When we
last saw Simon Ellis, it was
considerably nicer out. He was on the patio. The sun was shining. He was
contemplating exactly which beer should be chosen to deflower the finest
growler in the land. It was a retirement gift from his son in law, a ceramic
work of art adorned with the flag of Simon’s native United Kingdom.
On this
day, he was again looking to fill the jug, hours before Super Bowl kickoff.
Retirement
has been “wonderful”, Simon said. “Besides drinking beer, I’ve been building a
house, hiking, I play a little tennis,” he added. “The days get filled.”
So does
the growler; it may be the Just Ryght Rye IPA he was enjoying alongside pal John Andersen, also of Katonah.
While
Simon had the coolest growler, John had the best growler-hauler—a converted
milk crate built to transport six jugs, with a built in sample-glass rack riding
side saddle. “I always get a few growlers, and I’d always forget my glass,” said
John. “It just works.”
All the
Seussian contraption needed was a name. The Pourter? Crate Expectations? Hop To
It? That, and some shoulder straps, added John.
Also
filling up the growlers were Tracey Koch
and Cindy Richardson of Tarrytown.
“Our husbands don’t need to because we are,” said Tracey, music to any
husband’s ears. It was the Liquid Gold and the Freshchester Pale Ale for their
64-ounce vessels.
Cindy
was cheering for the Seahawks, because the Patriots, quite simply, “cheat,” she
said. Tracey, like many in New York, was rooting for “my numbers in the pool to
come up.”
Emily Barry of White Plains was similarly
disinterested in the Bowl. She was headed to a party, but seemed more
interested in the food, the beer, the commercials. “I’m not watching,” she said
defiantly. (While it turned out to be a thrilling game, for many in the tasting
room, the highlight may have been Budweiser calling out those fancy craft brews
in a commercial.)
“You’ll
watch people watch the Super Bowl,” added friend A.P. Orlebeke.
Rocking
a necktie, perhaps the first in the Captain Lawrence tasting room since County Exec Rob Astorino rolled in for an IPA,
A.P. was clearly the best dressed guy in the room. “Dress to impress,” he said.
“When you don’t have muscles or tats or scars, you dress to impress.”
A.P. had
his heart set on a brewery tour, googled local breweries, and “found a
wonderful brewery tour in my backyard.” Alas, he and Emily missed the call for
the 4 p.m. tour, and will have to wait another week.
In the
meantime, there were beers to sample. Emily had the Liquid Gold, A.P. the Hop
Commander IPA. “I recently got into IPAs,” he said. “I like the complexity of
the flavors.”
Nearby, Howie Ciarcia of Port Chester has been
on a few Captain Lawrence tours in his time. He’s a CL “groupie,” he said,
dating back to the brewery’s Pleasantville days. These days, his beer of choice
is something of a dark horse—actually, a Brown Bird Ale, to be specific. “It’s
flavorful but not too heavy,” Howie said.
He and Debbie Bunnell, also of Port Chester,
were headed to Howie’s brother’s house for the big game. Debbie disliked the
Seahawks a little less than the Patriots. “Seattle is arrogant, and New England
is a cheater,” she said. “Being arrogant is part of the game. Cheating is not.”
Indeed,
for many, choosing between the Patriots and the Seahawks was like choosing
between a headache and a stomach ache. Howie spoke for many with his pre-game
assessment: “I don’t like neither one.”
Captain Lawrence Brewing, at 444 Saw Mill River Road in Elmsford, is open Wednesday through Friday, with weekend brewery tours on the hour, starting at 1. The author is paid by Captain Lawrence, partially in Freshchester Pale Ale.
http://www.captainlawrencebrewing.com/notes-from-the-tasting-room-vol-78/
No comments:
Post a Comment