It is
the time of the year for getting together with old friends, as a gang of guys
from Ardsley is doing at Captain Lawrence. They’ve known each other since
kindergarten, and have opted to spend the frigid day warming themselves with
some tasty cold-weather craft brews.
“We’re
all up for the weekend and decided to do some eating and drinking together,”
says Sean Flynn, who lives in
Manhattan.
The beer
of choice among the Ardsley four—Flynn and Matt
Schwartz of Manhattan, and Adam Long
and Mike Nugent of Hartsdale—is a
new espresso stout called Shakey Bones. As we discuss the small-batch beer, CL
brewman Justin Sturgess walks by
after leading a tour, and stops to answer a few questions about the Shakey. It
is produced from the left-over wort of the popular, and potent, Frost Monster imperial
stout, says Justin. “It’s not quite as high alcohol content,” he says of the
nonetheless robust 7.3% mix, “but it will give you kind of an idea as to what
the Frost Monster is like.”
It being
late November and all, I ask the guys what they are thankful for.
“Good
beer, actually,” says Adam.
“Shakey
Bones,” specifies Mike.
“Hanging
out with childhood friends,” says Sean.
“My friends
and family and myself are all in good health,” says Mike.
Elsewhere
in the tasting room, another crowd of old friends is swelling. “We’re just
getting together to celebrate,” says Anne-Sophie
Pawlowski of Pleasantville, who neglects to mention that it is, in fact,
her birthday.
Later, the
group of ladies will venture out for burgers. But for now, there are locally
brewed beers to sample. “I can’t decide what I like best…the Pumpkin Ale or the
Amber Ale,” says Janet DiGennaro of
Thornwood, tasting the new Amber Scrambler small batch. “I’m sorry.”
No need
to apologize.
The
ladies have plenty to be thankful for. “Family and friends!” sums up Marcela Provenzano.
The
tasting room is jammed. Sharing a table in the quiet nook in the brewing area
adjacent to the tap room, Samantha Heck
of Elmsford (“just down the street,” she says) and Sean Palmer of Brewster (little known fact: a “brewster” is a
female brewer) are enjoying a couple brews. Samantha loves the Pumpkin Ale,
while Sean is all about the Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA. The couple was
never happier than when Captain Lawrence offered an Imperial Pumpkin Ale for a
short time earlier in the season.
“I’ll
try everything they make, but I’ll come back to the Imperial IPA,” Sean says.
He’ll
grab a sixer of the quirky new Hopsomniac, an india pale ale brewed with
Stumptown Coffee, for Thanksgiving dinner. “My brother is a hop-head like me,”
he says.
Sean is
thankful for a new law job and “my beautiful girlfriend,” he says. (Yes, that
would be Samantha, seated across the table.)
Samantha
smiles. “I’ll always be thankful for my family,” she adds.
The
Hopsomniac, a partnership between Captain Lawrence and Whole Foods, is also
going down easily out on the patio, despite temps hovering around freezing. A
hardy group plays bocce. The Gleason’s guys make pizza. Brandon Glen and Katie Reid
of Stamford are huddled around a barrel. Both are from the Midwest, so a little
nip in the air does not deter them.
Brandon
explains how the two ended up at Captain Lawrence.
“We
wanted coffee, or coffee-flavored beer,” he says.
The
latter obviously won out; Brandon’s got the Shakey Bones stout (“great espresso
flavors,” he says), she has the Hopsomniac. “My new favorite,” says Katie. “A
little bit of IPA comes through, and it’s toffee-ish when it warms a little.”
Brandon
moved east for work last year, and Katie joined him a few months ago. “It was
great to experience the area in the fall for the first time,” says Katie, an
Oklahoman. “And getting to do it with him was all the better.”
The pair
has plenty to be thankful for—being reunited, and a late fall day when you can
kind of, sort of, enjoy a beer outside. “It’s not nearly as cold,” says
Brandon, “when you have a drink in your hand.”
Captain Lawrence Brewing, at 444 Saw Mill River Road in Elmsford, is open Wednesday through Friday (4-8 p.m.), Saturday (12-6 p.m.) and Sunday (12-5). The author is paid by Captain Lawrence, partially in India Pale Ale.
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