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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?  
 JAXSON (238), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/517/20
Feb 7, 2007    Updated: Feb 10, 2007
Evidently the 2003 offering. Mahogany body with a medium head and really nice lacing. Aroma is alot of raisins, vanilla, brown sugar, and some hops. Flavor is surpriningly modest, but the finish is a nice, long smokiness. This finish, I feel, is the signature Alesmith flavor. The mouthfeel is nice and creamy. Very good, not great.


 JohnnyJ (1312), Carlsbad, California, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Feb 5, 2007  
06 bottle. Appearance is dark cloudy amber/brown. Little to no off-white head. Aroma of sweet malt, caramel, piney hops, toffee, and resiny notes. Flavors of caramel, citrus, fruit, honey, toasted malt, and finishes with a large amount of piney hops. Medium to thick mouthfeel. Another excellent Alesmith brew.


 jason (1621), Easton, Pennsylvania, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/104/517/20
Feb 4, 2007  
2005 Bottle from Walt(thanks for being awesome!), sharedwith my father inlaw. Poured a cloudy brown body with decent size head. Aroma is so satisfying with malt dominating. Flavor is malt with slight hops present and such a smoothness to it. This was great. I may have found one of my favorite barleywines. Dear traders...I need more!.


 padrefan98 (788), (San Diego) Santee, California, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/517/20
Feb 4, 2007  
Another good Barley Wine. I enjoyed the tast of cherries and chocholate. The hops were present but not over barring.


 anaheim1983 (111), Anaheim, California, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/103/58/105/517/20
Jan 30, 2007  
Deep redish brown with slight phenolic nose almost trappist like with backbone of hops, very rich toffee and malt flavour and hop presence. Excellent Mouthfeel. Great beer


 BeerBelcher (938), Columbus, Ohio, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/102/59/105/515/20
Jan 26, 2007  
Given the "big" beers I’ve had from Alesmith, this barley wine seemed not very extreme. While not groundbreaking, it is an extremely drinkable and pleasant barley wine. It pours a hazy, dull brown with virtually no head. Aroma is light hops with a significant caramel malt presece. Taste is also a lot of caramel malt, with a good amount winey oakiness. This beer hides its 11% ABV extremely well. Mouthfeel is fairly sophisticated and complex, better than most champaigns I’ve had. This is the most drinkable barley wine I’ve ever had.


 mgumby10 (1858), Jupiter, Florida, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/59/104/518/20
Jan 24, 2007  
Pours a bright reddish orange with a very suttle white head. Sweet malts, light cherries, a prevalant alcohol in the smell. heavy on the hops with a nice blend of malts, chocolate, caramel as well. A little bitterness is detected in the finish which matches nicely. Very well done.


 HopheadHans (755), Bay Area, California, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/105/517/20
Jan 13, 2007  
Bottle.Not sure which vintage, silver foil and blue design. Pours with a brown color and a nice light brown head. Aromas of fruit and raisins. The flavor is not as hoppy as claimed, but rather dominated by malts. Again the raisins and plums come through, and of course some alcohol notes. Nice mouthfeel and finish, very smooth.



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