Like most brewers, Scott Vaccaro entered the world of brewing by testing it out on a stovetop at home. Only, unlike most brewers, Scott started at the age of 17. When visiting a friend’s house in high school, Scott saw his friend’s dad making beer in the kitchen and his interest was piqued. With his parents’ blessing, he started learning how to brew and began a lifelong infatuation with fermentation.
“The thing that immediately caught my attention about brewing beer was the
experimental nature of brewing and the unlimited creative outlet it gives you,”
Scott explains. “I grew up in a house with a lot of cooking going on, so it was
a natural extension of that love.”
What started as a hobby has since grown and evolved into the flagship of craft
breweries in Westchester County. Scott essentially pioneered craft brewing in
the Hudson Valley—when he founded Captain Lawrence Brewing Company in 2006, it
was the only brewery in Westchester and just one of 23 breweries in all of New
York State. Today, while craft breweries abound (there are more than 400 in New
York State alone), Captain Lawrence boasts the title of largest among the 63
breweries now located in the Hudson Valley.
Scott’s journey from the stovetop to a full-scale brewery included a year of college
studying accounting before enrolling in the Fermentation Science program at
University of California, Davis, followed by several years with Sierra Nevada
Brewing Company. There, Scott was able to apply the theory he learned in school
and his own brewing endeavors on a much larger scale.
After returning to New York State for a job with another brewery, Scott suddenly
found himself on the path to entrepreneurship when that brewery closed and he
became unemployed. “I really didn’t think that my own brewery was an option
when I first started out,” he explained. “But I did know that I wanted to brew.
How I was going to get to that point was going to be a journey that I was
willing to and happy to embark upon.” Since then, Scott has grown Captain
Lawrence Brewing Company from a 20-barrel brew house to a 35,000 square foot,
award-winning destination in Elmsford, NY.
“I was born and raised in Westchester County. This is the place I call home, and
the place where I have the most support,” says Scott. “Being in the suburbs of
New York City has a lot of advantages. People are exposed to the best of the
best in the city, so I knew they would embrace a local craft beer if it
delivered on the promise of being delicious.”
Scott’s eye for the future has helped Captain Lawrence continue growing and made it a
must-watch brewery for the craft beer community. From its Fermento Funk Facility — where they produce and package barrel-aged beers — to innovative collaborations (like their Fudgie
the Beer special release made with Carvel), Scott keeps a pulse on the industry
to capitalize on opportunities early while not latching on to passing fads. As
such, Captain Lawrence remains a major influence for craft brewers in the region
and beyond.
“I think that creativity and the desire to constantly innovate comes from within,”
says Scott. “I’m able to find inspiration in the craft beer community, the
culinary community, and in a thirst for new and interesting flavors.”
As the brewery has grown and evolved, Scott has turned to SBA loan programs to
finance and invest in the future of Captain Lawrence. He was first introduced Pursuit
in 2010 while seeking financing to move into a larger facility. “I like to
think that was the moment we ‘grew up’ as a business and a brewery,” says
Scott, who ultimately financed the move with an SBA 504 loan for $1.17 million.
Captain Lawrence again turned to SBA financing to upgrade its canning equipment
in 2018. “We’ve gone from the small and cobbled together brewery that I built
with my family into a ‘real’ brewery that was capable of efficiency and serious
volume.”
Scott’s future plans for Captain Lawrence are ambitious, and importantly, aim to give
back to those that provide support day in and day out. “We want to ensure our
employees are able to grow and be successful,” he says. To bolster continued
growth, Captain Lawrence will add additional markets and expand its
distribution footprint in the year ahead, as well as new and exciting beers and
a retail/restaurant space in their Elmsford, NY headquarters.
