The Westchester County Center. It is home to the Westchester
Knicks, a far more palatable version of the team than their varsity siblings
down in the city. It is home to reptile shows, the circus, Disney Live! and,
for one blessed night each February, the Big Brew NY Beer Festival.
They came from all over—far flung breweries such as Abita in
Louisiana and Stone Brewing in San Diego, and closer to home operations such as
Peekskill Brewery, Broken Bow and, of course, Captain Lawrence.
The guys of CL are pouring both a perennial favorite and a
season-specific favorite: The Hop Commander IPA, made with West Coast hops, and
the full bodied Smoked Porter that pairs so nicely with a frigid, unforgiving winter.
Nick Anderson of Dobbs Ferry goes
for the high-gravity black beers, and sports a Frost Monster t-shirt as he
hangs out near the Captain Lawrence booth. “I turned 21 this year,” he says.
“I’ve been waiting to come for years.”
His favorites on the evening so far are Smoking Wood Rye
from The Bruery out of Orange County, California, the Kelso Fuku from Brooklyn,
and the Smoked Porter from Captain Lawrence. Nick is understandably at a loss
to describe the scene around him. “It’s the promised land, it’s God land, it’s
beer land,” he says. “It’s f***ing fantastic, that’s what it is.”
Well said, lad, and welcome to the legal drinking age. Hitting
that milestone some time ago, Terry
Flanagan of White Plains and Tony
Desio of New Rochelle sport DeCicco’s t-shirts given out at the fest. Terry
learned of the beer bash on Facebook, and was actually able to walk to the County
Center. Tony describes his pal as a “scavenger” for fun stuff to do, especially
if there’s craft beer involved.
The two have been to beer events in Newburgh and at Hunter
Mountain, and find Big Brew NY more, well, boozer-friendly. “I like the fact
that there’s a lot of people, but you don’t have to wait in line for beer,”
says Tony.
Indeed, if there’s a modest line at one booth, chances are
there’s not at the guys’ next door. Terry says the beer fest has “opened my
eyes to so many different breweries.”
“Love the One Your With” cranks from the house system. The
mood is, as one might expect, jovial. There are pretzel necklaces and funny
beer t shirts and lots of beards. A police officer strolls the floor, smiling
at the colorful surroundings.
The Captain Lawrence diaspora is all over the arena. Former
CL brewer Matt Levy is giving an
interview with WFAS radio, which is set up on the floor; Matt departed CL to be
the brewer in Peekskill. Evan Watson
talks up his own Plan Bee Brewery.
There is Dogfish Head, and Peak Organic, and Bronx Brewery; Weyerbacher,
Long Ireland and dozens others. Captain Lawrence sports a new logo. Around the
CL table, Don O’Neill of Stamford is
making new friends. Not all bosses are horrible—in fact, Don’s told him about
the festival. With so many breweries to digest, he’s got a novel strategy,
snapping photos of the booths and beers he likes. Don admits it was a bit
overwhelming when he and his wife walked in.
“It was, that’s a lot of beer—where do I start?”
After they strolled one of the aisles, it was time to
regroup. “We said, we’re only a third of the way through,” says Don. “So we had
to get some popcorn.”
There is that, and hot dogs from Nathan’s, dairy delicacies
from The Cow and the Curd, and spicy BBQ from the ladies of Handsome Devil.
Captain Lawrence’s packaging manager, Randy Shull, takes it all in with a grin. He’s been to oodles of
beer fests, but says there’s something special about attending one so close to
home. “It’s great to experience new beer, both local breweries and national,” Randy
says. “It’s good to finally have a festival in our own backyard.
”
—Michael Malone (malone5a@yahoo.com)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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