With the first-ever Pig Roast at the new brewery space coming up inside of a week, thoughts turned to the pig roasts of the past, when Captain Lawrence was a significantly smaller brewing operation, and the crowd gathered around the spit wasn’t much of a crowd at all.

The first one, in Pleasantville in 2006, had maybe 200 people, says Laura DeMaria as she sips a Chico De Leche, Randy Shull’s sweet and malty milk stout. There was a lone pig and maybe five beers on tap. “Scott Vaccaro cooked the pig himself,” she says. “You won’t see that anymore.”

Laura knows her pigs; her father is John DeMaria, owner of Hemlock Hill Farm that was struck by fire, and that Captain Lawrence has been working to raise funds for all week. [see “Notes, Vol. 63”] Hemlock Hill has been supplying the pigs to Captain Lawrence since the beginning.

Laura went to several of the early Captain Lawrence roasts, and is looking forward to the first in Elmsford June 22. “Captain Lawrence’s fans and customers are like a growing family,” she says.

Out on the patio on a mostly sunny Sunday, Loren Verkovod of Stratford, Connecticut was there for Pig Roast 1 as well with his then-wee boys Nate and Andy. He remembers Scott and his brother Marc smoking the pig, and a band comprised of brewery workers rocking out on the loading dock on Castleton Street. “It was pretty mellow–they didn’t advertise it very well,” he says. “It was like a Deadhead vibe.”

Enjoying the Basil Haze Belgian witte, brewed by Matt Levy, Loren—a prolific brewer and beer scribe–mentions helping Scott with those initial batches of beer when he was learning the craft, and watching the pig roast grow from a scruffy little affair, to one with people driving in from all over the map to try special beers released at the roast—only to return to the “friends and family” vibe, he says, when the special brews were released at a different time.

There are many reasons to be at the brewery on this particular day. It is Father’s Day, and several dads have used their clout for the day to get the family out to the tasting room. It’s 75 and dry. And it is Pilot Batch Takeover Day, with over a dozen small-batch beers from the past year brought back for the occasion: The Chocoholic Stout. The Pride of Elmsford pale ale. The Wild Rover Stout and the Belgian IPA.

Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys are Back in Town” courses through the house system, adding to the reunion vibe.

Todd Winchenbach of Port Chester is enjoying the St. Vincent’s Quad, a bolder (11 ABV, in fact) take on CL’s annual Belgian brew, as wife Deena tends to baby Ava. “We didn’t know Captain Lawrence was so close,” he says. “That made it a no-brainer.”

Bill Lewittes of Mount Kisco too has offspring in tow—a set of twins who are nearly 4.  He’s proudly sporting a #1 Dad shirt—and a cup of the Wild Rover. “Dry, coffee flavored, a little bitter, smoky,” he says. “Good stuff.”

To borrow a phrase from Winchenbach, Captain Lawrence on Father’s Day was a no-brainer for Bill. “Beer and hot dogs—it’s the best way to spend Father’s Day,” he says.

“Don’t forget the kids!” reminds wife Caroline.

Bill nods. “There’s stuff for the kids to do,” he adds, as twins Isabelle and Henry romp around the bocce court. “It’s fantastic.”

Besides the stellar beer, Loren says he makes the trip to Captain Lawrence because his local brewery in Connecticut does not allow kids in the tasting room. Out on the patio, Kevin Marcinek of Deer Park and Claire Hsu of Glen Head note that dogs too are welcome inside and out. On their first visit to Captain Lawrence after scoring some Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA at a local Long Island beer distributor (“Very impressive,” says Kevin), they plan to return with their Rottweiler. “I have these chips,” says Kevin as he fingers his drink tokens like a poker addict. “I think we have to come back and drink the rest of them.”

–Michael Malone (malone5a@yahoo.com).

Also coming back is farmer’s daughter Laura and her friends Trish Vasta, who splits her time between Hemlock Hill Farm and San Diego, and Andy Morris of Briarcliff. Trish mentions cooking a 70-pound pig in a bread oven, marinated in garlic and cilantro, for a theater group in Vermont last summer. For his part, Andy is curious how the heck the cuts are made—and what the heck roasted pig tastes like.

“I’ve never been to one,” he says. “I look forward to coming back on Saturday.”

Captain Lawrence’s pig roast was a yearly highlight at its previous Pleasantville locale, people schlepping from all over the county—and beyond—to partake in fresh roasted pork and, of course, locally brewed craft beer. The event was skipped last year, Captain Lawrence’s first few months in its new Elmsford home, but is on for June 22. There will be a dozen beers on tap, including the Freshchester Pale Ale and the Kolsch, live music from Rebecca Haviland and Captain Lawrence Brewing alum Evan Watson, and lots and lots of roasted pigs for your porcine pleasure.

Owner Scott Vaccaro has fond memories of that first roast back in 2006, where a lone pig served the modest crowd, and he and wife Megan poured the beer. “The first one was me cooking the pig,” he says. “We’ve gotten way, way beyond that.”

The best beer to go with roasted pork? “Smoked Porter,” he says. “Smoked Porter and swine.”

One constant of the pig roast over the years is the source of the pigs: Hemlock Hill Farm up in Cortlandt. Scott’s relationship with farm owner John DeMaria goes back to the first batch of beer brewed in Captain Lawrence history. Scott had a giant bunch of spent grain that he didn’t know what to do with, and after leafing through the Yellow Pages, found a local farmer who was happy to take it off his hands. A business relationship, and friendship, ensued.

Tough times have struck the farm–which lost a 200-year-old barn and thousands of chickens–in a fire in late April. Captain Lawrence is doing its part, and then some, to help an old friend. A week’s worth of “Barn Raiser” events, including Trivia Night, a June 17 brewery dinner prepared by Armonk’s Restaurant North, and finally the pig roast, will raise funds to help one of Westchester’s remaining farms.

“We’re trying to make a difference for Farmer John,” says Scott. “We hope to hand him a big, fat check.”

For $200, guests at the brewery dinner get access to five tables of food—sourced from Hemlock Hill and prepared by the Restaurant North chefs–and beer pairings from Scott, including the first taste of the brewery’s first-ever triple IPA, fittingly called Barn Raiser Ale. “It’s dry hopped four times—it’s strong, big, delicious,” says Scott. “The event is an expensive ticket, but the experience is top notch; the food will be amazing.”

Speaking of big and rich beers, with Father’s Day coming up, it must be time for another St. Vincent’s release. Each Father’s Day, Captain Lawrence puts out the St. Vincent’s—an ode to Scott’s own dad, Vincent Vaccaro, with Dad’s beloved bright red 1969 convertible Datsun 2000 on the label. Every previous one has been a Belgian-style dubbel, but 2013 is a quadruple. At a lively 11 ABV, the draft-only quadruple will be a mouthful.

“It’s real rich, real strong, and real intense,” says Scott.

–Michael Malone (malone5a@yahoo.com).

When a thousand or so of his closest friends are sipping St. Vincent’s and chowing down roasted pig in the brewery parking lot June 22, Scott will think back to the first roast in ‘06, with about a hundred guests, as evening turned to night with the Pleasantville Day fireworks overhead. “What a trip that day was,” he says. “We’ve come a long way.”

Rich Queen was down from Woburn, Massachusetts on business, selling medical supplies in Westchester for the day, and figuring he’d spent a boring night watching TV in his hotel room when the message popped up on Facebook: a cornhole tournament at Captain Lawrence.

Next thing he knew, the man found himself at the brewery, rocking his Bruins t-shirt and Baaahhhstin accent, slinging beanbags in the sultry pre-summer night.

Captain Lawrence, and Pat Ward of the cornhole board maker Ward Boards, brought together an array of bag-tossers and craft beer-quaffers for their second-ever cornhole tournament.

What is cornhole, you, dear resident of the northeast, ask. It involves a pair of raised boards spaced about 10 yards apart, each with a six inch hole cut into them, and players taking turns hurling bean bags into, or at least close to, the holes. Think of horseshoes, but with bags aimed for holes instead of iron rings hurled at posts, and nothing that can leave a serious dent in your shin. A bag in the hole counts for three points, while one on the platform scores one, and the first one to 21 wins. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

Rich had partaken in this pastime a few times before, though never in such a setting. “It’s nice to play outside, even if it’s a little hot,” he said amidst thick air that didn’t slip much below the day’s 90 degrees. A cup of Smoked Porter, he said, cut the heat nicely.

The tourney was a blind draw, meaning players got paired up randomly, and a team comprised of Rich and Beth Bricker of Pleasantville zipped through the early rounds. Beth originates from Illinois, where cornhole’s history runs deep; she grew up knowing the game as “bags” or “baggo,” she says.

The key to successful cornholery, besides a cold cup of Kolsch? “My partner Rich,” Beth says with a smile.

Indeed, good partners and good beers are equally essential. For Shane Noetzel of Elmsford, the ideal beer for cornhole is the Imperial IPA. “I’ve done all the beer sports”—bocce, softball, darts, Frisbee golf—“and there’s nothing better than drinking beer and playing cornhole,” he says.

And so they played, the sounds of bags hitting boards–thukk! thukk! thukk!—carrying through the quiet Elmsford night. The knockout rounds continue. Strange calls—“Cancel it!” “Nice bag!” “It holds!”—rang through the air as well. While cornhole can be competitive, the mood is unfailingly jovial; players decide who gets first toss by a sudden death rock-paper-scissors, and conversations—the new season of Arrested Development, weekend plans, favorite beers at Captain Lawrence—carry on during play. Heck, a guy could even wear his Bruins shirt days after the team knocked out the Rangers without a Blueshirts fan getting in his grill.

Dennis Montaruli of Irvington won his first three matches before a loss relegated him to the loser’s bracket. Dennis—who picked up the game from family in Ohio (his father in law made him a “beautiful” set of boards and bags, he says)—was having fun nonetheless. “I was a big horseshoes fan,” he says. “It’s similar, but this is less wear and tear on the old elbow as you get older.”

As the competition winds down, the finals find Beth and Rich against Pat and his partner Jack. Beth, the lone female in the competition, employs a looping rainbow style with deadly accuracy, like Knick Nate Robinson shooting a floating jumper; while Pat, a southpaw, puts a funky spin on the bag that keeps it on the board like it’s soaked in Stickem. “It’s one of the things you’ll see from the good players at tournaments,” Pat says, bag in one hand and Smoked Porter in the other.

But it’s Beth & Rich—true to the game’s rural roots, the team names sound like country acts—who take an early lead, and never look back. Pat & Jack level the scores at 14, but Beth and Boston Rich run away with it to take the game—and the cash jackpot—21-15.

The key to victory? “Beth really stepped up her game in the final,” says Rich.

–Michael Malone (malone5a@yahoo.com).

There is that. But maybe there’s more to it. For the first time all night, both sipped the same beer while competing: the German-style Captain’s Kolsch. “That was the key too,” says Rich.

Rich had the traffic-snarled trip to Boston to contend with in the morning, but for the night, he, and Beth, held backyard bragging rights at the brewery.

**

Speaking of outdoor fun at Captain Lawrence, the brewery’s famed Pig Roast takes place June 22^nd, 12-6 pm, with live music from the likes of Rebecca Haviland and veteran CL staffer Evan Watson.

Ties, Watches, Socks, Underwear, Dress Shirts etc…

What Do You Do For Father’s Day?

Do exactly what he wants to do … DRINK BEER!!!

FIRST COURSE:

Cold Spring Pea & Pickled Ramp
Soup with Smoked Buttermilk Garlic Cream

SECOND COURSE:

Mushroom Duck Fat Risotto Fritters
with a Molasses Drizzle & Orange Zest

THIRD COURSE:

24 Hour Beer Braised Short Rib & Pear Gelee

FOURTH COURSE:

Deconstructed Mason Jar of
Strawberry Lime & Mint Pie

To Purchase Tickets Click The Icon Below:

There are 2 seating’s: 6pm & 7:30pm
Seating is very limited

THE RETURN OF THE ‘CLBC’ ANNUAL PIG ROAST!!!

Saturday June 22nd 2013
12pm – 6pm
$40 per person Online
$50 Door Price
Includes: Admission, Beer, Music & Transportation From Train*
Part of the Proceeds to Benefit Hemlock Hill Farms ‘Barnraiser’
To Puchase Online Click The Icon Below

Musical Performances by:
Rebecca Haviland & Whiskey Heart
Evan Watson’s Old Orchard Band
Brooklyn Sugar Company

Whole Roasted Pig & BBQ Food Sold by:
Village Dog of Tarrytown New York

*Bus transportation from trains included the following Stations: Details to come
Check metro north railroad times prior to visit.
*Parking is very limited as we are closing our lots for the day
There is parking off of Executive Blvd. on the street.
*NO PARKING IN THE BUDGET/SAFE HAVEN LOT-you will be towed
*21 or older only to drink, must have valid ID
*Beer to go sales are permitted but once purchased you will loose your bracelet to continue drinking

It was the informal start to summer, but the weather—a critical performer in the annual drama known as Memorial Day Weekend—refused to play along for the first few days. When it was warm, it poured. When it was sunny, it was chilly. The closest many got to diving into the surf was driving through the flooded Saw Mill River Parkway.

Plan Bs were deployed, and for those who found themselves at Captain Lawrence, things worked out just fine. (Keep in mind the brewery gets its name from Captain Samuel Lawrence, a Revolutionary War hero, so it was actually a logical Memorial Day choice.) “The weather was crappy, so we decided to come here,” says Adam Romboli of Port Chester as he sips the Smoked Porter on Sunday.

Adam’s group shelved a weekend on Fire Island, and is making the best of it. Pal Lauren Barth of Brooklyn enjoys the Sun Block, Jenelle DiManno of Harrison has opted for the India Pale Ale, and Kirra Clark deflects her friends’ “Jersey Shore” jokes like a goalie wards off pucks.

Their schedules suddenly wide open for the weekend, it’s the group’s first trip to the brewery. “We’d been meaning to come for a while,” says Andrew Vranes of Harrison as he enjoys the Kolsch, “and it just worked out today.”

Rick Ferrarone of Medford, Massachusetts and Courtney Rissner-Katz of Pleasantville have been to Captain Lawrence many, many times; both grew up in South Salem, down the block from founder Scott Vaccaro. “We’ve been drinking Scott’s beer since he was making it in his garage,” says Rick with a smile.

They’re watching some friends play bocce while enjoying the Liquid Gold. Rick has a growler of it, along with a sixer of Brown Bird Ale–both slated for the trip back to Boston. “Unless I drink it first,” warns Courtney.

Rick too isn’t above talking a bit of smack: he’s looking forward to taking on Scott and Scott’s brother Marc in a little summertime competition coming up in South Salem. “I look forward to thoroughly whipping Marc and Scott in next week’s fishing derby,” he says.

While some would prefer to be casting a lure, lazing on a beach or celebrating heroes at a parade, Paulo Mori and wife Erica Chahade of White Plains describe the Elmsford brewery as heaven on earth. “It’s very casual, people are very friendly, the atmosphere is awesome, and everyone who works here makes you feel at home,” she says.

Asked for their fondest Memorial Day memories, Paulo, who works for Manhattan Beer Distributors and swears by Captain Lawrence’s IPA, scores some points at home by saying any one of them spent with his wife. For her part, Erica—quaffing the Kolsch–recalls a barbecue they had a few years back. “Just our family together,” she says. “He, of course, brought the growlers.”

For Sam and Liz Sharpe of Manhattan, the holiday weekend has long included a trip to Captain Lawrence, and some quality time with pals Darya and Brad Schwartz of Scarsdale. Brad found the Smoked Porter to be “aggressive” (translation: a bit too smoky), and says the Pale Ale is “just north of Sammy” (translation: a hops upgrade from Sam Adams).

“I am a Pale Ale kind of girl,” he admits.

Sam Sharpe harbors fantasies of opening his own brewery; Brad suggests “Big Daddy’s Ales” for a name. “Just doing a little competitive analysis,” quips Sam.

–Michael Malone (malone5a@yahoo.com).

Growlers filled with the IPA and the Sun Block are lined up on the foursome’s barrel. “With our friends coming up, it was a perfect thing to do with them,” says Brad. “Go to Captain Lawrence and try some beers.”

With Monday’s forecast a long awaited winner, Sunday’s growler line is long, people stocking up for their various barbecues and other social engagements. A man got to the front of the line, gave his order, and his fiancée soon joined him. “You’re filling up two?” she asks.

“Yup,” he responds happily. “It’s a holiday weekend.”