I was out kayaking. My girlfriend, well-aware at this point of my so-called beer "project", stopped into the Hawthorne Pastaworks to pick up some fancy foods to take to a party later that evening. Smart girl that she is, she noticed some beers in the cooler from Long Brewing, an Oregon brewery she'd never seen or heard of before. Score! But here's where the story gets a little fuzzy... She asked a clerk about it, and was told that it was the best IPA he'd ever had, and that they'd been so impressed that they'd bought out the remaining inventory from Long Brewing. Whoa, that's quite the recommendation! She winced a bit at the $12/bottle price, but excitedly brought home an IPA and a porter anyway. Huge head. Strong, floral nose. Crisp, smooth, medium-light body, and a clean finish. Rare or unusual as it might be, this is, without a doubt, NOT the best beer I've ever had. In fact, it's pretty darn boring. It's too fizzy and not hoppy enough for an IPA. You get a nose full of tasty, flowery head, and then the body doesn't have hardly any flavor to back it up. And, perhaps most importantly, it's twelve dollars for a 22oz bottle of 6.2% IPA. Yowza -- I'll pass.