Born to Brew at Captain Lawrence

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company, located in Elmsford, New York, opened a decade ago in 2006. Captain Lawrence is known for brewing traditional Belgian ale styles with an American twist, although today the brewery also pumps out everything from Triple IPAs to barrel-aged sours.

Born and raised in Westchester County, owner and brewer Scott Vaccaro began homebrewing in 1995 at age 17 at his childhood home on Captain Lawrence Drive in South Salem, NY, which later became the inspiration for the name of the brewery.

Vaccaro studied accounting at Villanova University. After realizing his dream to become a professional brewer, he studied brewing and fermentation science at UC Davis. He interned at Adnams Brewery in the U.K., then worked at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, CA and Colorado Brewery in Danbury, CT.

The original Captain Lawrence Brewing Company was located on Castleton Street in Pleasantville, NY. After five years, the company moved to Elmsford, NY where a larger brewing system and bottling line was added.

The current brewery at Captain Lawrence includes a 40 barrel brewhouse and 160 barrel fermentation tanks, as well as a brand new bottling and packaging line and new barrel aging room.

The tasting room at Captain Lawrence features two 12-tap towers behind a large wooden bar. There are wooden barrels and high-top bar tables throughout the room, and large windows allow daylight to pour into the space. Visitors can also hang out inside the brewery.

The beers on tap in the tasting room included…

• Freshchester – 5.5% ABV Pale Ale brewed with US-grown Cascade, Palisade, and Columbus hops giving notes of citrus and pine.
• Liquid Gold – 6.5% ABV Belgian Gold with aromas of orange, spice, and green grass. Clean malt-dominated flavor with subdued bitterness in the background.
• Palate Shifter – 9% ABV Imperial IPA bursting with citrus and pine notes and a beautiful malt finish.
• Pilot Batch 295 – 6.8% ABV India Pale Ale hopped with Mosaic and Simcoe hops.
• Hopsomniac – 6.5% ABV Coffee IPA with Stumptown cold brew coffee and tropical American hops.
• Winter Ale – 6% ABV Amber Ale, lightly toasted malts are enhanced with a blend of winter spices.
• Appleweiss – 4.7% ABV Berliner Weisse, tart wheat beer brewed with apples.
• Sisters – 6.5% ABV Vanilla Coffee Porter with vanilla and cardamom brewed with the brewmaster’s siblings.
• Frost Monster – 11% ABV Imperial Stout with a huge malt background of roasted malt, chocolate, and dark fruit.
• Sveikata – 4.6% ABV Lithuanian-style baked beer with the malt formed into loaves then baked in the pizza oven.
• Pleasantville Porter – 6.4% ABV Smoked Porter
• Clearwater Kölsch – 5% ABV German Hybrid with low bitterness and full, clean malty flavors.

An additional bar was located in the brewery with these beers on tap…

I recommend picking up a branded sampler glass for $2 and a bag of tokens at the desk as soon as you enter the tasting room. Samples are 1 token for beers under 7% ABV and 2 tokens for higher ABV beers.

Beers can also be purchased in pints to enjoy in house or 64-ounce growler fills to go. Wine, hard cider, and soda are also available by the glass.

Captain Lawrence beers are distributed throughout New York, Connecticut, and Northern Jersey. They are found in in bars, restaurants, retail stores, and supermarkets all over those areas.

The brewery is open Wednesday to Friday 4 to 9 PM, Saturday noon to 6 PM, and Sunday noon to 5 PM. Tours are available at 2, 3, and 4 PM on Saturday and Sunday for $5 a person. You can reserve online.

brewery, Captain Lawrence Brewing Company, Elmsford, New York, Scott Vaccaro