Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.

Stopped by on a rainy Sunday evening. High ceilings with basic wooden tables, plus a few barrels with metal stools. Outdoor seating as well. Beer selection was varied. Ordering and pickup was at the counter; no obvious bar to speak of. Beer quality was fine, some better than others. Gift shop with to-go cans and other merchandise, plus taps to fill growlers.

Sunday in Westchester. I’ll be heading into work in a few hours to yell at people and clean up the messes of children (maturity, not age), but right now I’m thinking maybe I’ll just get there the long way around. PIP, TZ, 287 for a hot second, 119 for 2 blocks, 9A, right turn, left turn, and actually got parking in the lot so you know I got there early. We’ve come a long way since the Pville tasting room and that Cuvee de Castleton GABF Gold win back in ’07...

You’re greeted inside by a large logo sun piece with staves a-crazy. Left through beer to go & merchville, and a corridor beyond; its slight overhead there made of barrel or foeder staves with exploded keg lamps suspended that are pretty boss. And out the other side to the main room; awards, medals, press pieces, the far end bar seemingly unused now but for events, and a wall of windows looking in on the brewery.

And back the other way. I’ll be at the bar; a long slab with a base of horizontal staves on the inside wall. It’s pretty much service only save the 5 red & black metal chairs on the far end; I’m in seat 1 which seemed like a good idea at the time but I almost elbowed an inattentive child in the head as he came up alongside me with his mom who was ordering (sorry, kid, that’s “life during wort-time” right there). Barback cargo container wall in lime green with a black stripe. Untapped board on center (beer, style, & ABV) sits above a trio of tap panels, each holding 8 non-descript wooden handles. Another panel with 20 alt height high low high low handles sits on the other end. Boards to both sides talking beer & spirits in alt colored chalkings with tiered booze fronting and shelving around it with 4 packs, 6 packs, booze, old CL bottles, and bric-a-brac (light signage, growlers, steins, glassware, dangling hops). Let us not speak of the far end slushy machine, no. Do not make direct eye contact with it’s swirling curling storm of desire. Glassware shelved below because it’s got to go somewhere.

Pebbled concrete floors and a vaulted black corrugated ceiling beyond the bar with dangle 3 ring chandeliers & ductwork. Walls in yellow, green, & brown with a large hop farm mural & a logo piece on the far wall, brewery print & flats (showing soccer today), and a sprawling brewing process mural and event/draft/rules boards above the bar with CL cans riding an I-beam there. Upwards of 2.5 dozen tables; high and low and shared and picnic across the room. A food pick up counter and a collection of far corner foudres over my right shoulder, and hey, there’s a distillery through them windows there (me, pointing).

I went on walkabout as one does. 3 dozen picnic tables in the outdoor biergarten space umbrella’d up and/or under triangle shade covers, + a band set up, at least for the 1 guy out there who is setting up. Gravel, fencings, barrels, and strung lighting from here to there and back. The area is 2 tiered, with bocce above and cornhole on the far end. I’ve seen food trucks out here. I’ve attended a beer festival out here. I’ve sat and had a few beers out here. There’s a smaller set up with a handful of tables penned around the bend out near where I parked.

So, beer. There were 13 beers up + a cider, seltzer, & NA. I started with the Clearwater Kolsch, 4.9%, hoppier than expected, fruity esters, solid; Orange Crusher, American Light Lager with orange, orange, & orange, 4.8%, heavier on the noise than the palate, an easy drinker; Freshchester Pale Ale, 5.5%, a lot more malt forward than I remember it being; Hop Commander, IPA, 6.5%, dank & assertive as actual fuck; Classic Lager, American Lager, 4.2%, mad light, easy drinking.

And on a very recent revisit, I hit the Kolsch & Hop Commander again and then jumped in on some new things. 18th Orbit, DIPA, 7%, clean, bitter, very nice; Deeply Rooted, India Pale Lager, 6.5%, malt forward but has a hop bite behind it, sure, not my fave; Golden Delicious, Belgian Tripel in Apple Brandy barrels, 10% and tracks, big & boozy, same as it ever was; Pacific Dawn, WC DIPA, 9%, bitter, piney, dank, beautiful; Giving in on the Dark, Chocolate Cherry Stout, 10%, imperial Stout, didn’t get the cherry so much, but it’s a nice stout in and of itself.

Clearwater Kolsch, 18th Orbit DIPA, Hop Commander IPA, Giving in on the Dark Chocolate Cherry Stout, & Pacific Dawn WC IPA for the wins.

