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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drjay44 (780), Salida, Colorado, USA

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

Sep 27, 2009

Pitcher pour at 2009 GABF. Pours a short lived off white head over a clear golden (SRM 10) body....nose has resin, grapefruit, along with toffee, caramel.....taste initially is caramel malts, with slight vanilla, bit of alcohol to finish.....mouth feel is rather light, carbonation is low. The malt back bone is very present, and adds complexity. Hops are present, but don’t seem quite as rich as the malts. Overall this seems a rather light Barely Wine. I wonder if it needs more age to reach full potential. Tasting 9/26/09.

fiulijn (7150), Como; Lausanne (CH); Malmö (SWE), Italy

3.9	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.9	7/10	4/5	8/10	4/5	16/20

Sep 27, 2009

Courtesy of Dennis Law
Amber color. Sweetish malt and caramel aroma, mature. Strong body, sweet caramel and malt flavor, somehow the alcohol is too much present; it has a nutty side; strong bitterness, resiny. Fairly good American Barley Wine, but I was expecting more.

danielcurtis81 (888), San Diego, California, USA

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

Sep 26, 2009

Served on tap at AleSmith. Appearance is a brown edged deep red with a small creamy off-white head. The flavors and aromas are sweet caramel malt, mild earth/ pine hops, honey. The hop tones provide a great balance to the sweet malts of the barley wine. An excellent example.

awiseman01 (351), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

4.2	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.2	8/10	4/5	9/10	4/5	17/20

Sep 25, 2009

On tap at Alesmith. Pours semi-clear reddish/dark brown with a foamy light beige head. Nose is surprisingly hoppy and dark malt. Taste is sweet wine and barley with some spices and some faint hops. The amount of hops in the nose is very misleading to how this one tastes. All flavors blend very well, and this is an excellent tasting brew.

punkrkr27 (617), Berkley, Michigan, USA

4.4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.4	9/10	4/5	8/10	5/5	18/20

Sep 18, 2009

Ruby-copper pour with a dense, off-white head. Intense concentrated dark fruit aroma with black pepper notes, pine tar and molasses. The aroma follow through to the flavor. The flavor is very peppery and piny with some brandy on the finish. Sticky, full body with soft carbonation.

RHeastings (404), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

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

Sep 1, 2009

Enjoyed from a 750ml bottle in a tulip glass. The beer pours a deep amber color with an off-white head. The aroma shows at first a deep malt character, followed by some notes of citrusy hops, and a touch of alcohol. Notes of dark crystal malts (perhaps somewhere between C-90 and C-150) come through in the palate, followed by a bracing hop bitterness that more than balances the sweetness. A prevalent, but not overbearing, note of alcohol also comes through toward the finish. Overall, a well-done barley wine that could potentially have used another year of aging.

Bov (5445), Bienne, Switzerland

3.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.7	7/10	4/5	8/10	4/5	14/20

Aug 27, 2009

courtesy of fiulijn - hazy dark amber-brown colour with a chaotic beige foam; fairly hoppy nose with notes of caramel, almonds and alcohol; full-bodied and very bitter, oily and with a low carbonation; very dry and long hoppy carasmelish aftertaste with a strong alcohol presence

jeremytoni (1099), Swedesboro, New Jersey, USA

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

Aug 23, 2009

From a bottle poured dark amber color with a small head. Nice strong malty/hoppy flavor with a lingering finish.

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