Beer of the Week

The beer: No Sparge

Brewed by: Taxman Brewing Company, Bargersville, Indiana

Description (from the website): "No sparging, sprinkling, diluting or extra water here. We loaded our mash tun to the brim with 1.5 tons of delicious Belgian malt, mashed it once and took only the first (and best) runnings. Sure, it might be downright inefficient, but it also creates a uniquely smooth, rich and robust malty body to complement the intense, tropical flavors of our farmhouse yeast. Procure this ale while you can, before our accountants found out what we did."

Would I buy it again?: Don't believe all that stuff about the malty body and complementing tropical flavors. Okay, you can believe it, but the dominating taste in this beer is alcohol. Which I suppose isn't terribly surprising, considering we're talking about a 12% golden ale, but still, I was surprised how strong the alcohol taste was. I'd buy it again, but not for the taste, if you catch my meaning.

Review: Shaker Ridge Country Club (Part 2)

It's time to check out the back nine at Shaker Ridge, go here to see the front.

The tenth hole is a mid-length par 4 not much over 400 yards, but it does play significantly uphill, especially on the second shot. It's a pretty standard strategic hole; a bunker guards the left side of the green, meaning it's best approached from the right side of the fairway. Of course, there's a bunker right where one would want to hit their drive. Much like most of the greens at Shaker Ridge, this one has a fair amount of back-to-front tilt, so be wary if you hit your approach beyond the hole.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is 380 yards, with the drive playing steeply downhill. There's not much to worry about on the tee shot save for trees, and while the fairway does end in a pond, it's far enough out that even the longest hitters can use driver. The second shot is a wedge over the pond to the green, which is not an easy shot. The green's got the usual back-to-front tilt, and since most people will tend to miss long, you'll either have a slippery downhill putt or an even trickier downhill chip. So, not a long hole, but definitely not an easy one.

The eleventh hole.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a tough 225 yard par 3 with a small, two-tiered green and a big bunker front left. The green's in a little bit of an amphitheater, and you definitely don't want to miss long. It's a tough hole if you play it as a par 3, but it's pretty easy to make 4, which I like. Unlike the previous hole with its forced carry, this one is difficult for better players while being relatively easy for those of us who aren't so good.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green. Take note of the next hole in the background.

The thirteenth hole is the second and last par 5 at Shaker Ridge, and while it's not hugely long at 510 yards, the second half of the hole plays very steeply uphill. When the ground is soaked and the wind is unfavorable, it's a bit of a slog. The fairway is pretty wide, but there are bunkers on either side to threaten drives. Two more bunkers about 75-100 yards from the green complicate lay-up shots. There aren't any greenside bunkers at least, making this the only bunkerless green on the course. If you're long enough to go for the green in two, it's a pretty easy hole, but those of us who aren't long enough will have a tougher time.

Someone forgot to take useful pictures of the thirteenth hole. Oops

Having climbed up a big hill on the thirteenth, the fourteenth immediately drops right back down. At 326 yards from the tips, it's potentially driveable for the longest hitters, but most golfers will be better off laying back with a wood or long iron around the fairway bunker on the right. Doing so will give the best angle into the green, which has a bunker left and a stream/ditch a bit off to the right.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is a dead-straight mid-length par 4 with a wide-open fairway. There's no bunkers, no water, just O.B. in the form of dense forest left. There's plenty of space to avoid that though. The second shot will be a wedge or short iron to an elevated green with two flanking bunkers. There's a noticeable false front to the green as well.

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is the final par 3 at Shaker Ridge, playing 190 yards over a pond that also curls around left of the green. It's not massively in play, but it is something to think about. There are two big bunkers left and right, and the green is sloped pretty severely from back right to front left. 

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is a very long par 4, playing 460 yards from the whole way back. If you've got any sort of headwind, good luck having anything less than a full mid or long iron into the green. You want to favor the left side, flirting with O.B. and a big fairway bunker, to set up the second shot. The green has a fairly deep bunker to the right. This is most decidedly not a birdie hole, but at least it's strategically sound and doesn't feature any truly severe hazards.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole finishes things off in a reasonably gentle manner. At just under 400 yards, it's not particularly long, and there's no much trouble. Like the previous hole, you want to favor the left side, as the green is protected by a big bunker to the right. The green has two tiers, so if you end up on the wrong level two putting is very difficult. That said, it's not a tough hole, and my brothers and I all managed to have pretty short birdie putts. We all missed, but that's because none of us can putt. It's a good finishing hole; not a pushover, but not really difficult.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green. For the first time in many ages, my brothers and I all had reasonable putts for birdie.

