KBS a good "beginner stout"?

Zywiec 1881 Baltic Porter is an excellent starting point, especially since the price is so reasonable. Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout is good, too, but a little cloying for some. I've been using the Zywiec to turn on a lot of people to dark beers, especially in the local Ethiopian community here in St. Paul.

 

No, KBS has too many added flavors to be a good beginners Stout.

 

Get an great inexpensive stout like say Old Rasputin and maybe splash a little bourbon in it (you do like bourbon no?) and give it a taste. If you remotely like it go for the KBS, if you don't like bourbon or that mix please stay away and post which store has over 100 bottles of dusty KBS on its shelves, the BA's will take care of the rest

 

Hmm , it says Sweden but your BA Name might be Minnesota? If your in Mn, I'd suggest Bells Kalamazoo Stout, it's brewed with Brewers Licorice and IMO is a very tasty beer. If your really in Sweden and your store has that much Kbs I'd go for it. Even if your in Mn and Kbs is abundant I'd still try it, that beer IMO is that good. Like most we live and die with what's available.

 

Might be helpful to list what you’ve had, as a determinant of what you don’t like in a stout (e.g. cloying, dry, bitter, hoppy…)

 

In Sweden, you should have access to amazing stouts from Omnipollo and Mikkeller. Try those! Although, if you have the krona/euros for it, that's not a bad price for KBS in Europe.

 

I dunno, seems the exact opposite way to me.

 

you really should try the KBS
that price not too outrageous for just 1 bottle

 

That price isn't terrible and kbs is really good and is an absolute classic. I'd pick it up, but no it's not a good beginner stout.

 

keep drinking it until you do ... it will be worth it (financially included) when you do

 

I'd say go with Old Rasputin 4 packs. That's as a cheap as a stout you can get for a decent quality one at that. I'd recommend if you're getting into stouts try them cold and then at room temperature and figure out what you like. I personally drink all of my stouts pretty near room temperature.

 

If you're not really a stout fan but want to broaden your beer horizons in that general direction give porters a try. I find porters tend to be a bit more laid back and lighter than stouts but they still give you those coffee and chocolate flavors. Odell Cutthroat porter and Deschutes Black Butte porter are a couple of great ones that might be more your style.

 

No. Imho.

 

I'm of the school of thought that states you should never force yourself to like anything. I cannot stand IPAs, save for two that come from local breweries that I can tolerate. I've tried to force myself to like them since that's what all the cool kids drink, seems like.

Still. Can't stand the stuff. If I wanted to drink a pine cone, I would go out in the yard and pick one to chew on.

But I love stouts and porters. I can drink them all day. I won The Great Guinness Relay back in undergrad one Saint Patrick's Day.

But I never tried to force myself to like stouts or porters. I tried Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout one day and was hooked. I now drink Old Rasputin like bottled water. Been on a quest to find the perfect porter for years. Thought I found it, once, but the brewery discontinued it and wouldn't give me the recipe.

So. Moral of the story. Don't try to force yourself to like something. A lot of times it's either you like it or not and nothing will ever change.

 

I can't agree with your moral of the story to a degree since you said a lot of times.
One of my first "sour" beers, if not the first, was a 2002 La Folie. Got the bottle for free. I drank aboot a quarter of the bottle and drain poured the rest thinking, what the hell was the brewer trying to do here?? I thought the bottle was bad.
I read some reviews and read what the style was all aboot , low and behold, what I tasted was not bad but intended. I gave it another chance and another chance and the rest is a personal history. Never say never again.(kudos to Sean Connery)

 

All you said was that you thought the bottle was bad. You didn't say whether or not you thought it tasted bad.

When on my IPA mission to find one I liked, I drank a lot of really bad beer. I found two I can tolerate. The rest, to me, is frankly pisswater. I'm not going to force myself to drink IPAs anymore and I recommend that OP doesn't try to force themselves to drink stouts if they cannot even stomach a Guinness Extra Stout, which is relatively entry-level. KBS will overwhelm him much in the same was some 110 IBU Dreamcrusher or whatever overwhelms me and makes me gag.

 

I agree. KBS is not an entry level Stout by any stretch of the imagination.

 

My fiancée loves kbs, but not many other stouts, so you may like it. With that said, do you really want to like a beer that costs 8.50 a bottle? I love it and i couldn't pay that regularly. Worth a try though if you love coffee and chocolate...

 

WHAT? Since when does a dry, thin, chalky, Irish stout have anything in common with KBS?

 

I would not start with KBS. While the coffee and chocolate malts are definitely there, its quite boozy and you get a lot of barrel notes (subtle vanilla, baking spices) underneath that will probably be difficult for a beginning palate into the stout realm.

Are you able to pinpoint what you dislike about the stouts you have had?? Too bitter (a lot of russian imperial stouts can be fairly bitter on the back of the palate, Old rasputin for one)? Don't like the roasty flavor? That may help with suggestions