By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Springfield restaurateurs Court and Karen Conn were out of the country in late April, when an early-morning fire damaged the beer garden of their popular downtown microbrewery, Obed and Isaac’s.

They were glad there wasn’t much damage, and to show their gratitude, they worked with firefighters to craft a special beer in their honors.

“We named it Station One Smokehouse Porter, and (we decided) that we would take proceeds of every beer that we sold of that style, that firemen helped brew, and we would donate it to a charity,” said Karen Conn.

The special beer was a limited run, and Conn said the seven barrels were gone in about ten days. If it comes back, it would also be with the charitable component, she said. The Conn family Thursday donated $2500 to the burn unit at Springfield’s Memorial Medical Center.

The money, says Memorial Foundation director Melissa Hansen-Schmadeke, “will be used to assist with patient and staff education and help buy some equipment.”