Would I classify Shaker Ridge as a hidden gem? No. It's not anything really special. Is it better than the average golf course at least? Yes, I will give it that. Not by a wide margin, but it is a decent course that does make you think in quite a few places. It's a quiet, mild-mannered country club with a fairly mild-mannered course. The elevated greens do get a bit played out by the end of the round, but it was a conscious choice by the course designer to facilitate drainage back in the day when the technology was not so advanced. And it certainly worked; these greens were lightning fast and pretty firm. And considering how much rain Albany got in 2021 (it was a lot), that's honestly an impressive feat. I'm in no hurry to go back, but I wouldn't say no to another round.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Karasu

Brewed by: Abnormal Beer Company, San Diego, California

Description (from the website): "We teamed up with the Masters of Lager, Eppig Brewing, to create this Japanese inspired Schwarzbier. Utilizing rice and a specific yeast strain along with Columbus, Nugget, Northern Brewer and Saaz hops, we created this dark lager that is crisp yet offers a depth of flavor."

Would I buy it again?: This is the second lager with rice I've had in the past month, and while I did like this one, I preferred the one from Troegs. The Karasu is just a little too bitter, in my opinion. Not in a way that completely ruins it, but it does prevent the beer from being something I'd pursue again. 

Review: Shaker Ridge Country Club (Part 1)

I usually like to give a bit of a preamble when I introduce a golf course during my reviews, but that's tricky for Shaker Ridge, considering I knew absolutely nothing about it until the day before my round here. And all I knew when I arrived was that it's a private course located next to Albany International Airport. As I dug a little deeper, I found that Shaker Ridge opened in the late 1920s, though it wasn't designed by anyone of note. What can I say, not every course has an interesting backstory. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting much as I stepped up to the first tee. But who knows, maybe Shaker Ridge is a hidden gem. Only one way to find out.

The first hole is not what I would classify as a gentle opener. It's 430 yards, though admittedly downhill the entire way, and the landing area is flanked by a bunker left and a pond right. There's plenty of room short of those, so you may want to use a 3 wood off of the tee. That will leave you with a short or mid iron to an elevated green with bunkers on both sides. The green is sloped sharply from back to front, and Shaker Ridge keeps its greens very, very fast. You really don't want a downhill putt, and you especially don't want to miss the green long. My brothers and I averaged a double bogey here, which is really not the start you want.

The first hole.

The first green.

The second hole is 365 yards and plays parallel to the first, so you're going right back up the hill to a blind landing area. O.B. lurks close left, but other than a few trees there's nothing right, so if you're going to miss, go with a slice. If you hit a good drive you'll be left with a wedge into the green, which has bunkers left and right.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green, featuring some weird guy.

The third hole is 435 yards, and the tee shot plays down from a high point to the fairway. It's a pretty wide landing area that my brothers and I all managed to miss because we're bad (they went left, I went right into a tiny stream). The second shot, assuming you're not an idiot, is a short or mid iron to a slightly elevated green with a single deep bunker left. That bunker isn't the real threat on the approach though, it's the two-tiered green. With how fast Shaker Ridge keeps its greens, if the hole is down below and you end up on the upper tier, good luck keeping your putt on the green. Your only real choice to two putt is to leave the flagstick in and hope you hit it. That said, if you miss short, you can throw your chip out past the flag up onto the tier, and it will run back down, which is fun to do.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is a nice surprise on an otherwise fairly long and difficult golf course. The first par 3 at Shaker Ridge is just 140 yards, and even plays downhill. Of course, these short little par 3s are often more difficult than the scorecard indicates, and the fourth is no exception. There are three small bunkers short of the green, and two long. While the green itself is quite large, a ridge runs right down the middle, separating the green into two distinct sections. End up on the wrong side of that ride, and you're not going to have a fun time trying to two putt.

The fourth hole.

The fifth hole is normally the longest hole at Shaker Ridge at 570 yards, but both the back tee and the next tee up, which is what I was using, was closed, so we got to play it from the front tees a hundred yards up. The fairway bends right around a small stream, with dense forest on the left side; that said, the landing area is quite wide. You'll want to favor the left side, as straying too far right means dealing with overhanging tree limbs, or the stream. Of course, normally the green is out of range in two for most golfers anyway, but keeping left still benefits you. After laying up to your favorite distance, the third will be into a fairly small green with bunkers front right and left.

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green from not the fairway.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is a mid-length par 4 that doglegs significantly off to the right as it drops down a rather steep hill. You have a couple options on the tee shot: You can lay back at the top of the hill with a wood or long iron, leaving yourself a longer second from a flatter lie, or you can use driver, squeezing between trees right and O.B. left, leaving a wedge from a hanging downhill lie. The green isn't particularly large and sloped pretty significantly from back to front, and there's a big bunker right in front of the green. You'll probably want to take a club less on the second shot, it's very downhill.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is a 420-yard par 4 with a very awkward tee shot. The hole bends left, and the fairway slopes in the same direction. Seems like a perfect opportunity to hit a big draw and get some good distance, right? Well, a big tree short of the fairway is perfectly placed to prevent that sort of shot. I suppose you could try anyway, but the margin for error to avoid both that tree and the cluster of trees in the corner of the dogleg is tiny. You can breathe a lot easier if you hit a fade and settle for a second shot that's 10-20 yards longer. That will leave a short or mid iron into a small green, sloped from back right to front left, with bunkers on both sides.