And oh, I don’t know, maybe a light bite, right? Ordered the dry chili rub wings. I got 12, twice as good as 6, that’s maths right there. They were hearty, not like them little boolshit wings you get at places that are not here. J & D behind the bar listening to my old stupid beer stories. Las time out, it was a heavy bluegrass day, seemingly much to the chagrin of much of the staff, but they’re younguns. This time out, not so much, someone must have wrestled the remote away from Scotty. Chill Sunday in Westchester.

Before leaving CT, Capt. Lawrence (in the old location) was one of my weekly hangs. They were constantly releasing new wild ales and putting on fresh batches of double IPA that would kick from growlers just as fast as they were tapped. And best of all, Scott would be hanging out in the tasting room, often with his dad or other family around, creating a really homey brewery vibe.

Well, the brewery is no longer homey. CL has hit the big time, boys and girls, and there is no going back now! I managed to spy a couple-too-tree beer names that I remember from back in the day, but not as many as i'd have liked. High ceilings, huge spaces, an enormous retail shop with its own growler station, and an expansive outdoor patio; all of these show very general expansions that make sense but took away some of the magic that CL once had.

Speaking of magic, the kolsch and pale were fine but I was stoked to see Golden Delicious on the taplist, a belgian-style tripel ale aged in apple brandy barrels. What once was a very nuanced beer with a unique barrel note now comes across as an unknown syrupy base beer with bombed-out vanilla and butterscotch notes. You could have told me this was a bourbon barrel aged double ipa and i would not have disagreed with you. What a shame.

I must say all of the employees that I encountered were really nice and seemed to want to be there, although I did run in to a bad answer to a beer question that showed an obvious priority of friendliness over knowledge at this particular brewery.

Long gone are the halcyon days of CL-as-a-startup, but I wish they had held to a little of what made them special so that day one fans like me recognize something about the place when we finally get back. I guess I'll have to take pale and kolsch as those little bits of the past and shut my pie hole.

Last note: what the fuck is with breweries covering up their bocce courts??? Dogfish head and now CL? And these are breweries founded by Italian dudes? Unacceptable.

I went here for a fundraiser a year and a half ago, and I was pleasantly surprised at the ambiance of both the outdoor and indoor areas of Captain Lawrence. They have a diverse selection of beers, particularly their smoked porter, but I wasn't super impressed with their food menu.

Finding parking here is really difficult, but once you get here, it's cozy, comfortable, and the beer on tap is worth trying.

 

This brewery was awesome! Huge brewery with a big production facility and a big taproom with a nice outdoor seating. All their beer was really good and the staff were all super friendly! The manager Will took us on a free brewery tour! They had 18 beers on tap and 1 cider. Really great variety of styles too! Loved the vibe and everything about this brewery. Pizza was really good but, the crispy chicken sandwich was a let down. I will 100% be going here again!

 

 

 

Once you get settled, the vibe is typical brewery/warehouse, though there is a nice beer hall styled tap room and a large outdoor space with picnic tables. I understand that they are renovating now so I'm not overly concerned about the vibe. The brewery's signage needs a TON of work. From parking to ordering drinks, the layout is very confusing. Once you get oriented its not a major issue, just unwelcoming at first. The beer here is excellent overall, nice variety of sours, ipas, and dark beers. I enjoy that they offer pitchers as well. Food was ok- we tried the pretzel and fries. Not awful but nothing to write home about. It was prepared quickly after we order. Overall this is a nice stop. I will most likely visit again next time I'm in the area.

Vibe: suburban, yet industrial. Cozy.
Quality: Exceptional.
Service: Can get a bit busy leading to longer waits. Otherwise good service.
Selection: Wide ranging and good quality. Great ales.
Food: Fantastic. Lots of options and well made.

 

 

 

 

Take a bike from Van Cortland Park. Enjoy both sports and beer. Nice outdoor area, good for the kids. They can entertain themselves while you enjoy beer.

I had not been to the Captain Lawrence Brewery before, but have to say it is a really fun place. If you plan to visit, when you pull off at 444 Saw Mill River Road, the brewery will be nowhere in evidence. All you will see is a fairly nondescript corporate style building.

Drive around the right side of that building and, while you are in the moving company's lot, you will see the image above. The entrance is around in back of all that. Note, there is mandatory valet parking should you want to put the car in that small, inner lot; don't try to pull past the people out front.

The total space is very large. If you are only tasting, stop at the counter immediately to the right of the door. You will be able to purchase 5 oz sampler glasses and poker chips used to obtain the various brews on tap. Samples with ABVs of under 7.5% are one chip, over two, 12 chips, which go for $10, was enough for my wife and me to try 4 varieties.

The service area sports a couple of dozen taps with a broad variety of styles. Pint sized servings, growlers, bottles and cans are all purchased directly from the service bar. Food, consisting of both snacks and entrees is also available. The "Hanoi" pulled pork was delicious, but I found it and the french fried a bit salty.

