“This next song is appropriate for a brewery,” says the
bow-tied singer. “It’s about Prohibition.”
The Dixieland band—upright bass, banjo, clarinet, trumpet,
drums, lots of bow ties—kicks into a ragtime number on the Captain Lawrence
patio that features the frightful phrase “No more beer.”
In fact, there’s plenty of beer in the garden—summer
favorites like the Kolsch and the Liquid Gold, good-any-timers like the India
Pale Ale, special small batches like Scott
Tobin’s Whole Hop imperial IPA, brewed with whole warrior hops.
Curt and Sally Schade of Irvington popped in
after a stop at ANS Seafood in Elmsford. Curt is from Dusseldorf, Germany—“where
dark beer comes from,” he says proudly, and Sally is from England. She’s not a
big beer drinker, but finds the India Pale Ale “quite tasty.”
Curt, on the other hand, is all in. He flashes a stash of
chips that a Vegas gambler would envy. “There’s more in the car,” he says. “I
could have a party.”
They’re enjoying a few beers, and the timeless tones of the
aptly named band, Bottoms Up. “It’s nice to see so many families here,” says
Sally.
Singer Buddy Griffith,
of Carmel, introduces a new tune while leaning on his upright bass. “That’s a huge guitar!” comments a young girl.
“Here’s another beer song,” says Buddy. “We like the beer
songs.”
The band kicks in. It’s Mumford meets O Brother Where Art
Thou? It’s the perfect accompaniment to an otherwise gray Saturday.
Jamie Scheurich
and Sean McDermott of Tarrytown have
their hound Pip in tow. Elmsford
will always hold a special place in their hearts; they adopted Pip, and all the
great expectations that come from rescue dogs, from Pets Alive down the road on
Rte 9A. They already had a rescue cat named Oliver, and stuck with the
Dickensian theme for the name.
“We come here pretty frequently,” says Sean. “First off,
it’s the quality of the beer.”
“And it’s dog-friendly,” adds Jamie as Pip nods.
They also came for the music. Turns out Sean’s sister is
married to Buddy Griffith, who’s a fan of local Westchester beer. “All of his
Christmas gifts are Captain Lawrence-related,” says Sean.
The expanded patio fills up as the sun tries to break
through the clouds. The 2 p.m. tour starts. Pizzas fly out of the oven. Bocce
balls buzz by. The band plays on.
Curt Schade goes inside to fill up his growler; the choice
is the Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA, weighing in at a big and bold 9% ABV.
“The one with the good stuff in it,” he says happily.
For Kate and Allen Beers of Rye, the good stuff is
pumpkin. “I’m absolutely happy about it being available,” says Kate of the
Pumpkin Ale.
Some bemoan the presence of Pumpkin Ale, brewed with natural
pumpkin puree and spices, with a chunk of summer still remaining. But Kate
notes that the fickle east coast weather—there’s a peculiarly autumnal bite to
the air today—makes the Pumpkin right for most any season.
Plus, Allen notes, the Captain Lawrence Pumpkin isn’t quite
as pumpkin-y as other pumpkin brews.
The Beers’s dig their beers’s—and the offbeat music. “It’s a
lot better than a singer-songwriter playing the same old covers,” says Allen.
As the song chugs to a close, it’s time for Bottoms Up to
take a break; all these songs about beer presumably have made the musicians
thirsty for one. Buddy says much of the band met at SUNY Fredonia, where he
studied classical bass. “I was introduced to people playing this style of
music,” he says. “I got into it, and just love playing it.”
His Captain Lawrence brew of choice is the crisp,
German-style Kolsch, which he describes as “nice, easy, can’t go wrong.”
Sort of sums up a lazy Saturday at the brewery.
The “Notes From the Tasting Room” book is available at the brewery and on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Notes-Captain-Lawrence-Tasting-Room/dp/0985632844/
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