Captain Lawrence Brewing Company: A Westchester Craft Beer Pioneer

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company, located in Elmsford, New York, stands as a beacon of craft brewing in the Hudson Valley. Founded in 2006 by Scott Vaccaro, the brewery has grown from a small operation in Pleasantville to a 33,000-square-foot destination in Elmsford. Captain Lawrence is known for brewing a wide range of beer styles, producing as many as one hundred brands a year.Vaccaro's journey began with home brewing at the age of 17 and led him to study fermentation science at UC Davis. After gaining experience at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, he returned to New York and established Captain Lawrence, pioneering craft brewing in Westchester County. The brewery quickly gained recognition for its sour and barrel-aged beers, winning its first of several Great American Beer Festival (GABF) medals in 2007.Today, Captain Lawrence is celebrated for its fresh IPAs, drinkable lagers, flavorful stouts, and diverse specialty craft beers. The Elmsford location features a tasting room, a full-service restaurant that opened in May 2019, and a sour ale production wing called the Fermento Funk Facility. With nine oak foudres and hundreds of wine barrels, they produce a variety of sour ales. In October 2020, Captain Lawrence opened the Mt Kisco Barrel House in Mount Kisco, NY.The brewery also strives to be environmentally conscious, donating spent grain to local farmers for cattle feed. Captain Lawrence has won several accolades, including Best of Westchester Magazine awards and NY Craft Beer Competition awards.