whiff of alcohol behind all of that. Taste mirrors the nose closely, starts bittersweet citrus, gives way to caramel maltiness and finishes with some additional honey sweetness. The finish is earthy and dry, with a tiny touch of alcohol heat. The honey sweetness in the finish is not quite cloying, but certainly is in that direction. Palate is medium, suits the beer nicely. Overall, a very satisfying Barley Wine. I can imagine this one is pretty hoppy fresh. Thanks for selling mail order, Joey!

mfaulke (81), clemson, South Carolina, USA

4.8	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.8	9/10	5/5	10/10	5/5	19/20

Jun 9, 2008

Sweet but not overly so, with a thick and oily mouthfeel. The malt presence is so heavy that I was surprised that the hops come through so well in the finish. A perfect hops finish that was moderately bitter and long. As much as I like some of the more hoppy barleywines, this one was more balanced, and is probably a better representation of the style. That is why I gave it such high marks.

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