The Captain’s Log: A Thanksgiving Day Monster, and We Don’t Mean Turducken

The leaves are all but down, the cold weather is very definitely upon us, and the tap lineup at Captain Lawrence has shifted to heartier brews. The Frost Monster is back! Hibernating all summer, the monstrous imperial stout, brewed with a massive amount of malt and sporting a fearsome 11% alcohol by volume, is on draft and available in four-packs. The Monster’s makeup is slightly different from last year’s iteration. “We cranked up the roasted malts—we’re always trying to make things better,” says owner Scott Vaccaro. “It’s a big, strong, warming beer.”

Nearly as bold—OK, nothing is really nearly as bold as the Frost Monster. But also packing a substantial punch is new release Hopsomniac IPA. A partnership between Captain Lawrence and Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Hopsomniac is an india pale ale brewed with Stumptown Cold Brew coffee. The coffee side of the equation is rich and intense, and the IPA end citrusy and hoppy. It’s unique and it’s good, and it’s for sale at Whole Foods and at Captain Lawrence.

“Hopsomniac combines the best elements of an IPA and a good cup of coffee,” says Scott. “What better way to stay up late, drinking IPAs than drinking them with coffee?”

Sticking with the big, bold beer theme, the Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA—for years a draft beer and a 17-ounce bottle sold individually—will debut as a four-pack of traditional 12-ouncers in January. “It’s more bang for your buck,” says Scott of the new packaging.

And that same Imperial IPA—it’s perhaps the most popular offering in the tasting room—has led the Captain’s charge into Philadelphia. The Imperial IPA kegs arrived in the City of Rocky, Adrian and Brotherly Love a few weeks ago, and followed by the Smoked Porter in the next few weeks, the IPA in December and the rest in January. All are in kegs; Captain Lawrence six-packs hit Philadelphia further along in ’15. Philly represents a major branching out for Captain Lawrence. (For the record, famous resident Ben Franklin did not actually say “Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy,” though countless t shirts at beer fests credit him for saying it.)

Such expanded production requires extra brewing space, and Scott is planning to take on an extra 4,800 square feet next to the existing 19,000 square foot facility in February. The extra leg room allows for both barrel storage and a second bottling line. Oak tanks are en route from all over the globe, including a pair of 1,400-gallon vessels from a winery in San Diego, and two more 800-gallon barrels from Italy. All told, more than 4,000 gallons worth of oak tanks are headed to Elmsford.

Any of the aforementioned full-bodied beers would be a fine selection to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. The brewery has also held back a batch of Pumpkin Ale kegs, with growler fills on sale this week. They’ll go quickly.

Other Turkey Day options include small batch brews like the easy drinking Hop Chug IPA, a 4.9% ABV beer brewed with Mosaic and Chinook hops; and Second Runnings, a cousin of the Frost Monster jazzed up with espresso from Black Cow in Pleasantville.

Scott says the classics do just fine on Thanksgiving too. “There’s nothing like a cold Freshchester Pale Ale,” he says, “to go with turkey, football and family.” 

Notes From the Captain Lawrence Tasting Room: The Best Fest In All of Westchester

It was among the greatest days ever for New York-based craft beer fans. There were two full blown brew festivals Saturday—the cleverly titled Hops and Props bash under the Spirit of St. Louis and other vintage aircraft at the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Long Island, and Big Brew New York at the Westchester County Center.

Captain Lawrence was pouring at both. It being closer to home, we ventured to the County Center for a few samples and laughs. The trip was a longer one for Gil Perrone, who’d just touched down after a few weeks skiing, and quaffing beer, in Austria. He’s enjoying the Smoked Porter and the Imperial IPA at the Captain Lawrence booth. “You can’t compare Austrian beers to these,” he says. “There’s just not the same bite over there.”

