Review: Stone Angel Kaiser Bill IPA

With isolation continuing until who knows when, my visits to the LC are minimal at best, I think the last time I went for beer this rarely was in the mid 2000s. Every time I do go to the LC, there's nothing new in stock aside from Manitoban products. Stone Angel's Kaiser Bill IPA is nowhere near being a new product but they recently went through a bit of rebranding of many of their beers, which made Kaiser Bill pop out at me as if it was a new beer.

"Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world."

From the label: A smooth, unfiltered pale ale made with all German malts and hops. A more malt forward beer than a typical West Coast IPA, its hoppy aroma and flavour have notes of tangerine, citrus and spice. Kaiser Bill was a mocking nickname applied by the British during the First World War to Kaiser Wilheim II. 5.6% ABV/45 IBU

Appearance: Mildly cloudy with a caramel brown body to it. The beer has a few lines of bubble trails going from the bottom of the beer all the way to the top. The head is fairly frothy with a light beige hue to it, which diminishes a tad to leave behind a film-like lacing on the glass. If you're not able to pour the entire beer into the glass the first time around, the beer gets a bit murkier.

Aroma: Certainly more of a malt-forward IPA like the label states - it has a bit of a sweet caramel presence to it, a hint of nuttiness, a bit of a sharp Black Tea-like aroma to it, grapefruit rind and a good heaping of piney hops to give it a nice bitterness at the end. 

Taste: The first thing I got from the tasting profile was the hops this time around - it's a mild piney with a bit of a floral presence to it, hint of alfalfa - good amount of bitterness but smoother than your typical traditional IPAs. Good amount of malt popping up here with a nice caramel sweetness, a toasted malt that gives off a slight woody/earthy presence to it, hint of Black Tea and tangerine at the end. The hops tingle the mouth while the aftertaste is a hint of pine and pear. 

Overall Thoughts: The most unique core IPA from any of the Manitoban breweries - it's not trying to be a New England/Hazy/Juicy/Milkshake/whatever-is-in-trend-this-week IPA, nor is it your usual classic Cascade-forward piney and lemony IPA, this one has a bit of an "Old World meets New World" vibe for me. You get a predominantly malt-forward IPA that you see in many English IPAs, a hint of Black Tea, as well as a flavour that reminds me of a German beer I once tried back in 2005 that I don't know the name of. On the flip side, you get pine and alfalfa and a hint of lemon that you would get in a classic North American IPA.

https://stoneangelbrewing.com/beers/kaiser-bill-ipa/