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AleSmith Old Numbskull 4.03 782

AleSmith Old Numbskull

Percentile
100
overall

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution
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RatingsAverageScoreABVStyle PctlServe in
7824.04/5.04.03/5.010%98.2Snifter
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?  
 BrotherGrendel (626), San Diego, California, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Feb 5, 2010  
Old standard, time for a review. Light amber hue with a modest ring of tan head. Nose is rich sweet malts, full of biscuit and bread, surprising pine resin lurking. Flavor is west coast b-wine: big malts, big hops, big alcohol, sweet throughout with alcohol warming starting in the middle, finishes malty sweet. Full-body, thick texture, modest carbonation. Amazing flavor and recipe, the standard fare always impresses, but for a true dreamride you need to track down the barrel-aged version!


 Beer2000 (1922), Kristiansand, Norway
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/104/517/20
Jan 19, 2010  
750 ml bottle sampled@RBNAG 2009, Vatlandsvåg. Amber body with a descent beige head. Strong aroma of sweet malt, caramel and alcohol. Flavor is sweet malt, caramel, bitter, warming alcohol and pepper. Full body and long finish. It’s actually feels a bit plain in a way, like “big American beer with lots of everything plain” but it is still a real yummy beer, like it a lot.


 cprochak (468), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/105/515/20
Jan 17, 2010  
750 mL bottle (2009?). Pours a hazy dark orange with little bubbly tan head and beautiful lacing. Caramel, pine, perfume and some tropical fruit in the aroma. Typical bitterness of a west coast barley wine followed by a little sweet caramel finish. Pretty thin bodied, decent carbonation. ABV hidden extremely well, especially if this was a fresh bottle. Solid west coast barley wine.


 darn1207 (724), Tallahassee, Florida, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/517/20
Jan 15, 2010  
I’ve had this a couple other times, but rating is from an old note - on tap at the Alesmith brewery: copper color pour with a medium off-white head. Sweet caramel and hop aroma. Chewy texture. Dried fruits. Long hop bitter finish. Liked this - but would love to try again for a more proper rating.


 deyholla (871), Bloomington, Indiana, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/104/515/20
Jan 13, 2010  
Bottle. Poured a slightly hazy, thick, orangish amber with a nice off-white head. Aroma was full of caramel, honey, a bit of toast and alcohol. Flavor was intense with strong sweet grain, caramel and honey at the beginning that was balanced more towards the finish with some hops.


 OleR (2173), Oslo, Norway
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/105/516/20
Jan 12, 2010  
From bottle@RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. Hazy, deep orangey-amber body. Mediumsized sand colored head. Intense, yet rounded aroma of caramelly malts, dark dried fruits and hops, lots of American style hops. Strong malt body. Sweet. Massive and rich caramel flavor, backed by a generous amount of bittering hops, and fruity, floral and piny flavoring hops. Licorice and alcohol notes. Mouthfeel is smooth, thick and warming. Peppery malts, and a lingering fruity, hop bitter finish. Great stuff.


 arrogantb (809), Denver, Colorado, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/510/104/517/20
Jan 10, 2010  
I drank this 750ml bottle all to myself which was most likely a mistake. Oh, well some mistakes are fun to make! This poured a dark orange with reddish tints. There was no head whatsoever. Only a few lonely bubbles rose to the surface. The smell was like candy and caramel. The taste was resinous with a citrus overtone. This was an outstanding barleywine. I’m glad I have another bottle which I will probably drink in two years. This was the best Alesmith beer I have tasted. 04/21/08 - I think this is from some time in 06 based upon the green punted bottle, I have cellared for over a year. Time has mellowed this beer out and it now does seem like an English-style barleywine. There is absolutely zero head. The smell is grainy and alcohol as well as brandy/cognac. The mouthfeel is pretty darn smooth. There is a blast of bitter hops at the end. I’m not sure that I like this more aged since it was so hoppy fresh but it does age nicely. Once it gets fully warm the candy flavors show up. This beer should be served almost at room temperature. A:4 S:4 T:5 M:4.5 D:4 07/19/08 - 2007 vintage - almsot a year since I purchased it, hoppy and delicious... Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 04-16-2007 17:28:41


 beernbourbon (390), chicago, Illinois, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/103/515/20
Jan 9, 2010  
Bottle thanks to goryshkewych. Pour is lightly hazy copper color with a smallish off-white head. Aroma is toffee, caramel malt, light spice, and background hop. Flavor is a bit lighter than the nose. Lots o toffee and caramel malt up front on palate as with the nose. Then the flavor gets a little more earthy and spicy. It tastes like it has a touch of age on it, which I like. The finish is faintly peppery with a touch of distant hop bitterness. It is a solid winter warmer.



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