captain lawrence brewery {westchester}

When we go to the States at Christmas time, we always stay at my sister’s house in Westchester for the actual holiday. We’ve done it so often that there are certain rituals we’ve developed, which all involve shopping for food and/or drink.  If we do a Seven Fishes dinner on the 24th, then we head to nearby Mount Kisco Seafood at the crack of dawn to buy fish. We always make a stop at Rochambeau Wine Store, even if we don’t really need to. And of course there is a last minute run to Whole Foods in White Plains because, well, we always forgot something.

This year we added one more thing, which I sincerely hope will become part of the yearly tradition. We headed over to the local brewery to fill up our growlers. Growlers, in case you were wondering, are another name for 2-liter jugs. (who knew?) and my brother in law Phil very much likes to keep his topped up. Especially around the holidays.

As we were getting into the car, empty growlers safely stowed in the back seat, Phil quickly ran back into the house and came back with three glasses. Seeing my quizzical look, he explained: “For tastings!” 

The outing was getting better all the time.

The brewery we went to is Captain Lawrence. And it turns out a lot of other people had the same idea. By the time we got there, 10 minutes before they were scheduled to open on the day before Christmas, a line had formed outside the door. All men, standing patiently, growlers in hand.

Once we got inside, Phil got in the growler line, while handing me several tokens he had already bought. “You go get in the tasting line, and make sure you get an India Pale Ale, you’ll love it.” And I did. That as well as two others, including the Smoked Porter which was amazing.

In the meantime Phil had  the growlers filled with Smoked Porter, Ginger Man Ale and Captain’s Reserve, and just for good measure we got a six pack of Frosted Monster.

While the three growlers looked huge, and were heavy as I held them in the back seat of the car heading back home, they definitely must have been smaller than they seemed. Because by the next day they were completely empty. I guess next year the tradition has to include at least one more growler.

Captain Lawrence Brewery
444 Sawmill Road, Elmsford, NY
914-741-BEER(2337)