The seventh hole.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is about the same length as the previous hole, but it's a lot less interesting, being straight and having little trouble beyond the lines of trees on each side of the fairway. The left side is preferable, and a few overhanging branches and the left to right tilt of the fairway make finding that side a bit more difficult, but still, not a drive that demands your full attention. The second shot is to a green with bunkers front right and back left.

The eighth hole.

Approaching the eighth green.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is a 340-yard par 4, so while it's quite short, it's definitely not drivable. And you do need to think carefully about what club you use on the tee; a stream cuts across the fairway about 75 yards from the green, and two bunkers dominate the prime lay-up area. If you want to be truly safe, you'd only be able to hit your drive about 200 yards, and leaving yourself a full pitching wedge or something on a hole this short is not ideal. Especially when the green is small and well guarded by sand, mounding, and O.B. long. Some element of risk taking on the drive is necessary to get yourself into decent position on the second. This really isn't the solid birdie opportunity you might think it is, based on the yardage alone, and I like that about this hole.

The ninth hole.

The ninth green.

That's it for this week, next week we'll take a look at the back nine.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Nuclear Smile

Brewed by: Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, Maryland

Description (from the website): "Nuclear Smile is exploding into this universe in a haze of glory. A 10% bomb, this hazy IPA has notes of tropical fruit and a hint of coconut. We would say it's going to blow your mind, but really it's going to blow your tastebuds."

Would I buy it again?: I was really kind of surprised how much I liked this beer. It's really, really good, hoppy but not bitter, and definitely fruity and juicy. I would absolutely get it again.

Review: East Potomac Golf Links (Blue Course)

There is not a lot of golf to be played within the confines of Washington, D.C. This is probably not a surprise. D.C. is not very big, and it's all city. However, there are three golf courses: East Potomac, Rock Creek, and Langston. Of the three, East Potomac is the crown jewel, hosting 36 holes in total. The Red course is a 9-hole par 3 course, the White course is a 9-hole executive course, and finally the Blue is a 6,600-yard par 72, designed in the early 1920s by Walter Travis. It's located on Hains Point Island in the middle of the Potomac River, and in its day it was actually very ambitious. The land is extremely flat, so Travis bunkered the course extensively; not only that, the holes were originally reversible.

The fourth hole.

The fifth green.

Very little of that grand ambition remains today. An occasional odd slope bordering a green, or a green with a bit of a fallaway at the back is all you can really see of East Potomac's original form. 100 years of neglect, mismanagement, and many, many rounds have reduced the course to its most basic form. Very few bunkers, all of which are basic ovals, and fairly simple greens. There are too many trees in places, especially around the perimeter of the course, blocking out views of the surrounding river. Though perhaps I can let that one slide, since there are running/biking paths going around the course which were very heavily used and very much in range of wayward golf shots.

The seventh hole. Yes, the Washington Monument does appear several times during the round.

The eighth hole.

This is usually the point where I go into the individual holes, but I'm not going to do that today. For one, I'm writing this a few months after I played there, so I can barely remember the holes. Two, what I do remember is honestly not worth talking about, unless I really want to stretch for strategies that really aren't there. And three, the course in its current form won't be around too much longer. The three D.C. municipal courses are now under the management of the National Links Trust, which is seeking to revitalize, renovate, and redesign the courses to their former glory. Tom Doak is tackling East Potomac and will restore the reversible design.

The tenth hole.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

I will say this about the course; in several ways it reminds me of Charleston Municipal. Now, I don't know what that course was like pre-renovation, but both courses are very flat, next to a river, and both seem to have a solid walking culture. Admittedly, the weather was ideal for my round at East Potomac (can't beat 75 degrees in the middle of November), but something like three-quarters of the golfers I saw (and there were many) walked. That made me very happy. With Tom Doak overseeing the redesign, something really special could result, and it would be a shame if carts dominated a course that should be walked.

The sixteenth hole.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

If you're looking for value, obviously East Potomac isn't brilliant, but compared with the area, it isn't terrible either. Conditions weren't too bad, though the tees were pretty grim. To put it bluntly, I'd rather drive an hour (or way more if we're talking rush hour traffic) to play Mount Pleasant in Baltimore than go 10 minutes to East Potomac in its current state. Prices are similar and Mount Pleasant is actually interesting. But I'm glad I went to see it at least one, and I'm very eager to see it again once its been restored. That should be an interesting round.