AleSmith Barrel Aged Old Numbskull

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Rated in June 2009. 2007 vintage pours rosy deep copper with brown hues and micro thin off white head. The aroma is smooth oak moving to pine hops, vanilla, caramel and bourbon soaked oak. The taste is smooth goodness with pine hops mixing with vanilla and a mild amount of bourbon. The oak picks up toward midway and to the finish with increasing bourbon and a slight alcohol burn. Yum.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Gift from Todd (@zmachine) from a recent San Diego trip. Muddy dark brown color. Huge aromas and flavors of caramel, Bourbon, oak, sweet malts, brown sugar. Big and rich. Wish List item for awhile. Thank you Todd.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Newest release. Pours significantly darker than the base BW. Wonderful aroma of bourbon, vanilla, oak, caramel and hops. I though the hop presence of the bw might be a game changer, and it was, lending a great complexity to this beer despite the longtime in barrels. Taste is everything the aroma was plus a little earthy nuttiness, bourbon heavy but not dominant. This was a loooong time whale and was not a let down.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Drank at extactly the right time, the first snowfall of the season... more alcohol than I expected, hot on the nose and in the mouth, with a torched orange essence. Some butteryness and smooth oak inspired pepper on the nose. Lots of burnt caramel and a touch of nut. Other light oak flavours and a touch of scotch, lots of warmth. Great.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

My friend finally cracked open his 2006 bottle which had been mocking us for a couple years now, and it was well worth the wait. A true masterpiece that has aged gracefully (although I think it would be best within a few years of bottling). Hearty bourbon is still evident after all these years and helps a generous earthy peated malt and toffee backbone shine through. Dense amount of raisin and molasses with notes of vanilla and wood. An amazing glass of beer to behold.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

gold foil, that's all i remember besides the notes i took .. . pours a murky medium flat brown .. . chocolate, cherry skin in the nose .. . wow, full and delicious , ... light oak, light whiskey, and lots of chocolate .. . way to fun, and kinda easy to drink.. thanks tom!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

2007. Bottle 311/449. Cracked this one open for Halloween. Pours a dark mahagony color with a thin to moderate head that settles quickly to bubbles and a few patches on top. The aroma is potent consisting of plums, raisins, bourbon and wood notes. Nice. The flavor is full of dark fruits; plums, raisins, figs with a rich bourbon flavor, oak and resiny hops. Quite boozy but soft on the palate. I love regular Numbskull, it’s probably one of the few I compare all other barleywines to, so I’m not surprised that this comes across as a great example of a bourbon aged barleywine. It’s not superior to the regular version though, which as of this review I surprisingly like a little more.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Thanks to eagle for this one. Poured a copper color with small head. Aroma was of caramel, burbon oaky. Flavor was much the same some hops some vanilla. Burbon began to overwelm this and make it sweeter as it warmed. Not bad not what I expected.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

NorCal Feb '08 - 2005 Bottle #96 - Somehow AleSmith is one of the few breweries who really know how to intergrate what barrel aging does to beer in a way that is damned near perfect. While I'm a huge fan of the regular non-barrel aged Old Numbskull, this was equally as tasty. Better? I don't believe so. But not beneath it in anyway either.

The beer pours out a burnt/brownish orage color with a smaller sized light tan head. Aroma is raisiny, yeasty, alcohol, wood, vanilla, brown sugar..reminded me of whiskey in many ways. Flavors were nearly spot on with the nose with a little more emphasis on the vanillin and toffee character from the bourbon barrel. Fantastic beer.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Many thanks to eaglefan538 for sharing his experience! Without going overboard with the description, the flavor in this one was very similar to the regular Numbskull, obviously. The bourbon/oak flavors from the barrel were subtle at first pour and got noticeably stronger as it warmed, which did not improve the flavor of the beer, but began to take over and make the beer a little on the sweet side. The strong hops showed through even with a bottle, according to eaglefan538, was 3 years old. I can't say I prefer this to the regular version, but an enjoyable experience nonetheless.