The service itself was top notch: the servers were the most knowledgable and engaging I have seen at any establishment of this kind. We tried a gamut of offerings and I was impressed by the sours, especially Barrel Select Black, and the IPAs.

We went on St. Patrick's day. The vibe is very fun loving, people had clearly come with friends, kids, and dogs to hang out. There is definitely an interesting blend of contemporary hip and uber-traditional element that really add to the experience. The outer seating and service area open into a much larger space (with its own taps), which had no problem accommodating the holiday crowd.

We will definitely be back. If you are in the area, do consider a visit.

 

 

Nice beer with really smooth finish. You can smell a hint of apple when you open the bottle.

 

Terrific place to hang out on Sunday afternoon. Guy playing acoustic guitar in the brewery, sitting around barrels, with ample food and beer samples. Buy a 4 oz sample glass for $2 and 12 poker chips for $10. Each chip is worth a sample, with 12 beers available, including Hop Commander, Lemon Zinger, Brown Bird, all great. Too bad all the fruity sours are not available on tap, so we took 'em all home. Food menu includes great truffle fries, big ass pretzel with mustard, ribs and other beer-appropriate pairings.

Keep an eye out for the entrance, we missed is in one direction, but going the other direction a sign was visible. We went on a beautiful fall Saturday afternoon. There was ample outdoor and indoor seating available. Outside there was corn hole and bocce. Inside there is a medium size seating area with barrel type tables for four and picnic type tables for larger groups. There is also a more spacious area outside the tasting room with more seating and indoor corn hole. Food was available to order in the tasting room t o pick up at the bar. There is probably something for every type of diet (vegan, veg., paleo, low carb, see food) Everything was well organized. There was one line for tastings and 16oz fills. Another for 16oz, growler fills, and bottle/can purchases and another for food. You but a $2 5oz tasting glass that you take home and can reuse when visiting again. 5oz tastings are "bought' by chips. You can get 5 chips for $5 or 12 for $10. Most tastings cost 1 chip, but higher ABV beers are 2 chips.

Great place. For $7 you can get a sampler glass and 5 poker chips. Some of the premium beers are 2 chips. Great atmosphere with cornhole games and music. Selection is solid and service is very organized. Just a nice place to grab a beer.

 

Visited multiple times while in the area but realized I've never rated it. Was most recently there 9/14, so this review is a couple weeks late.

Great outside patio area, nice space inside, and a little brewing room seating area. Nice line up of beers at reasonable prices too.

 

 

This is one of the best breweries to which I've been. The beer selection was outstanding, execution was fantastic and the setting was good fun. It was a nice surpise, having had Capt. beer from bottles and on tap for a few years, only to find out how much better their operation when experienced up close.

Really great beer, friendly staff, good deals, and fun surround. Can't say about the food, except it seemed a bit pricey. Worst I can say is the place needs low cost snacks.

 

 

 

 

 

This place was better at it's old location in Pleasantville when it was much smaller and not as well known. They use to give free samples and it was real Westchester local spot that was a hidden gem. The type of place you could drink a Saturday away with complete strangers, not give a 2-legged dog in a wheel chair a second look kind of place because he just fit in, ya know? It was a matter of time before the word got out that the vibe was good, the beer was good, and the establishment worked hard for it. Unfortunately, in my opinion, and I've been to the new place in Elmsford a dozen times in Summer and Winter, but it's prime example of a local place getting too big for their britches. You see all sorts of yuppie hipsters from all the corners of the tri-state filtering in like cattle, paying high prices for olive and cheese plates, while they play bocce ball out back with their handlebar mustaches and Ray Ban sunglasses. I'm over the appeal. The beer ain't that good to pay those prices for amateur night.

Been to the Elmsford location twice. Very cool spot to hang out at; sometimes they do BBQ's or have food trucks, live music, and horse shoe pit. Inside is big, can get samples of their beers and always have some pilot series beers on. Don't expect to get their sours on tap or to send a whole afternoon there, but a fun visit.

 

I was thrilled to be visiting Captain Lawrence, since I'm a huge fan of their beers. They were better than from their taps, and we got some beautiful photos. Felt terrific being there.

Easy stop off I-287 in Weshtchester NY. Broad open bar that is well set up for both sampling and filling. There were about 14 beers on tap when I visited, along with a few bottles and sixers for take home. Pretty smart casino chip system lets you buy tokens in advance and redeem for tasting. Plenty of outdoor seating, including picnic tables, a bocce court, and a bag toss court. They also bring in outside restaurants to provide food - had a nice pizza/wing cookery when I arrived. Worth a visit for sure if you are travelling between the Tappan Zee and I-95.