Gil does cop to being biased; after all, he’s the father of Justin Perrone, one of the CL beer pourers for the

evening, and creator of the rookie standout Frost Monster. Gil says his son’s imperial stout fits his palate perfectly: full bodied, smoky, dark. “I’m excited for him,” Gil says of the Monster’s smashing success.

Perhaps owing to home field advantage, Captain Lawrence holds down some good real estate at the County Center: adjacent to New York neighbors Kelso and Peekskill Brewery, around the corner from Sierra Nevada, and not far from the men’s room. Across the aisle, a booth sells Guinness and Jameson’s hoodies and rugby shirts.

Anthony DeMaio of Yonkers has a unique shirt: It says, “I’m Not Drunk—I’m Awesome.” He got to know the Captain after dropping in to the tasting room following his shifts down the road at the Elmsford Post Office. His nephew told him about the beer fest, and he was all in. “It’s unbelievable, it’s outrageous,” Anthony says, scanning the broad vista of microbrew booths. “I took a cab, so I don’t have to worry about driving home. It’s a nice crowd—no ghetto trash.”

The crowd is indeed chill—happy, ebullient but not rowdy, and taking the longer lines—Dogfish Head, Troegs, Allagash, the men’s room—in cheerful stride. (You truly did not want to fall asleep in some dark corner of the County Center, with the Reptile Show rolling in the following day.)

Lisa Gorman, Michelle Smith and Michelle Mascetta, all of Yonkers, say Big Brew NY is an

opportunity to taste something fresh. “We always drink the same beers,” says one of the Michelles, I honestly forget which, mentioning Bud and Corona. “It’s good to try something new.”

They’re digging beers from Blue Point and Brooklyn Brewery. Lisa has one suggestion: hold the event outside. OK, two: outside, and not in February.

While there are over 300 beers to try with your adorable little sample mug, there’s a surprising number of non-beer booths too. Shari Wagner trekked from Long Island to sell snazzy bottle opener plaques featuring melted beer bottles affixed to wood; I see the Captain Lawrence IPA and the Winter Ale, among many others, creatively repurposed. At $35 a pop, business is good, she says, “but I don’t get to walk around.”

There’s a Jewelry Studio booth full of bling. Another one sells beer pong tables for $175—or $170, or $165, or $160, if you land your ball in the right cup. The tables are—get this—electric, with a refrigerated triangle to rest the beers on. “My son came up with the idea,” says Lynn Herro. “He’s the brains, I’m the bankroll.”

There’s a guitar guy playing songs that go well with a beer in your hand, such as “Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard”, and a food truck has somehow squeezed inside the arena. It sells Wisconsin cheese curds with three sauces specifically designed for the craft beer crowd, says owner Rob Mitchell: sriracha mayo for summer beers, chipotle mayo for lagers, and a zesty smoked ketchup for the type of palates assembled in the arena this eve. “Curd is the word!” enthuses Rob, who drove the rig up from Philly. “We do one thing well—Wisconsin batter fried cheese curds.”

Meanwhile, back at the Captain Lawrence booth, Justin and Anthony Perillo are winning fans and making

friends. Brian Kantor of Manhattan is devouring a Smoked Porter. “You don’t get too many smoked American beers,” he says. “This is rich.”

Pal Jesse Pauker of Scarsdale saw mention of Big Brew NY on Facebook. “I thought, Whoa! This is a badass beer fest,” he says, and compelled Brian to spend his Saturday night in White Plains.

“He dragged me to the suburbs,” says Brian with a smile and a hoist of his mini-mug. “And it was worth the trip.”

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.


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/

Notes from the Captain Lawrence Tasting Room

Beers That Defy Description

Enjoying a beer is easy. Describing exactly why you enjoy it? Not so much. Sure, it’s good, and it’s bubbly, and it’s a pleasant color. But what does it taste like?

Those stuffy wine reviews, with their “oaky” and “jammy” and “gamey,” show just how ridiculous descriptions of potent potables can get. Reviews for cigars (“earthy,” “toasty”) and scotch (“tastes like an old leather boot”) aren’t much better.

