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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?  
 17thfloor (1477), Chicago, Illinois, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/517/20
Apr 14, 2009  
Rating #999, 1 to go, shared with xnoxhatex and funkybrewster. Bottle from early 2008 I think, maybe longer. Pours a murky darker orange brown with a medium fluffy creamy beige head 3.5. Strong oxidized hop aroma, lots of cotton candy, slightly cheesy, warming alcohol. Flavor follows, maybe slightly cooked/oxidized but has been kept in a very cool basement since procurement. Cheesy hop note, piney without the saltiness, a bit nutty, has that slightly boozy flavor that is very numbskull-esque, cotton candy, toasty malts, warming boozy. Medium bodied, typical Alesmith fluffiness with slight chewy stickiness, body is slightly more watery like a spirit. Unfortunate about this bottle, however, I will never hesitate to buy more! 1 to go.


 kiefdog (1588), Tampa, Florida, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Apr 12, 2009  
75cl bottle courtesy of . Pours a hazy dark amber to cola brown with a thin tannish white foamy head. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of floral hops, caramel, honey, toasted bread, some ripe dark fruit, plums, raisins. Flavor is sweet and malty with notes of ripe dark fruit, floral hops, caramel, honey, raisins, rum-soaked plums. Alcohol comes through toward finish and beyond. Generally medium body with a pleasing phenol and malt finish.


southamptonsam (81), New York, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/518/20
Apr 9, 2009  
Wow, this is a great barley wine. If I rated it along a scale for only bw’s it would be a 5. Perfectly balanced with just the right amount of hops and malt. What Bigfoot dreams of being.


 thefrutigers (100), , Arizona, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
10/104/58/104/517/20
Apr 5, 2009  
Bottle 22oz: Poured dark clear brown with a medium head. Smells of Cinnamon buns... seriously! Flavor was sweet malt with a slight roasted flavor with a lighty bitter end. Very yummy and the alcohol content was very well brewed into the mix. Overall I really like this very much. Not overally sweet or overlly hoppy, not overly anything strong... but pleasantly enjoyable!


 boFNjackson (1273), Portland, Oregon, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/58/104/518/20
Apr 2, 2009  
[Vintage 2003] Bottle... Poured clear amber with a thin, beige head. Very spiced aroma with some malt grains. Creamy palate with sweet, floral hops. The alcohol really aged nicely. Lots of breaded malt flavors mixed with cocoa and toffee which contained a sweet finish. No noticeable hops.


 darkguardian (506), Florida, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/58/105/515/20
Mar 30, 2009  
2008 Bottle. Pours a dark brown with a light tan head. Nose leads me to think this will be a malty barleywine. Raisins, figs, some chocolate and lots of caramel. Flavor is big caramel and vanilla up front with some fig and raisin the finish however through me for a loop because this was quite hoppy. Not like Old Guardian but it was still not the malt bomb I was expecting. Balanced quite well, a well done barleywine for sure and another great offering from this amazing brewery.


 SudsMcDuff (1691), was CapeTown,SA-now Houston, Texas, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/59/105/517/20
Mar 29, 2009  
very excited to crack this after a hard days work .. oh yeah, this is wonderful .. flavours of sugar, plum, dark overripe fruits, and choc with toffee ... abv is perfect .. . i want to install a water fountain in my room with this flowing at all times ... a great brew, find it and try it .. a nice interpretation of an English BW!!!


 scrizzz (1269), kirkland, Washington, USA
3.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/56/103/513/20
Mar 24, 2009  
2006. Creamy orange, no head from the opened bottle. Orange marmalade aroma. Flat in character, kind of falls off the tongue, though still syrupy.



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