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AleSmith Barrel Aged Old Numbskull

AleSmith Barrel Aged Old Numbskull

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A Barley Wine brewed by
AleSmith Brewing Company

San Diego, California USA

bottled
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on tap
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2924.18/5.04.17/5.0Special10%98.9 Snifter P  Stats

Commercial Description:
Old Numbskull aged in bourbon barrels. Limited release December 2004 available only at the brewery in individually numbered 750 mL foil-topped bottles. The first barrel-aged batch was brewed in 2002, racked to an oak bourbon barrel in 2003, and bottled in 2004. A second barrel-aged batch was brewed in 2004 and released in September of 2006.

Most RecentTop RatersHighest Ratings Who's Rated This?
 fonefan (4333), Ulfborg, Denmark
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/59/104/518/20

Apr 1, 2008  
Bottle. 75cl [Thanks to ygtbsm94] @ Zythos Bier Festival 2008, Sint Niklaas, Belgium. Light unclear amber color with a small, virtually none appearance, virtually none lacing, fully diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, cacao, dark fruiy, port, sherry, oak, vintage, alcohol. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is creamy - syrupy, carbonation is soft - flat. Very very nice BW ... ;o)) (010308)

 fiver29 (303), Strongsville, Ohio, USA
4.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/105/59/105/517/20
Aug 23, 2008  
Tasted at Cleveland tasting on 8-23-08. Thanks!! I am rating this as part of a vertical tasting. There was an 04 and a 06 tasted this evening. The older version has a minor aroma, but it still has complexity of strong caramel and bourbon overtones. The newer version has an alcohol aroma added and more brown sugar aromas. Taste is unbelievable in both versions. The older version had no carbonation. That was a bit of a let down in a sense. The younger version had a nice amount of carbonation. The older version had a more caramel taste with bourbon and oak that you expect from an alesmith ba. The younger version has more alcohol taste, more toffee, brown sugar, and is overall a better brew at this point. Overall I enjoyed both brews. I wouldn’t let this age more than a few years. Its good now. Don’t wait.


 Old_Mr_Crow (1007), Seattle, Washington, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/59/104/517/20
Aug 16, 2008  
Bottle brought to after4ever’s tasting. Rating from old notes.

Toffee and vanilla aroma, close to the Drake’s bourbon barrel barleywine but drier. Toffee, bits of oxidized hops, lots of wood, gentle vanilla. Beautiful. So good, in fact, that I turned down a shot at as-yet untried Dark Lord in order to get a second bottle of this. I’m looking forward to it!


 sersdf (858), chicago, Illinois, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/510/105/517/20
Aug 14, 2008  
thanks andrew. this was awesome. as always with alesmith, the balance and craft was impeccable. the barrels were very subtle and perfectly incorporated. nutty, honeyed, and fruity. better than the already-amazing numbskull.


 nhorween (505), New York, New York, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/58/104/518/20
Aug 13, 2008  
thanks cmubeerman. Reminds me of a slightly less balanced Old Salty. Complex (it’s AleSmith) with great smoke, chocolate and nuttiness to balance out the fruity and woody notes.


 Marsiblursi (1393), Göteborg, Sweden
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/58/104/518/20
Aug 8, 2008  
(Bottle thanks to WeeHeavySD) The first pour was deep and glowing copper to light blood red with absolutely no head while the second pour was opaque orange to brown with a lot of yeast. The aroma is fat and alcohol warming from the bourbon oak with tones of butter, wood, vanilla, coconut, peppermint, toffee and whiskey. Malt and hops bring tones of caramel, toffee, syrup, chocolate, resin and limey citrus. Fruity and berry-like with tones of cherries, prunes, figs, ripe mango, pineapple, banana and canned cocktail fruits like cherries, pears and peaches. Undertones of parsley, dill, shellfish and corn. The flavour is medium to heavily malty sweet, light to medium bitter with a fat oak blanket alongside a nice alcohol warmth. Tones of vanilla, coconut, butter, bourbon, rum raisins, resin, sweet citrus, caramel, toffee, fudge, honey, pine apple, mango, honey melon, parsley and dill. The mouthfeel is full, round, sticky with a biting numbness from the hops and the alcohol. Almost no carbonation. The finish is ultra long with tones of honey, buttery bourbon and alcohol. Full bodied. The oak is strong in this one, just a bit over perfect.




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