KBS a good "beginner stout"?

Start with normal stouts not imperial. Sam smith oatmeal stout is a great start. Something like Rogue Shakespear stout. These are the beers that got me into big imperial stouts.

 

Try anything honestly. You never know for yourself. No matter the price, your opinion is most important. A couple of my first stouts were Boulder shake, left hand milk and finch secret stash. All had chocolate added. I think the added sweet helped me out because I too at the time disliked guinness. Now I like it.

 

If you try and like it, more power to you. However, in most cases, I wouldn't recommend it as a beginner stout.

 

Had that when I was in Poland, I would have gladly paid $2.50 more for KBS. Thought that beer was a muddled mess with some taste kept picking up but couldn't put my finger on it, but for sure didn't care for it.

 

I can see that only if one doesn't like "plain jane" Stout in the first place.

 

Right, they're kinda the mocha caramel frappucinos of the beer world.

 

I'll go somewhere down the middle here and propose a compromise. Totally agreed that KBS is not a good beginner stout. However, it's not like it's an IPA that has to be drunk fresh. Buy it anyway and let it age a bit. This way you can experiment with more mellow and lower abv porter/stouts in the meantime. Also, aging the KBS might mellow it out and make it more accessible to you in the future.

 

If you don't like stouts, you don't like stouts. For now, as adventurous I am and as careless about cost as I can be, I'd pocket the $8.50 or buy two or three of something you do like. Experiment with stouts that don't hit your wallet so hard when you feel adventurous. No rules saying everybody has to like every style. It's your money and taste buds here.

On the other hand, sometimes the more "extreme" beers can be the game changers - in my case it was IPA/DIPA and Stone Ruination was the game changer.

Fear no beer.

 

Oatmeal? Extra? Imperial? The Organic Chocolate? Maybe the Taddy Porter?

 

I'm coming down on the side of those who say "no, it's not a good beginner stout." (Whether you put "beginner" in quotes or not.)

It is an intensely flavored stout which is both excellent in it's way and on the pricey side. Some people love it because of it's flavor profile so they are willing to pay more for it. But no way it is representative of stouts in general. This site lists 8 different styles of stout and dozens or hundreds (if not thousands) of examples of each. In addition, it is a semi-unique version of the high ABV American Imperial Stout style in that it is aged in used Bourbon Barrels for over a year, to change it's flavor profile from what might be a more "typical" American Imperial Stout.

So your decision depends on your personal goal. If you want to try an extreme example of a unique and excellent stout, buy it. But if your goal is to learn more about stouts in general to find those you will enjoy, save your purchase for another day.

 

I don't understand why a lot of posters here don't seem to understand that,

 

I went to Nassau and Honolulu on student loans. Priorities, man.

 

I do think people need to keep an open mind because sometimes things just "click" at the right moment.

But Hell's bells, why drink something you really don't care for? Like teaching a pig to sing - you won't make progress and it just aggravates the pig.

 

Do you like dark chocolate? Do you like coffee (without loads of sugar and cream)? Do you like figs? If you don't already have a taste for these drinks/foods I can't see you developing a taste for imperial stout in the near future. If you're on a budget buy what you like and enjoy. You don't have money to blow on beers that you probably won't like.


If you really want to expand your tastes try this:
Join/start a beer club. Get 3-6 friends and buy a six pack of new beer every few weeks. Then get together and trade beers so you can have 3-6 different beers to try. That's a cheap way to expand your tastes.

 

Others have listed this one...I also suggest Old Rasputin. In my opinion, it an excellent representation of the style. You may also want to think about trying something with less ABV or porter or strong brown ale. Founders Sumatra Mountain Brown might be a good one. It is very coffee forward but otherwise not too overpowering.

 

True but some pigs do like attention. To address the OP I generally don't buy a style I don't like but sometimes will because it's interesting. If it doesn't work for me someone else in the house can finish it or I'll use it in cooking.

 

This doesn't always hold true. I AM NOT a coffee drinker, In fact, I cannot even stomach the taste of it. I do, however, LOVE stouts, imperial and otherwise, as well as porters.

Good luck in your search.

 

There's certainly no harm in trying, but if I were you, I would get 2 or 3 different stouts that would likely equal the price of one KBS. If you are determined to train your palate to like stouts, diversity is a good way to do so.

One thing that most seasoned BA's could tell you is that your palate will not be the same in the future that it is now. Two styles that I absolutely loved from the start of my craft beer journey were Porters and Stouts (could you gather that from my username/avatar ) and one that I absolutely hated were IPA's... Now I mainly drink IPA's, APA's, etc. and seldom drink Porters and Stouts, although I still do enjoy them.

Experiment and try different stouts but in the end, your palate will decide what tastes good and what doesn't.

 

Since when? Well, I guess ever since I suggested it. I never said Extra Stout was just like KBS but if he can't enjoy the simple roasty dryness (or, "chalky, thin" if those are your preferential descriptors) of Guinness Extra then what makes you think he would enjoy a much more complex stout like KBS? If you say because "it's barrel aged" then this conversation is over

 

It's entirely possible that you might like a big, barrel-aged stout despite disliking Guinness Extra Stout -- my girlfriend generally drinks PBR, wine, or fruity mixed drinks and can't stand Guinness, but enjoyed the sample of Sunday Morning Stout I gave her a while back. Only issue she mentioned was with the alcohol being more noticeable than what she's used to, which isn't surprising considering that it's double-digit ABV.

$8.50 for a single bottle that you're not sure you'll like might be a bit much, but I wouldn't count out the possibility of this sort of beer being the one to get you into drinking darker beers -- maybe try a less-expensive barrel-aged stout if you can find one and then go back for the KBS if you like it much more than the Guinness.