Last night's Friday Beer Report was preempted by a five hour nap, so I didn't go out last night at all.

Tonight, after the play, I went to Rich O's and sampled three beers.

First, the ever-changing Cone Smoker. I say ever-changing, although it's actually been pretty stable for the past few weeks. Not tonight.

Tonight it was a watered down Brady Bunch version of itself. Very little smoke, very little anything in fact. It kind of seemed like they'd mixed Cone Smoker with their Community Dark and ended up with a beer that would appeal to no one except old women and twelve year old boys.

For those keeping score at home:

Version #1: Good, well balanced, with a good smoky taste.
Version #2: Very strong smoke flavor, a little too strong at first but by the end of the glass the smoke seems just right. Very good batch. My favorite of all.
Version #3: No smoke at all. Hoppy taste predominates. If I wanted high gravity and hoppy taste I'd just order an Arrogant Bastard.
Version #4: See version #1.
Version #5: Smoky, but otherwise more bland than any other version so far.

And now, version #6: Combines the smokeless taste of version #3 with the blandness of version #5.

Next on the menu tonight was Kostritzer Black Beer. I was expecting a stout, and it did look like one, but the taste was more like a lager. There was, however, a bit of chocolate and roasted malt taste that seemed pretty well balanced. Overall a bit bland.

Speaking of bland, the next beer I tried was Rogue's American Amber. This beer reminded me a lot of Community Dark except it was a little less sweet. And what, you may ask, is Community Dark without the sweetness? Iced tea, that's what.

I finished off the night with a draft root beer, and that was the best drink I had tonight.