Mike Teed and Cory Smith, the brains behind Black Pond Brews located in Dayville, entered the brewing scene about twelve years ago. Their inspiration stemmed from the Anchor Steam beer produced by San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing.

Their homage to Anchor Brewing materialized in the creation of the Connecticut Uncommon beer, a play on the California Common beer style, a category under which Anchor Steam falls. However, Connecticut Uncommon took a backseat for a period of five years as lighter beers gained traction at Black Pond.

With the threat of closure looming over Anchor Brewing, Black Pond decided it was time to reintroduce Connecticut Uncommon. Part of the proceeds from the sale of this beer will be used to support Anchor.

Discussing the monumental influence of Anchor Brewing, Smith stated, “Anchor Brewing, being the oldest craft brewery in the nation, had a profound impact on us when we first got our start in homebrewing. Their influence was so substantial that we initially launched with a California Common style beer. The American craft beer industry would undoubtedly suffer a great loss if this particular brewery were to disappear.”

Connecticut Uncommon is described as an ale/lager hybrid by Smith, a concept that was initially brought to light by Anchor.

He expresses that this hybrid gives you the refreshing, pure characteristics present in a lager, whilst also exuding some fruity notes generally found in ales.

The link between Black Pond and Anchor was established through the medium of their graphic designer, Alan Duda. Not only the creator of Black Pond’s logo, he also designs their beer labels. Hailing from San Francisco, Duda was instrumental in linking Teed and Smith with the team at Anchor.

In partnership with Joel Salisbury, Duda forms duda+salisbury – the advertising partner for Black Pond. They are the creative minds behind the new Connecticut Uncommon cans, which brandish the image of Black Pond’s mascot, Mr. Kitty, set against the backdrop of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. In fact, Mr. Kitty was a permanent resident at Black Pond Brews during their days at the old Danielson location.

Though this is the first time Black Pond has raised funds for another brewery, they are no strangers to charity. Black Pond regularly raises funds for the Paws Cat Shelter in Woodstock and collects holiday gifts for local children in need.

Smith said Friday morning that the rerelease of Connecticut Uncommon is off to a solid start. It was Black Pond’s top-selling beer Wednesday and Thursday.

“People are excited to see it back,” Smith said Friday morning. “I’m sure we’re going to see a bunch more sales over the weekend.”

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Dayville brewery re-releases beer to aid California brewery