AleSmith Brewing Company Old Numbskull

Old Numbskull

 

AleSmith Brewing Company in San Diego, California, United States 🇺🇸

  Barley Wine - Barley Rotating
Score
7.90
ABV: 11.0% IBU: 54 Ticks: 205
A West Coast style barleywine. A huge malt profile and a very aggressive dose of premium domestic hops give Old Numbskull a tantalizing complexity, from the aroma to the aftertaste.
 

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4.5
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 10 | Texture - 5 | Overall - 18

Golden amber hue with a soft off-white head with ample lacing. The nose features sweet berries, some caramel malt and a hint of alcohol. This barley wine is the real deal. A nice rich texture features a solid soft roasted malt backbone, caramel richness with rich berry sweetness, rich chocolate, cherries, nuts and a slight booziness, balanced out by an orange tinged hoppiness. Is there a more balanced, complex and rich barley wine on the market? Mmmmmmmm.

Tried on 23 Sep 2025 at 19:59


8.1
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 7.5

Bottled. Pours a deep brown with fantastic beige head. Malts and deep fruits aroma but not too overpowering given the inherent power. A great beer.

Tried from Bottle on 20 May 2025 at 01:05


8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

beautiful caramel color
nose is ALL hops, but very very sweet hops. mouthfell is smooth, and thick with a very dominant caramel flavour, one of the best barley wines i’ve had!

Tried on 27 Feb 2025 at 06:12


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Lukt: Frukter, rosin, vinøst, karamell. Utseende: Lys brun. Skum/kullsyre: Tynt skum. Smak: Rosin, vinøst, karamell. Medium: Rating:4-848416, Flaske@750ml, ABV@11%, Når@03.02.2024. Hvor: Arkeologisk utgraving av ølkjelleren til Gunnar. AleSmith Old Numbskull Barley Wine / Wheat Wine / Rye Wine

Tried on 03 Feb 2024 at 16:53


7.6
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

On tap at the brewery. Pours a cloudy brown with small beige head. The aroma is caramel, vanilla, dark fruit, booze. Slick body, candi sugar, vanilla, licorice, raisin, boozy finish, very nice.

Tried from Draft on 05 Oct 2021 at 09:49


6
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Bottle. A- Malty, hoppy, caramel. A- Brown color, cloudy liquid, no head. T- Bitter, malty, caramel. P- Full body, average texture, average carbonation, bitter finish. O- Maybe I'm just over it and I know this is a classic beer but quite frankly, it's overrated. I'll admit I much prefer English to American Barleywines but at 5 years+ in age, this was still a bit aggressive. Floral bitter notes and lots of malty caramel. Nothing wrong with it, but just not worth any of the hype. Time to move on.

Tried from Bottle on 07 Feb 2021 at 21:28


8.9
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 10 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9.5

2014 Bottle at home, 27th December 2020. Pours a light chestnut brown. Aroma is caramel, floral and fruit. Taste is sublime, caramel, bit bitter, floral, perfume, so well balanced and made, damson, liquor, lingering finish, amazing Barley Wine

Tried from Bottle on 27 Dec 2020 at 21:47


8.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Nie wiem czy odpowiednio schlodzilem i przygotowalem to piwo do dzisiejszego testu. Pierwsza polowa w temperaturze piwnicznej, dzis tam mam ok 16 stopni, po krotkim czasie i po otwarciu i zakorkowaniu, te 2 polowe testowalem gdzies w granicach 13 stopni, wiec to to gorna z zalecanych przez producenta. No ale mimo szalenstwa z temperatura podawania musialem to w koncu po latach otworzyc, bo bylem zaskoczony pewnym litewskim Barley Wine i chcialem koniecznie to porownac. Jest inaczej na pewno, ale wracajac do tego piwa co mysle? A mianowicie, sykniecie po zdjeciu zlotka, potem kapsla. Malownicza etykieta kryje w sobie malownicze piwo, jest potega doznan a jakze. Piana srednia dwu barwna kremowa, barwa piwa czerwono-jasna, nie krwista. W aromaciue czuc od razu spruchniale deski, lub taki demontarz drewnianych schodow u wojka mi sie kojarzyl, ten aromat bardzo wyrazisty, w smaku dla mnie cos czego w piwie tym nie ma ale jalowiec mi sie kojarzy, stary karmel i zwlaszcza ta bulka tarta do ugotowanej fasolki szparagowej, ta buleczka tarta dominuje jak dla mnie, poza tym jest sporo rodzynkow sultanskich, tak jakby zamiast fasolki posypane ta buleczka tarta., bardzo kompleksowe piwo.. Fajne i znow zaskakujace, inne niz to litewskie ostatnie barley wine, tak samo mile zaskakujace. Od razu czuje sie szlachetnosc i dostojnosc trunku, bez 2 zdan, American Barley wine jest Fu..ing good. Dodatek sera plus zmeczenie i wyziebienie po wielu godzinach dzialkowania rekompensuje wszystkie moje stracone elektrolity i mineraly. Ciekawe jakie jeszcze beda wrazenia bo mam jeszcze dwa piwka Ale Smith. Doskonale uzupelnienie do resztki 3-letniego dojrzewajacego sera.

Tried from Can on 09 May 2020 at 21:26


8.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 7.5

(bottle 1 pt. 9.4 fl.oz. from BeerGeek online) Overall: Nice warmer. Very good, sweet and dried-fruity with nice strong alcohol bite. Aroma: Sweet, raisins, ripped fruits, dried fruits, cherry-like, alcohol, caramel. Appearance: Clear dark amber. Medium, beige head. Taste: Medium sweet, alcohol spicy, raisins, dried fruits, caramel, fruity-citrusy-sourish, light bitter, later very light woody/tanins. Palate: Medium-full body. Sticky texture. Long warm, light bitter finish.

Tried from Bottle on 13 Mar 2020 at 21:50


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

Bottle @ Fermentoren, had a glass thanks to some guy in the bar, haha. Pours very cloudy muddy dark brown with a thick offwhite head. Aromas of caramel, dates, barley, some hops, slight licorice. Taste is pretty roasty and caramel malty up front, some hops and slight licorice, vanilla, dates, coffee, subtle orange peel.

Tried from Bottle on 06 Nov 2019 at 17:20