The guys at the brewery admit that, even as professionals, it’s tough coming up with meaningful descriptions for the beers. So we asked the good, creative folks in the tasting room to pitch in on this front. There are no wrong answers, they were told. Just have a sip, and spit out the first descriptive words that come to mind.

It’s a cloudless Friday and the mood in the Captain Lawrence tasting room is, as usual, upbeat. There’s a hulking man in a kilt, a handsome black lab, and some sunburned Yankee fans riding high after an Opening Day shutout at the Stadium. The Allman Brothers are on the stereo. There’s Captain’s Kolsch and Imperial IPA and Liquid Gold, among others, on tap. Vinnie Crodelle and Kurt Gabel are fresh off a day’s work for the Department of Environmental Protection in Valhalla. Crodelle clearly has a knack for slinging it around, describing his Freshchester Pale Ale as an “austere and sinister explosion,” leading to a feeling of “general well being.”

Gabel laughs—he too is experiencing the general well being—before toning it down a few notches. His Kolsch is “crisp--like a nice fall afternoon.”

Nearby, Sophia Ressler of White Plains sounds as though she’s auditioning for a DEP job with Vinnie and Kurt, tapping an array of flora and fauna for adjectives. Her Liquid Gold is “piney and citrusy,” with a “definite hops taste.” (Not bad—this very site goes environmental as well in describing the Gold: “Aromas of orange, spice, and green grass.”)

To Ressler, the Liquid Gold--a mix of German malts and American hops--is a “spring walk in the woods.”

Speaking of heady German-American mixes, Zoltan Gall says the Captain’s Kolsch is the only American beer he’ll drink. (Before settling in Pleasantville, Gall lived in Hungary, Cologne and Transylvania. “At midnight, my fangs start to come out,” he says of his time in the latter.) A recently retired research scientist (“Not beer,” he laments), Gall quaffs his beloved Kolsch and ruminates.

“It has body,” the stone-faced sipper says. “It is as bitter as I like it. Very refreshing. A clean aftertaste that cleanses your palate.”

His son, an aspiring lawyer named Ian Sebastian, shakes his head and smiles. “The fact that he likes an American beer, period,” says Ian. “It’s surprising.”

Ian samples an Imperial Pale Ale (“Intense,” he says. The Captain Lawrence site says “citrus and pine,” with “some hoppy bitterness.”) His law school pal Ryan Nolan--no relation to Nolan Ryan, if you’re scoring at home--has just walked in, and Ian says Ryan is as savvy a beer connoisseur as one might hope to meet.

Yet pressed for some winning adjectives to describe his Liquid Gold, Ryan, visiting from Rye, fairly freezes up.

Moments later, he paints a picture like his inverted namesake painting the outside corner of the plate. “Yeasty, a little floral, a little tingly,” he says. “Some spice on the back of the throat.”

At another barrel, Michelle Tuzzio and Art Bartosch, easily the best dressed couple in the tasting room, enjoy their glasses of Kolsch. Michelle, of West Milford, New Jersey, offers up “freshness.” Art, from Yorktown, does her one…two…three… better. “The beginning of the weekend, how better to start off than with a fresh, cold tantalizing beer that stimulates the palate and gets the endorphins rocking and rolling. Gears you up for the weekend, makes you look forward to the next glass.”

Michelle laughs. Art catches his breath.

OK, maybe the Kolsch-loving Transylvanian had it right.

“A great beer, you love it, you enjoy it,” says Zoltan. “You don’t describe it.”

Captain Lawrence is open Tuesday through Friday (retail 2-7 p.m., and samples 4-7 p.m.); and Saturdays, with retail and samples 12-6 p.m., and brewery tours at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. The author is paid, partially in beer, by Captain Lawrence for “Notes From the Tasting Room.”