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).

I'm a big fan of the Belgian farm house style beers such as those made by Sasion Dupont. They even have a "Table Beer" which has only 3.5% alcohol that they recommend starting your whole family drinking with. These beers are yeasty, malty, with a bit of hops. Well balanced and they almost taste alive. If you have ever had the privilege of visiting breweries in Holland or Belgium you will learn about IPA's and the use of hops. The double hops of the "India Pale Ale" was added to preserve for the long voyage to India not for the heavy, bitter taste (extreme) that we Americans seam to love. Just look at snacks like Dorito's and you can understand why Surly and so many super hoppy beers are popular.

Dogfish Indian Brown Ale.

If in Brazil try Brahma dark beer or Nova Schin, both reference dark beer. Domestically, Voo doo lager is solid as is Rasputin.

Good call on the Smoked Arrogant Bastard, Martykl. Excellent brew except it only comes in a four-pack. ;-)

Good luck finding these next two (though they're worth the effort):

Shipyard Bourbon Barrel Aged Double ESB (limited edition)

Drake's Brewing - Aroma Coma Pale Ale(summer seasonal)

Had both the Shipyard and Drake's at my favorite beer store which has the best selection I've ever seen anywhere. It also has a tasting room with 15 select beers on tap for $3 a glass. They rotate the offerings regularly so there's good reason to visit.

More readily available would be almost anything from Lagunitas. This is my overall favorite brewery. Their beers are great and the commentary on their packaging is very entertaining. The company motto is "Beer Speaks, People Mumble."

Kenyt mentioned Little Sumpin' Ale. I'll go one better and also suggest Little Sumpin' Wild, too. This is one of their seasonals which are all exceptional with names like Wilco Tango Foxtrot, Hairy Eyeball and Undercover Investigation Shut-Down.

The Lagunitas New DogTown Pale Ale is extra hoppy and more like an IPA than their IPA (in turn the IPA is really more like a Pale Ale; I think it's an inside joke...)

Damn, I could go on but have to go to the liquor store. There's no beer in the house and this conversation made me thirsty!