AleSmith Old Numbskull

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
San Diego, California USA

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.