Tag Archives: brewery tour

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company

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Contrary to popular belief, our annual “Octoberfest” weekend is not just the four of us sequestering ourselves in a man-cave and geeking out for three or four days. We do actually get out and do things.

This year, we hopped on Metro North for a few stops to visit the Captain Lawrence Brewing Company in Pleasantville, New York.

Captain Lawrence was established in 2006 by Scott Vaccaro. He was bitten by the homebrewing bug in 1995, and it simply snowballed from there. In just two-and-a-half short years, Captain Lawrence has quickly become one of the premier craft brewers in the United States. Not only has his beers won several awards, but was number five on Beer Advocate’s June 2007 list of the top 50 American brewers.

So, on a beautiful October Saturday afternoon, we popped in to sample some of their beers and take a tour. They are a relatively small operation, brewing 40 barrel batches a few times a week. They haven’t added any automation yet. Kegging and bottling (750ml) is still done by hand, although they are planning a 16 oz. bottling line.

The four of us sampled the five beers on tap (sadly, as we were constantly reminded, not the double IPA).

  • Sun Block (Belgian Style Wit)
  • Liquid Gold (an interesting hybrid with German Malt and Belgian yeast)
  • Brown Bird Brown Ale
  • Pale Ale
  • Smoked Porter

Overall, we liked the Pale Ale and the Brown Ale the best, although all five were well-crafted, fresh, and tasty.

The tour was interesting (if brief) and we bought Max (our host) a growler of the Brown Ale as a thank you gift.

If you find yourself in the Pleasantville area on a Friday evening or Saturday afternoon, it’s well worth a visit.

Update: I neglected to mention that the entire time we were there, there was a steady stream of people coming in to get their growlers refilled. A very positive sign, I’d say.

Membership has its privileges

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So, I’ve been a member of F.O.A.M. for the last year and a bit. I’m still not brewing as much as I would like*, but they’re a good bunch of guys (and gals) who love to talk about beer and brewing, and would never deign to make fun of anyone still using extracts.

Anyway, last night was our (postponed) February meeting, which for the last few years has been held at the Wild Goose Brewery. E.T. behind the bar was cheerfully passing out samples of several labels from Wild Goose and Flying Dog, as well as a tap for Backfin Pale Ale. Bob the head brewer came ’round to let us know that their Belgian Trippel (made with Westmalle yeast) and Biere de Garde would be coming out within the next four to six weeks.

I got to sample the last of Test Batch #69. They were very coy about whether this might become a commercial product or not. I thought it was interesting. The Gonzo Imperial Porter and Double Dog Double Ale were popular (and delicious) but I limited myself to one sample of each. (At ABVs over 9 and 10 percent respectively, it’s for the best.) I didn’t get to sample everything they have on tap. Good thing, too, or I wouldn’t have gotten home until the wee hours of this morning.

I also got to wander around the brewery a bit. One of the brewers—just moved out from Colorado—was showing some other folks around, so I tagged along and learned a few interesting things.

Afterwards, fellow F.O.A.M.er Rick and I stopped in at Barley and Hops. They had their new Barrel Aged Jim Stout on the hand pump (Oatmeal Stout aged in Jim Beam barrels), which was quite good. I also had a couple of glasses of the Schifferstadt Stout, a nice dry stout that was just smooth and creamy. It was excellent, and just what I want when I think “stout”.

A good meeting.

* Heck I’m not writing here as often I would like. I’ve been darn busy.

“Georgia on my Mind”

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Or maybe that should be “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”.

Georgia is not a state for beer enthusiasts. A decade ago there were eight breweries in Georgia. Now, there are three. Colorado, with half the population, has 44 breweries.

And it could get worse.

Fortune Small Business: Georgia breweries dry up

New rules governing brewery tours could reduce that number to zero, says Fred Bensch, owner of Sweetwater Brewing (sweetwaterbrew.com) in Atlanta, by driving away thirsty crowds and eliminating the brewers’ best marketing tool.

“This would totally cripple us,” he says. The dispute has been fermenting since May, when the Georgia Department of Revenue proposed limiting tastings to two ounces per brew. Under pressure, the revenuers raised the limit to 24 ounces, but with stipulations: Breweries can’t serve samples until tours are over, they can’t pour any beer if they charge admission (Sweetwater charges $8), and Sunday tastings are verboten.

It seems the entire Southeastern United States, excepting perhaps, Asheville, North Carolina, is rather hostile toward beer and alcohol. I guess none of us should be surprised that the NeoProhibitionists are so strong in the Bible Belt.