Best beer

Surly is great. Their Darkness is superb as are almost all other beers I have had from them. A sad day when they stopped distributing to Chicago (they had trouble keeping up with demand I am told).

Of the super-hard to find, my faves are Heady Topper (VT only) and Pliny the Elder (CA or West Coast only).

Of limited availability beers that still get fairly wide geographical distribution, I am in love with Bell's Hopslam. It was released a few weeks ago and is already getting hard to find in Chicago. But for IPA lovers, its release is the highlight of my beer year.

Yeah, Hopslam is in a different league than 2 Hearted. But it is certainly getting harder to find.

For other beers in that neighborhood, look for Sixpoint Hi-Res or Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree.