Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
An independent American craft brewery in Elmsford, New York, known for Belgian-influenced ales, sour beers, barrel aging, and hop-forward modern styles.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Captain Lawrence Brewing Company is an American craft brewery based in Elmsford, New York. Founded in 2006 by Scott Vaccaro, the brewery developed from Vaccaro's early interest in homebrewing and formal study of fermentation science at the University of California, Davis. Before establishing Captain Lawrence, Vaccaro gained practical experience through an internship at Adnams Brewery in the United Kingdom and professional work at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and the Colorado Brewery in Danbury, Connecticut. The brewery began in Pleasantville, New York, on a 20-barrel brewing system. After roughly five years, demand for additional production space, bottling capability, and fermentation capacity led to a move approximately five miles away to Elmsford. The Elmsford facility began operating in 2011 with a 40-barrel brewing system, additional fermentation capacity, and a smaller seven-barrel system for experimental and specialty batches. A tasting room opened there in February 2012. The facility later expanded to include a dedicated sour-beer operation known as the Fermento Funk Facility, which opened in 2014. That wing uses oak foudres, large-format oak vessels, and numerous wine barrels for fermentation, blending, and aging. The Elmsford site eventually grew to approximately 33,000 square feet and added a full-service restaurant in May 2019. Captain Lawrence's brewing identity combines traditional European inspiration with American ingredients and techniques. Many beers draw on Belgian ale traditions, including blondes, dubbels, tripels, and strong golden ales, while the brewery also produces American pale ales, West Coast and hazy India pale ales, lagers, porters, stouts, and seasonal beers. Sour and wild ales are an important part of the portfolio, with some beers fermented or conditioned using bacteria, Brettanomyces, grapes, and oak. Barrel aging extends beyond sour beer to strong ales, with releases matured in wine, rum, apple-brandy, and other barrels. Representative beers have included Cuvée De Castleton, a grape-influenced wild ale associated with Brettanomyces and recognized with a gold medal at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival; Clearwater Kölsch, first brewed in 2010 and formerly called Captain's Kölsch; Hop Commander, a West Coast IPA; Citra Dreams and Orbital Tilt, hazy or hop-forward IPA offerings; and a range of strong, smoked, dark, Belgian-inspired, and experimental beers. The brewery has also produced collaborative and locally connected releases, including Birra DeCicco with DeCicco & Sons and Katchkie Harvest Ale with Katchkie Farm and chef Robb Garceau of Great Performances. In October 2020, Captain Lawrence opened the Mt Kisco Barrel House in Mount Kisco, New York. The venue serves beer and also supports barrel storage and blending activities involving beer and spirits. The company has emphasized environmental practices typical of small-scale breweries, including providing spent grain to a local farmer for use as cattle feed. Its name comes from Captain Lawrence Drive in South Salem, New York, the road associated with Vaccaro's childhood home; that street commemorates Samuel Lawrence, an eighteenth-century captain in the Westchester County Militia during the American Revolution.
History
Captain Lawrence Brewing Company was established in 2006 by Scott Vaccaro, whose interest in brewing began during adolescence after he received permission to participate in a friend's homebrewing. Vaccaro initially enrolled at Villanova University to study accounting, but changed direction after deciding that professional brewing was his preferred career. He transferred to the University of California, Davis, where he studied fermentation science. His early industry experience included an internship at Adnams Brewery in England, followed by work at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and the Colorado Brewery in Danbury, Connecticut. The brewery's first production site was on Castleton Street in Pleasantville, New York. It operated a 20-barrel brewing system and established a local reputation for beers that connected Belgian brewing traditions with American ingredients and interpretation. As production grew, the original site became inadequate for a bottling line and a larger brewing operation. After approximately five years, the company moved to Elmsford, about five miles from Pleasantville. The new facility began operating in 2011 with a 40-barrel system, greater fermentation capacity, and a seven-barrel pilot system for small experimental and specialty batches. Captain Lawrence opened a tasting room at the Elmsford brewery in February 2012. The site later developed a stronger focus on sour and mixed-culture beer. In 2014, the company added the Fermento Funk Facility, a sour-ale production wing containing nine oak foudres, five large oak rounds, and hundreds of wine barrels. These vessels supported beers involving oak aging, bacterial sourness, wild yeast, fruit or grape influence, and blending. This work became a central element of the brewery's identity alongside its Belgian-style ales and American hop-driven beers. The brewery's broader range has included pale ales, West Coast IPAs, hazy IPAs, lagers, Kölsch-style beer, porters, stouts, strong dark ales, Belgian-style blondes, dubbels and tripels, smoked beers, and seasonal releases. Cuvée De Castleton, a wild ale made with Muscat grapes and Brettanomyces, won a gold medal for American-style sour ale at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival. Clearwater Kölsch, first brewed in 2010 under the earlier name Captain's Kölsch, became another established offering. Other releases demonstrated the brewery's willingness to use unusual ingredients and collaborations, including Fudgie the Beer, a stout made with Carvel chocolate crunchies, Birra DeCicco with Westchester grocery company DeCicco & Sons, and Katchkie Harvest Ale, developed with Katchkie Farm and chef Robb Garceau of Great Performances. The Elmsford property expanded to roughly 33,000 square feet and added a full-service restaurant in May 2019. This development made the brewery more than a production site by combining brewing, tasting, food service, and visitor-oriented experiences. In October 2020, Captain Lawrence opened the Mt Kisco Barrel House in Mount Kisco, New York. In addition to serving beer, the location was designed for barrel storage and blending of beer and spirits. The company has described environmentally conscious practices associated with small-brewery operations, including supplying spent grain to a nearby farmer for cattle feed. Its brewing process uses stainless-steel cylindro-conical fermentation vessels for much of its production, while the sour and barrel-aging program relies on specialized oak and wine-barrel infrastructure. The name Captain Lawrence comes from Captain Lawrence Drive in South Salem, New York, the road associated with Vaccaro's childhood home. The road was named for Samuel Lawrence, an eighteenth-century captain in the Westchester County Militia during the American Revolution.
- 2020
Mt Kisco Barrel House opens
[1]Captain Lawrence establishes a second venue in Mount Kisco for beer service, barrel storage, and blending activities.
- 2019
Full-service restaurant opens at the expanded brewery
[1]The Elmsford complex expands its hospitality offering with a restaurant.
- 2014
Fermento Funk Facility opens
[1]A dedicated sour-beer wing is added with foudres, oak vessels, and wine barrels.
- 2012
Elmsford tasting room opens
[1]Captain Lawrence adds a public tasting room at its production brewery.
- 2011
Elmsford brewery begins operation
[1]The company moves from Pleasantville to a larger Elmsford facility with expanded brewing and fermentation capacity.
- 2010
Captain's Kölsch is first brewed
[1]The Kölsch-style beer later known as Clearwater Kölsch is introduced.
- 2007
Cuvée De Castleton wins a Great American Beer Festival gold medal
[1]The brewery's grape-influenced wild ale receives gold recognition in the American-style sour ale category.
- 2006
Captain Lawrence Brewing Company is founded
[1]Scott Vaccaro establishes the brewery in Westchester County, New York, beginning operations in Pleasantville on a 20-barrel system.
Products and positioning
An independent regional craft brewery combining Belgian-inspired brewing, American hop varieties, mixed-culture fermentation, barrel aging, seasonal experimentation, and hospitality-led brewery experiences.
Wild and sour ale
Cuvée De Castleton
An American wild ale fermented with Muscat grapes and Brettanomyces. The beer is associated with Captain Lawrence's early mixed-culture and barrel-oriented brewing program and won a gold medal in the American-style sour ale category at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival.
Kölsch-style ale · 2010
Clearwater Kölsch
A Kölsch-style beer first brewed in spring 2010 under the name Captain's Kölsch. It represents the brewery's lighter, traditional European-inspired side in contrast to its stronger ales, sour beers, and hop-intensive IPAs.
West Coast India pale ale
Hop Commander
A classic West Coast IPA built around pine and citrus character. The beer is dry hopped with Pacific Northwest Citra, Centennial, and Bravo hops, reflecting the brewery's American interpretation of hop-forward ale styles.
Hazy India pale ale
Citra Dreams
A Northeast-style hazy IPA centered on Citra hops. Its profile is described as smooth and expressive, with orange, grapefruit, and resinous notes.
Hazy India pale ale
Orbital Tilt
A moderately strong hazy IPA using Mosaic hops for pronounced aroma and flavor. It belongs to the brewery's modern American IPA range and emphasizes a softer body with intense hop expression.
Dessert stout
Fudgie the Beer
A stout flavored with Carvel chocolate crunchies, drawing on the flavor profile of the Fudgie the Whale ice-cream cake. The release illustrates Captain Lawrence's use of recognizable regional food references in specialty beer.
Belgian-style strong golden ale
Xtra Gold
A strong golden ale inspired by the Belgian Abbey Tripel tradition but adapted with American hop varieties, including Amarillo. It combines a high-strength golden-ale structure with a more American hop contribution.
Barrel-aged American tripel
Golden Delicious
A strong American tripel aged in oak apple-brandy barrels. The barrel treatment adds a distinctive spirits-derived dimension to the Belgian-inspired strong ale base.
Smoked porter
Imperial Smoked Porter
A high-strength porter made with German smoked malt. It represents the brewery's darker and more intense specialty-beer program, which also includes barrel-aged smoked releases.
American sour ale
Rosso e Marrone
A grape-influenced American sour ale aged in oak barrels. Its Italian name means red and brown, and the beer has also been described in beer references as resembling a Flanders oud bruin.
Belgian-style dubbel
St. Vincent's Dubbel
A richly flavored, malty brown ale modeled on the Belgian Abbey Dubbel style. It is part of Captain Lawrence's long-running engagement with traditional Belgian beer forms.
Collaborative specialty beer
Birra DeCicco
A limited collaborative release made with DeCicco & Sons, a Westchester County grocery chain. The label describes it as a malt beverage brewed with chestnut honey and jam, linking the brewery to a local food-and-retail partner.
Farm-to-table collaboration
Katchkie Harvest Ale
A collaboration involving Captain Lawrence, Katchkie Farm, and executive chef Robb Garceau of Great Performances. It was presented as the brewery's first farm-to-table beer, connecting brewing with regional agriculture and culinary programming.
Brand decisions
2020
Open the Mt Kisco Barrel HouseStrategyBackground
The brewery's barrel-aging and blending activities required dedicated space while the company continued developing hospitality locations.
Action taken
Captain Lawrence opened a Mount Kisco venue serving beer and supporting storage and blending of beer and spirits in barrels.
Aftermath
The company added a second branded location and a dedicated base for barrel-related production and maturation activities.
2019
Expand the brewery into a restaurant-led hospitality venueStrategyBackground
The Elmsford property had expanded substantially and already included a public tasting room.
Action taken
Captain Lawrence opened a full-service restaurant at the expanded brewery complex.
Aftermath
The company broadened its consumer-facing business beyond packaged and draft beer into a combined brewery, food-service, and visitor destination.
2014
Establish the Fermento Funk sour-beer facilityStrategyBackground
Captain Lawrence had developed a brewing identity that included sourness, wild yeast, bacteria, oak, and barrel aging.
Action taken
The brewery added a dedicated sour-ale wing with oak foudres, large oak rounds, and a substantial collection of wine barrels.
Aftermath
Mixed-culture fermentation and barrel-aged beer became a more formalized part of the company's production capabilities and portfolio.
2011
Move production to a larger Elmsford facilityStrategyBackground
The Pleasantville brewery no longer provided sufficient room for a bottling line, a larger brewing system, and increased fermentation capacity.
Action taken
Captain Lawrence moved production to Elmsford and installed a 40-barrel system alongside expanded fermentation infrastructure and a seven-barrel experimental system.
Aftermath
The move created the physical platform for later tasting-room, sour-beer, barrel-aging, restaurant, and expanded production activities.
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