Strathcona Beer Company is widely known for their success in brewing hop-forward beers. This is no exception for Get Down on It, their award-winning IPA. This brew won Gold at the Canadian Brewing Awards this year in the American Style IPA category. B.C. Beer Reviews is here to take a look at this award-winning brew.

B.C. Beer Reviews: Strathcona Beer Company – Get Down on It

Not only does this song remind you of a classic song, but there are many interesting things about it. Let’s crack open this gold medalist and see how it holds up.

Colour

This brew pours a clear golden copper colour from the can. As the glass begins to fill it becomes more of a golden colour rather than copper. The clarity diminishes immediately upon getting the dregs at the bottom of the can. There is nothing wrong with this, but there is zero clarity to this beer.

Nose/Aroma

There is a ton of hop aromatics jumping out of the glass at you from this beer. The most distinct aroma is that of tart pineapple. You get the tropical and tart citric acid aspects of the pineapple aromatics, making for a very pleasant opening note to this beer.

Behind the pineapple aroma is an indistinguishable melon aroma. This is much more subtle than the pineapple, but it is undeniably present right in behind.

Another note that is very much in the background, but still noticeable, is a sweet malty characteristic. This could very well be a note imparted by the oats that were used in the grist of this beer. It is a nice complimentary note to the powerful hop aromas that help this beer to match up nicely with the stylistic notes of an American IPA.

Tasting Notes

This beer starts off with the tropical fruit notes that you get in the aromatics. However, the pineapple is much less potent and this note diminishes rather quickly on your palate.

There is an ever-present and fairly potent bitter backbone to this brew. It is a piney bitterness. This is also a note that matches up nicely with the characteristics of the style. It also lingers long after each sip is gone.

Another note that is rather noticeable is a yeast characteristic. It is somewhat of a drying character on your palate and is fairly common with hazy beers that are being produced more and more in today’s beer scene. This is not a slight on it, but it should be stated that this is a present and noticeable taste.

Other Notes

The branding/labeling is rather pleasant overall. There are rings of gold and brown in different shades descending down into the Strathcona Beer Company logo and name. It is not bright coloured, but it is certainly eye-catching.

This beer pours a moderate head overall. The retention of this head could also be categorized as moderate.

There are light rings of lacing here and there on the glass, but it is not at all significant.

The carbonation level of this beer is noticeable, but not much else. It is not a crisp beer, but nowhere near being under-carbonated.

Final Grade

The aromatics are certainly the best part of this beer. You are greeted by a smack of pineapple and melon. This is complimented by a smooth and clean bitterness on your palate and a rather dry finish to this beer.

Grade: 8.4/10

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Main photo by Nic Hendrickson, Lastword Inc., all rights reserved