RateBeer
   Home Sign Up or Login Advanced Search
   People Ratings Events Places Forums Shop Magazine
      Top By Category  RateBeer Best  Latest Ratings  Top 50    

Home > Brewers > California > AleSmith Brewing Company >

AleSmith Old Numbskull

AleSmith Old Numbskull

* picture credits
copyright may apply

 Percentile 
99
overall
A Barley Wine brewed by
AleSmith Brewing Company

San Diego, California USA

bottled
common

on tap
common

Regional Distribution
Find this beer

Add Distribution Data
Send Corrections

 Ratings  Average  Score  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in  Advanced 
6274.05/5.04.04/5.010%96.8 Snifter P  Stats

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 RecentTop RatersHighest Ratings Who's Rated This?
 Quake1028 (627), Tampa, Florida, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/103/515/20

May 20, 2007  
Huge thanks to jonboy for sharing this one with all of us at the Orlando gathering.

Pours a dark plum body with a khaki colored head. Aromas of plums, malts, sugar, caramel, candied sugar. Flavor is very sweet, with malts dominating. Palate is sticky, lightly astringent. FInish is sweet, and the hops come into the mix at this point. Warming at the end and throughout the fnish.


 JMFG (1086), Florida, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/104/517/20
Aug 17, 2008  
Sampled @ Alesmith, RBSG. Kind of absurd that I had BA Numbskull (twice) already and didn’t try regular Numbskull until @ Alesmith, but whatever. Clear dark amber color, moderately thick tan head. Alcohol, hops, and spicy malts in well balanced proportions on the nose. Robust hops, spicy malts on the taste, lingering hop and heat finish. Another barleywine right up my alley.


 derekbang (100), Indiana, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/103/517/20
Aug 15, 2008  
Good barley wine. Not much head and poured and amber color. Aroma was hops and citrus - similar flavor. Alcohol was definitely distinct - probably would be better after aging a year or so, because it was a tad "hot".


enginaaron (58), San Diego, California, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/516/20
Aug 12, 2008  
On tap tasting at AleSmith. Pours copper/amber with tan head. Very clear. Slight alcohol in aroma with some yeast. Very smooth with alcohol at the end. Nice maltiness with a sort of rich fruity or pear flavor. Overall good, but barrel aged would be much better, as is the case with barley wines.


 rustychiles (417), Mesa, Arizona, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Aug 11, 2008  
Bottle, had this several times and wish my notes were better this last time around. Pours a dark brownish red with a small white head. Aroma of hops, malt, brown sugar, caramel, dark fruits. Flavor is caramel, hops, a huge malt backbone, dark fruits. Damn fine barleywine. One of my favorites.


 Crockett (902), Steelback County, Ontario, Canada
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Aug 11, 2008  
Tastings of 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2004 with Mr Kimchee. As well as a separate barrel aged version. The 1999 held up very well and was very lively. Pours a ruddy thick liquid with a short tan head. Decent amount of floaters coloured from whiteish to dark brown. Big old malted barley nose with lots of brown sugar, toast, hot alcohol, ripe fruit and citrus notes. Very sweet, some hops wander in but seem to do very little in rounding the beer (in varying degrees/vintages). The 1999 had melded in to one big flavour whereas the ’00 and 02 where still working on it. The youngest in the vertical was very sweet and probably had a little too early. Lots of toffee, butterscotch, and peaty flavours throughout. Hops come out and finish with a good dose of booze. I had some of this at RBSG ’05 and it did benefit from the increased aging, although there was a little bit of oxidization. It’s a lovely big beer and to be honest it was hard to be in the mood for it mid-August. Thanks Jesse!




WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ MORE RATINGS?
Then join us! RateBeer is made by beer enthusiasts for the craft beer community. Your basic membership is free and allows you to read all beer ratings.

Desired User Name
*
Valid Email (Needed to verify your account)
*
Relax. RateBeer is 100%, guaranteed spam-free. That's our promise to you.

I agree to the terms of the RateBeer User Agreement

RATE THIS BEER

Aroma

rating assistance

Appearance

rating assistance

Flavor

rating assistance

Palate

rating assistance

Overall impression

rating assistance

TOTAL SCORE

Comments

More Barley Wines

Hair of the Dog Dave (4.47)

Lost Abbey The Angels Share (4.28)

Lost Abbey The Angels Share (Bourbon Barrel) (4.26)

North Coast Old Stock Cellar Reserve Brandy Barrel (4.19)

21st Amendment Bourbon Barrel Lower da Boom Barleywine (4.17)

AleSmith Barrel Aged Old Numbskull (4.17)

Three Floyds Behemoth Barleywine (4.11)

Stone Bourbon Barrel Old Guardian Barley Wine (4.1)

Kuhnhenn Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine (4.08)

Barley Johns Barrel-Aged Rosies Ale (Batch 2) (4.07)

More California Brewers

Sequoia Brewing Company
  Fresno
Bonnema Brewing Co.
  Atascadero
Sacramento Brewing Company
  Sacramento
Takara Sake USA, Inc.
  Berkeley
Hornsbys Pubdrafts Ltd./E and J Gallo
  Modesto
Faultline Brewing Company
  Sunnyvale
Oggi''s Pizza and Brewing Co.
  San Diego
Monterey Coast Brewing Restaurant & Brewery
  Salinas
Harper Hills, Oildale Winery
  Bakersfield
San Pedro Brewing Company
  San Pedro
Ozeki Sake (USA), Inc.
  Hollister
Taylors Restaurant & Brewery
  San Diego
Downtown Brewing (formerly SLO Brewing Co)
  San Luis Obispo
Drakes Brewing Company
  San Leandro
Thirsty Bear Brewing Company
  San Francisco

About RateBeer | Add A Beer | Add A Brewer | Edit Personal Info | 100 Beer Club | FAQ | Log out | Feedback? | Copyright 2000-2008, RateBeer LLC