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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Lothore (276), California, USA

4.3	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.3	8/10	5/5	8/10	4/5	18/20

May 2, 2009

A- Pours a nice ruby color with a thick, creamy, 2.5 finger off white head which sticks to the side of the glass all the way down. S- Loads of caramel, raisin, supremely malty with hints of piney hops. T- Very sweet from the outset, lots of rich caramel notes and slight raisin and dark fruit to round it out. I wave of hoppiness rushes over your tongue about half way through and is just about perfectly blended. M- Thick with medium low carbonation. Just about perfect. D- This is a very drinkable barleywine. It’s big and bold but delicious enough to keep sipping on all night long.

douglas88 (1593), Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

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

May 1, 2009

750 ml bottle. 2004 edition. Bottles thanks to Joe and Odeed. Pours a murky brown-amber color with a medium light beige head. A nice aroma; toffee, toasted malts, fruit, dry yeast, huge malts. The flavor is excellent; initial dry fruit and dry malts, light but potent hops, alcohol, tons of caramel, toffee and fruit. This is an excellent BW. It tastes a lot like the Uinta BW to me. A 750 of this is perfect for me. Awesome. A full creamy mouthfeel.

Adam77 (407), Eastampton, New Jersey, USA

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

Apr 29, 2009

Poured amber with a white head. Aroma of caramel and fruit. Thick stuff. Sweet.

jesperhammer (303), Copenhagen, Denmark

4.5	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.5	8/10	4/5	9/10	5/5	19/20

Apr 28, 2009

Bottle at Ølbaren, 27-APR-2007. Brown with a little orange, and little head. Lots of malt in the nose, and you can actually smell the sweetnes. Bery sweet but balanced by more hops. Fantastic beer, very oily, very toasty, Looong aftertaste. My best beer ever?

FrancoisMtl (61), Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada

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

Apr 28, 2009

Bottle. I made a comparison between a 2005 & a 2008. This rating is obviously for the 2008 version. Pours clear copper color with tan head. Nice aroma of malt, caramel and American hops. Flavors of malt , caramel with sweetness and candy like fruitiness. Strong bitterness and American hop flavors. Alcohol is a tad too much but overall this is a solid American Barley wine!

agl108 (503), Manayunk, Pennsylvania, USA

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

Apr 21, 2009 Updated: Apr 22, 2009

750 mL bottle courtesy of lamas. Unsure of the year; originally purchased in 2007. Bottle reads 11% ABV. Poured murky brown with minimal tan head. Sweet caramel nose with raisin evident as well. Starts with loads of VERY sweet caramel and toasted malt. Finishes with a bitter hoppiness. Tremendous balance. Rich and silky on the tongue. A spectacular barleywine.

andersand (351), Malmö, Sweden

4.1	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.1	8/10	4/5	9/10	4/5	16/20

Apr 18, 2009

Typical american barleywine done right! Really flavourful and generously hoppy brew with a good dose of fruity malty goodness to back it up. Stil on the hoppy side though wich makes it extremely drinkable.

daleharshman (189), San Diego, California, USA

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

Apr 18, 2009

Growler from brewery. Pours from growler a lovely dark ruby color with one finger of off-white head. Very nice aroma consisting mostly of fruity hoppiness with mango and grapefruit most pronounced. Flavor comes on big and strong. Really nice levels of both maltage and hoppage in the flavor. Bitterness wins out over sweetness with strong citrus and some dark fruit flavors. Bitterness continues very nicely into the finish. This is very fresh -- wonder if it would become more malty and sweet with age. May have to get a bottle of this and age it for a while. #700 rating for this beer.

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