DAYVILLE, CONNECTICUT
Next to farmland in the tiny village of Dayville, BLACK POND BREWS currently occupies a red brick-fronted warehouse with a white brick rear entrance and plastic-benched back porch. Named after a local Woodstock, Connecticut party spot, its original pub was in nearby Killington. The new space offers 500% more capacity for the increased beer volume now produced.
Co-owners Mike Tweed and Coby Smith got together in 2010 and soon won a contest with their Machu Pichu Jalapeno Saison. By 2014, they guided a popular local taproom and got serious about expanding operations, moving the tap house in 2021.
Inside a gray cement-floored storehouse, Black Pond’s wood-topped ten-seat back bar is fronted by plastic benches, creating a splendid casual homey feel. The expansive brew tank area actually takes up the anterior space.
Now equipped with a full kitchen, sandwiches, flatbread pizza, weinerschnitzel and bratwurst join the soft-watered suds and serious spirits menu.
My wife and I tried all six available draughts on our March ’22 Sunday lunchtime stopover. Remarkably, when I perused Black Pond’s website Feb. ’24, all eight draughts were different.
Part of Black Pond’s rotating sour series, lactose-bound Alice Scooper Fruited Smoothie, let its mildly milk-sugared vanilla creaming pick up confectionery cotton-candied strawberry puree to contrast the briny acidulated malt base.
Tart passionfruit-juiced light body, Captain Misbehavior Gose, allowed lemon-oiled pomegranate salting and mild guava-kiwi tropicalia to sit atop its pale straw white wheat base.
Easygoing Baby Tears, a West Coast IPA, brought mildly perfumed lemony grapefruit zesting and tart green grape esters to corn-dried pale malts.
Delicately fruited It’s Fun To Do Bad Things, a hazy New England IPA, placed subtle grapefruit, mandarin and clementine tanginess next to honeyed peach sweetness and mild piney hop bittering above polite vanilla-creamed crystal malting.
Smoky black malts embittered Pond Factory, a coffee-stained dark ale with dry nut-shelled earthiness.
Sweet-toothed dessert ale, Snack River (Red Velvet Cake), plied sweet brown chocolate fudging to mild vanilla-daubed buttercream frosting.
