Here are my picks and pans for the 2009 Arborfest (at least from what I got around to tasting).

My best of Arborfest 2009.

Great Waters Imperial Wit – High-test and refreshing. Nice wheaty malt with Belgian yeast character, citrus, and spice. So light and quaffable that you will be tempted to drink several pints. But watch out for that.
Fitger’s Brewhouse Belgian Single – Everything you love in a Belgian Triple but with a moderate amount of alcohol. A golden beer with rich malty sweetness but spicy dry finish. Dashes of Belgian yeast and citrus. You can drink several of these in a sitting.
Flat Earth Sunburst Ale – Apricot infused Belgian Pale Ale. How can you miss? Better than Magic Hat #9, you get the malty/yeasty/bitter of Flat Earth Belgian Pale Ale with an explosion of fresh fruit that lasts from start to finish.
Town Hall Belgian Cherry Ale – Looks like the Belgian styles won the night for me. A Triple infused with cherries, the base beer character was the highlight with subtle cherry notes in the background. Nice balance and tasty.

My Worst of Arborfest 2009

Town Hall Cherry Smoked Porter – I love porter. I love cherry wood smoked beer (see my tasting notes for the Goose Island cherry wood smoked bock). The two didn’t work together. The char-pit character of the cherry wood smoke needs a sweeter beer. A case of the parts just not working well together.
Town Hall Oak Aged Honey Saison – I don’t mean to pick on Town Hall. I love their beers and spend a good deal of time there. But again, the parts did not add up to a wholesome whole on this one. The oak was too intense and clashed with the spicy saison yeasty character. The honey added a layer of odd sweetness on top of it all. Three good ideas that just didn’t add up.
Barley John’s Pale Ale – This just tasted wrong. Unbalanced, watery, unpleasant. It was the only beer of the night that I dumped.

My Question Mark of Arborfest 2009

Surly Ashy Cynic Cask – Here is the conversation I had with the person pouring at the Surly booth.
Me: Why is it Ashy?
Them: Because there’s a piece of ash in it?
Me: What does that do for it?
Them: Makes it taste like ash?
“Ash” jokes aside, I asked because this tasted to me like Cynic Ale from a cask. Not that this was a bad thing, I just wasn’t getting any ash. Perhaps it was because I came to this one late in the evening and my palate was already shot. I can’t say. I just didn’t get it.