Beer Review: Chehalem Mountain IPA

Price: $3.69 for 22 oz (plus bottle deposit)
Brewery:Golden Valley Brewery, McMinnville, OR
Style: American IPA
ABV: NA
Color: Clear, dark gold
Aroma:Hoppy
Body: Light, but present.
Stomach Aspect: None. I've drank the whole 22oz, and there is no filling aspect.
Head: Poured nicely, but fades within 1-2 minutes.
Head Retention: Good. Head leaves a ring from previous pull.
Taste: little sweetness on the tip of the tongue, not much taste in the mid area of the tongue. Most flavor comes from back of tongue where the hop bitterness is present. Swallow the drink and the hop aroma is more present. The finish is crisp, clean, and refreshing.
Conclusion: The brew is very pretty in color and clarity. The head is nice as well, something you don't see in brews. Get the brew within smelling range of your nose and you instantly smell hops. Take a drink of the brew and there is a little sweetness at the tip of your tongue from the Malt, but move the brew to the middle of the tongue and flavor fades. Move the brew to the back of the tongue and flavor reappears, but not with Malt flavor, but with Hop flavor. Swallowing the brew produces a very prominent hop aroma that your palate records in the grey area. Overall, this is not a bad brew, but to be honest it's like all the other IPA's. Gold in color, white minimal head, hop aroma, and hop flavor. Now, as some of you know I am not a big fan of IPA's because I feel that the brewer's of these recipes get caught in the "hoppiness" aspect of the recipe and forget that you can add other items to enhance the hop flavor. Which is what make most IPA's cookie cutter brews.
Public Aspect: As you may or may not know the Northwest is an IPA mecca. When people think beer in the Northwest they think IPA. Bring this to a BBQ and you might as well be bringing a puppy with you. People will want to taste it just because the bottle says IPA on it. Share the brew with friends, introduce them to a new brewery, to a new IPA recipe. But when the event's done, people may just remember that you brought another IPA, and not actually remember the name of the brew you brought.