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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?  
 505 (271), Echo Park, California, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/104/514/20
Aug 9, 2006  
Pretty malty, yeasty aroma. I wanted some more hops, but oh well. Taste is similar, caramel, yeasty, very belgian tasting. It was a good beer, but not my favorite barley wine. I was a little disappointed as I love Alesmith.


 JoshuaB (422), Detroit, Michigan, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/104/518/20
Aug 8, 2006  
Solid, solid as a rock, as sung by Ashford and Simpson. Anywho, sampled this on tap. Poured a deep burnt amber with red specks and swirls. Aroma is in your face hops and toffee and carmel. Taste is more of the same. A bit kncoked off for too much carbonation, but that is stretching it.


 sliffy (1967), Columbus, Ohio, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/104/518/20
Aug 3, 2006  
Rating #300: Bottle: Clear dark amber color, with a thin fizzy off white head. Aroma, rich malts, some alcohol, and some dark fruits. Flavor, sweet up front, but it quickly gives way to a nice floral and earthy bitterness. Very malty, but the hops come through on the end to make for something quite special. Some alcohol does come through on the tail end, but it’s not hot enough to be a problem.


 bdjames29 (272), Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/58/104/518/20
Jul 31, 2006  
My first barley wine experience. Very different. Maybe I should have tried a bad barley wine first. I sturggled through my first glass, but then came to enjoy the second. Very present alcohol taste. Lots of complex fruit aromas and flavors. Terrific appearance. Overall, very pleasing. I will want to try more barley wines.


 asteele8 (270), Mukilteo, Washington, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/103/58/104/516/20
Jul 30, 2006  
Bottle. Poured a dark brown color with a very little head. Aroma is fruit, caramel, and hops. Taste is actually pretty smooth even though it smells as though it could be harsh. Taste is pretty full of hops. A nice kick at the end of a bitter tingling. Nice presence of alcohol not too overbearing. Very enjoyable barley wine, would love to cellar it.


 marcus (1853), Sacramento, California, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/105/518/20
Jul 29, 2006  
On tap at AleSmith. This brown ale poured with a moderate tan head, eliciting a nice malty aroma. Very mellow and well-balanced foir a barley wine - not syrupy sweet like many other barley wines.


jhanauer (6), USA
does not count click to see why this rating of AleSmith Old Numbskull does not count
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/104/512/20
Jul 28, 2006  
This is my first barleywine and I have to give some reasons why I am rating this beer at the 3.5 that I have given the brew. My friends and I were enjoying some Indian food - a nice curry to be precise - and I think it threw off most of the experience. We went and bought Snifter glasses so that was legit, but the food and the rice were not the fare we should have had in order to rate this beer properly. I shall return.


 Maddog (241), Kettering, Ohio, USA
3.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/55/102/512/20
Jul 24, 2006  
Had a bottle at Dilly Deli in Mariemont, OH. I have to say, I was a little disappointed with this barley wine. It lacked the smoothness that I so enjoy as well as the sweet, malty complexity found in better barley wines. I also found a harshness in the finish as if it were too young. But most of all, I found it to be on the thin side. It just doesn’t hold up to many of the good ones out there, and especially for the price.



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