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AleSmith Old Numbskull

Percentile
100
overall

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution
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RatingsAverageScoreABVStyle PctlServe in
7624.04/5.04.03/5.010%98Snifter
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.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 GriffinAvenue (396), Winchester, Massachusetts, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/105/59/105/516/20
Jan 25, 2008  
Bottle. Butterscotch-caramel coloring. 1/4" head. Pear, hoppy, citrusy, toffee. Blended malty/hoppy flavoring with subtlely sweet delivery on tongue and steady wave of sugary caramel alcohol cloating from front to back of throat. Smooth, even finish with nice residual sweetness, tangy, honey-like. Welcome to my fridge anytime!


barleycorn1 (10), Catonsville, Maryland, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Jan 23, 2008  
Buddy of mine left this in my fridge. I owe him one...had the silver foil with blue lettering...he drove 6 hours to score it...I’m not too in to barley wine style beers but this is an exception...alcohol is almost not present...flavor is mmm...rich mouthfeel...caramel...bang up job by alesmith...


 thenick (744), North Bellmore, New York, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/105/515/20
Jan 21, 2008  
Tap @ the brewery. Pours a deep copper color with a quickly-dissipating off-white head. Aroma is dark fruit and brown sugar. Taste is hops, raisins, brown sugar, with a bit of a sweet finish and a slightly-noticeable alcohol burn. You can also detect notes of floral hops. I don’t usually go for barleywines, but I really enjoyed this.


 bhensonb (4260), Woodland, California, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/105/516/20
Jan 19, 2008  
Bottle (8/06) from Marcus (Thanks!). Brown sugar(?) and resin/pine aromas. Also hints of darkish fruits. Hazy ripe stone fruit flesh color with a head that simply left. Thin to medium body with essentially no carbonation - just a slight tingle. Flavor is tasty hop, some brown sugar/caramel, some raisin. The finish is sweet, but not overly so, and the bitter is decent enough to balance. Leaves a floral/herbal touch in the mouth. The end is a bitter raisin? An ale to reflect upon.


 grandet (481), Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/104/517/20
Jan 19, 2008  
Bottle. thanks Zinister. Nice copper pour with a medium head. nice malty aroma with some raison. very nice taste, a nice warm sipper


 MrBendo (1043), Swedesboro, New Jersey, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/516/20
Jan 16, 2008  
2006 bottle I bought in Ohio and aged about 6 months. Cloudy orange/copper with a medium head. Good retention. Aroma of brown sugar, toffee and a bit of citrus and grassy hops. A bit warm, but it seems to have aged pretty well. Simple but very good.


 Homebrewerguy (284), Oil City, Pennsylvania, USA
4.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/105/58/105/518/20
Jan 13, 2008  
My 200th rating: I waited a long time to get my hands on this beer. Thanks to my wife Sue for getting this one! Terrific aromas of malt, fruits, molassas caress the nose as you pour the golden liquid, head dissipates quickly but lacing is good throughout, flavor is complex mix of caramel, molassas, malts and nice flavor hops. However the bitterness was biting with clinging aftertastes on the tongue. This beer was way to young and should have matured a few more years for greatest flavor.


 BOLTZ7555 (1086), Phoenix, Arizona, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/104/517/20
Jan 13, 2008  
Another amazing beer from an amazing brewery!!! Old Numbskull pours an opaque sunset orange with a razor-fine head. Aroma is mostly that of brown sugar with hints of caramel and a touch of pine. The silky smooth liquid rolls over the taste buds and displays characteristics of sweet honey and dried fruits punctuated by an alcohol kick. Don’t let the flavor fool you...after a bottle of this @ 11%, you’ll be tingly all over!!!



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