Monday, December 20, 2010

AleSmith - Old Numbskull

Bottle conditioned.  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.

Multiple awards, including Gold in its category at the Chicago Real Ales Festival, and Silver for Best-of-Show.

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.
........
2010 - Silver foil with electric blue design and silver filling in the anvil spaces and "AleSmith" below the logo in electric blue lettering.

I first review this brew on 9/11/10, I have incorporated that review with my new thoughts....

The ABV is 11.0 and the IBU rating is ??
Style - American Barleywine
Glass to use- Snifter, Tulip, Oversized Wine Glass
Delivery 750ml Bottle

Can be cellared for long periods, under the proper conditions.

The Pour - Pours a deep cooper color with a big tan head. Some lacing.
Aroma - Malty first thing out of the bottle followed by hops just like an American Barleywine should.
After 30 minutes warming up, the dark fruit aroma kicks in, like raisins. 
Taste - Sweet, malty, almost syrupy, some dark fruits at the end. Not quiet a raisin taste, but close. After warming up more dark fruits are coming through. 
Mouth Feel - Smooth, good carbonated with a boozy finish.  Full body.
Drinkable - A good example of an American Barleywine.  Drinkable but it will catch up with up at 11%.

This beer pair well with cheese and desserts.

This beer gets a Duper rating of A-.
BeerAdvocate Rating =A-
Ratebeer Rating =100
Enhanced by Zemanta

No comments:

Post a Comment