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AleSmith Old Numbskull

AleSmith Old Numbskull

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 Percentile 
99
overall
A Barley Wine brewed by
AleSmith Brewing Company

San Diego, California USA

bottled
common

on tap
common

Regional Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in  Advanced 
6154.05/5.04.04/5.010%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?
 lb4lb (1281), Austin, Texas, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20

May 8, 2008  
Bottle shared by MiguelMandingo. Thanks!
Pours dark caramel maroon colored and opaque. Smell is hoppy, warm caramelly with a touch spicy cinnamon. Taste is similar with warm, toasty, spicy hoppy caramel and cinnamon like malt and balancing hops. Very drinkable for a big barley wine. Great beer all around.


 1_2many (142), Ohio, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Jul 25, 2008  
Bottle. Pours deep amber with a decent tan head. Head slowly dissapates to a thin layer and very nice lacing. Aroma of resin and pine hops balanced well with caramel and some slight dark fruits. Lots of sweetness at first fading quickly to a long lasting bitterness. Glides down easy with moderate carbonation. I’ll probably get another to age for awhile.


specksnreds (49), USA
4.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/105/59/104/518/20
Jul 21, 2008  
2003. Near perfection. Caramel and cola in the nose. Straight up dark roast coffee in the finish (unexpected but fantastic). I can’t imagine a better beer.


 blklab2007 (507), Connecticut, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/59/104/518/20
Jul 19, 2008  
750 bottle 11%abv. on bottle, silver wrapper (2008?) poured into a snifter has an amber color and a thin off white head falling to a ring in the glass. aroma has caramel malt, dark fruit, honey, brown sugar, and alcohol. hops in the nose pickup as it warmed and there is a nice balance of dark fruit and malt. mouth feel is medium with light carbonation. flavor has caramel malt, brown sugar sweetness, peppery hops, and some alcohol heat. sweetness is fairly high, hops continue to pickup, and dark fruit in the back round. finish is sweet and malted. amazingly smooth for such a big beer.


 BlackForestCO (479), Fort Collins and Black Forest, Colorado, USA
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/103/515/20
Jul 7, 2008  
03 bottle thanks to moejuck, thanks Joe! Poured a deep garnett color with a thin off-white head that faded to a ring. Aroma of moderate sweet caramel malt, some oxidization, and a light cardboard hop bitterness. Smooth, clean entry with hints of oxidized hops and caramel malt with undertones of light fruitiness and a drying finish. Moderate bite on the palater and a nice drying finish. Perhaps a bit unfair to rate this beer because it was rather oxidized, I will have to re-rate when I get my hands on another bottle. Regardless, thanks a ton Joe, you the man!


kegbear (56), Orange, California, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Jun 29, 2008  
Golden amber pour with thick light tan head. Aroma of toffee. Tastes like a Heath bar without the chocolate. Only a slight hop finish, but this one has aged a bit. Really nice and would definately get again.




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