Beer reviews and blog posts by Tom Smillie
Tom started his journey into the beer world the summer of 2007. What began as a simple post-garage-cleaning beer with his Dad turned into a love for this “art in fermented form.” Adhering to the motto I can try everything once, Tom's goal is to sample just about every beer ever created. Trying styles ranging from Pilsner to Oak Aged Stouts to Flemish Red Ales, his tastes are varied. Tom's favorite styles are ESBs, Stouts, and Wheats. About a year after he started sampling, he began home brewing.
Lindemans Gueuze Cuvée René
Probably known more for their Fruit Lambic, Lindeman’s crafts a fine product in this grand cru with a nod to one of the Head Brewers Rene Lindeman. Based on my research, this gueuze differs from their standard offering due to this unfiltered nature. Classic...
Oud Beersel Oude Geuze
Winning best ‘World’s Best’ & ‘Europe’s Best’ Lambic/Gueuze in 2011, I was interested to see how this beer would rank among the ones I’ve sampled. To be honest, after sampling one style all the different breweries...
Lindemans Faro
This is one of those unique beers only found in Belgium. The sub-style started when bartenders would put a little sugar or syrup into a young straight lambic right be for serving. In effect, the sugar would help balance out the high acidity found in these beers. A...
Mikkeller Hop Burn (High)
I stumbled upon this beer at my local liquor store and by the looks of the new label design (Keith Shore) this beer would be a hop bomb in a bottle. Doing a little research I found out that this is part of a 2 beer series where Mikkel uses a top fermenting ale yeast...
Troubadour Magma Belgian Triple IPA
In my experience there are two ways to make this beer. 1) Brew an IPA in the US, where more hops is better, then add Belgian yeast and 2) Brew a Strong Golden Ale in Belgium and add hops. I’ve found that I prefer the latter and this beer confirms it. The...
Hanssens Artisanaal Oude Gueuze
I was not able to find much information on this brewery, but I’ve seen them on the shelves for some time now and they make a gueuze I decided to give them a try. This blended lambic was aged for over three years before being sent out into the world so there in...
Abbey St. Martin Brune
Founded in 1096 St. Martin’s ales are now brewed by Brunehaut Brewery in the same time old tradition. Only four beers make up this line so I choose the darkest brew. A Dubbel by style, this beer has a slightly higher abv similar to that of Trappist Achel Bruin...
Two Brothers Circus Penguin Pale Ale
A surprising beer that caught me off guard by one of my favorite breweries. Apparently this is a brewer’s choice concoction where they collectively decided on the malts, hops, ingredients, label design, and name. I must say, I’m not a huge fan of the...
Boon Geuze Mariage Parfait 2007
A perfect marriage or harmony. That is what you have here. Unlike Boon’s standard Geuze which is a blend of young and old lambic, this beer is a blend of 3 year old lambic. Therefore it is a vintage beer blended by the brewers for the purpose of pure...
Clown Shoes Vampire Slayer Imperial American Stout
There is a lot that goes into this brew. Holy Water, lactose (milk sugar), smoked malts (ash and hickory wood), and burnt grains. The brew day was definately interesting as the brewers did their best to ward off evil vampires. Not joke, I wrote down...
Nøgne Ø Dark Horizon 3rd Edition
Holy Sweetness. This beer is almost too sweet and totally not what you would expect. I had it in my mind this would be something akin to Avery’s Mephistopheles but I was way off. While this beer boasts a huge abv, it is surprisingly hidden by the massive...
Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
I sampled this beer back in 2008 just a few months into my craft beer journey. It was tough to enjoy let alone taste. The extremely high alcohol content made it hard to identify anything else. Fast forward a few years to now. This beer is not overwhelming at all....
Founders Curmudgeon’s Better Half
Once again Founders puts forth a phenomenal brew! Like many of their limited bottle releases, this beer was an experiment in their tap under the name Kaiser’s Curmudgeon. This beer bares a great name and stellar label. The Ol’ Mudge (as I like to call...
Clown Shoes Brown Angel Double Brown Ale
My second go at the Clown Shoes brand finds me sipping on a very comfortable and cozy Brown Ale. The 2012 winter here in Chicago has been rather mild, so the extreme stouts have not been my go to. Instead, I’ve been looking for brown ales, cascadian dark ales,...
5 Rabbit 5 Lizard Latin-Style Witbier
What looks like a standard Wit, turns out to have a great deal of flare. When poured, this beer possesses a fluffy egg-shell white head atop a hazy straw-golden liquid. There is a good deal off yeast at the bottom so make sure you swirl the bottle well before...
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine 2010
What Yeti is to Great Divide Stouts, Bigfoot is to Sierra Nevada Barleywine. They are both brewed with the same goal in mind: big, bold, flavorful. And the team at Sierra Nevada has done just that. If you like the flavor of the Pale Ale and Celebration Ale...
Founders All Day IPA
I knew this beer was hitting stores near me the second week in February 2012 and I still had a hard time finding it. I was not able to get to the store the day is arrived and two days later I ended up visiting 4 different locations in search for Founder’s...
Mikkeller Barrel Aged Breakfast Stout
Aging this beer for over a year I would put forth the argument that one should not do so for more than six months. Oh sure, it is aged in Bourbon barrels, but after all the abv is not “imperial” strength. If I had aged this any longer I could see it...
Mikkeller Rauch Geek Breakfast
Am I in Bamberg, Germany? This beer smelled like the beech wood smoked classics from Aecht Schlenkerla. The smokey aroma rose from the bottle and glass with ease. Interestingly, the woody notes brought this variation close to that of a Bourbon barrel aged beer....
Chatoe Rogue Good Chit Pilsner
If you have had Rogue’s Irish Lager and enjoyed it then you’ll like this one. It has a similar taste and aroma to that of Avery’s Joe’s Pils making it a great American rendition of a Czech Pils. This latest installment of their GYO series...
Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel
I will be dead honest…this is a weird beer. When the cap is on and I read the label it seemed unique. However, when I took my first sip I could not help but think, “I’m drinking shit!” Allow me to elaborate. Back when the Dutch controlled...
Boulevard Chocolate Ale
A seasonal brew in their Smokestack Series it is rather limited brew, but one you should try at least once. The interplay between chocolate and malt is so well balanced that it creates a very unique flavor that I’ve never come across before. A lot of the times...
Mikkeller Beer Hop Breakfast
Contrary to what some review sites suggest, this is not a Black IPA. I can see where the flavor might throw someone off, but if you read the label it clearly states that it is an Oatmeal stout brewed with coffee. It just so happens that Mikkeller decided to increase...