Beer of the Week

The beer: Roast Me Or Toast Me

The brewery: 1623 Brewing Company, Eldersburg, Maryland

Description (from the website): "What better way to set up your day than French toast and coffee? This breakfast in a can is sure to keep those good times rolling through the day, whether you’re toasting to the good days, or roasting the ones you spend your day with. Brewed so you won’t be dreading the times to come."

Would I buy it again? I'm honestly quite disappointed by this one. It doesn't taste like French toast in any way, but it's certainly got plenty of coffee bitterness. The aftertaste is especially not good. I also thought it might be on the lighter side, considering the color of the beer and the fact it's described as a "white stout," but it's definitely not. Definitely won't be getting this again in the future.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Space Dust IPA

The brewery: Elysian Brewing Company, Seattle, Washington

Description (from the website): "Space Dust balances bitterness with a sweetness of hop flavors. Grapefruit, mango, and orange aromas with a medium body and a dry finish."

Would I buy it again? For better or worse, this is basically the Platonic ideal of IPAs. Juicy initial taste, bitter aftertaste. It's executed solidly as well. Which is all fine, and I wouldn't say no, but this isn't a beer I'd go out of my way to get again. It's just not interesting enough to me.

Review: Sunset Golf Course (Part 2)

It's time to take a look at Sunset's back nine, go here to see the front.

The tenth hole is by far Sunset's most memorable hole, and the sort of hole you don't see every day. The front nine is situated on a hill overlooking the river, as is the tenth tee. The rest of the hole, and the back nine in general, is much closer to river level. That means the fairway here is about 150 feet below the tee. You don't often see elevation change like that on one hole. It also means that the tenth, which is 345 yards long, is drivable by more people than you'd expect. The only obstacle really is the fact that the hole is quite narrow, hemmed in by big trees, but they're honestly really easy to carry and the fairway widens out past the 275-yard point, so why not use driver and fly over everything? It's pretty fun. The green itself is fairly small and falls away at the back. I don't think I'd call this a good hole, but it's certainly quirky and memorable.

The tenth hole.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a shortish par 3 at 160 yards, playing over the corner of a pond to a large two-tiered green. It's a good thing these greens run pretty slow, because that tier is big and it is sharp. Which is curious to me; the course isn't old but the earthwork here is pretty crude, befitting a pre-bulldozer construction era. A bit of a mystery, but it does make tee shots a bit more interesting; you really don't want to be on the wrong level of this green. 

The eleventh hole. It'd look quite nice if it weren't for the Porta-potty. 

The twelfth hole is 360 yards and plays to a narrow fairway bending left in between clusters of trees. You definitely want to find the fairway here, so you may want to use less than a driver. A solid drive will leave a wedge into a medium-sized green protected by a long bunker to the right.

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is 370 yards and despite playing basically parallel with the previous hole, is quite a bit different. For one thing, the hole is pretty steeply uphill, with the fairway also tilted from left to right. The farther up you go, the more awkward of a stance you'll have for the second. But hanging back will leave a long and steeply uphill second shot to a nearly completely blind green. The green is quite large and fairly undulating, and there's nothing around it, so at least you're not hitting into any potential hazards. The awkward stance and large elevation change is enough of a hazard.

The thirteenth hole.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is a fairly long par 4 at 430 yards, though that length is somewhat mitigated by the downhill tee shot. It's not anywhere close to as much as the tenth, but it's a good 30-40 feet. The second shot should be a short or mid iron to a slightly elevated green protected by a single bunker right. This is quite a tough green to hit; it's small and that five feet of elevation does more than you might think.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole lists itself as 200 yards, but the tees were up significantly, such that I only hit a wedge. It is uphill, and with a long bunker taking up the vast majority of the front section of the green, it does play long and you do need to carry it the whole way. Beyond that, there's not much to this hole.

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is, at 517 yards, the longest hole at Sunset (this isn't a very long course). It plays along the side of a hill the entire way, so you'll have to reckon with a severe right-to-left slope for pretty much any shot not within 10 yards of the green. There's no sand on this hole, but there is a pond lurking left for much of the second half of the fairway. You can steer clear of it, and there's no real reward for laying up near it, so you're better off laying up right. The green is similar to the eleventh; there's a very sharp tier running through the middle, so you don't want to end up on the wrong half.

The sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is not the most inspired hole in the world. The tee shot is mostly blind, with the landing area over the crest of the hill. It's wide, with only the occasional tree to worry about, so you can use driver without fear. A good driver will leave just a wedge into the green, which is quite small and slightly elevated.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole plays along the same hillside you descend coming off of the tenth tee, so the fairway's tilted pretty severely from right to left. The hole is routed through fairly dense trees (and is quite narrow), so this is actually a pretty tough finisher despite its modest length. It's very important to find the fairway, which may mean using a wood or long iron. That will leave a short or mid iron into the green, which is small and falls away severely to the left. There's even a retaining wall left to keep the green pad up. Left is a very bad place to miss; you'll struggle to get up and down from down there. Considering how open the rest of the course is, this one doesn't really fit in well, and I'm not just saying that because I made a quadruple bogey here. It's a bit too tough for a course that is in general not difficult.

The eighteenth hole.

The eighteenth green.

Of all the golf courses out there, Sunset is certainly one of them. That's about all I have to say. Okay, yeah, the tenth is certainly something that'll stick in my mind, but the rest of the course isn't really worth the time and effort. It's not hugely expensive, but it's not cheap either, and it's certainly not in particularly good shape. The tees in particular got very bad as the round went on; the eighteenth tee was literally nothing but dirt and sand. And it certainly doesn't have particularly compelling design. There are a lot of golf courses in the Harrisburg area I haven't played, but I can say with a reasonable amount of confidence that there are better options.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Earth Day IPA

The brewery: Guinness Open Gate Brewery, Halethorpe, Maryland

Description (from Untappd): "This beer is brewed with our whole hearts focused on the importance of sustainability and utilizing local, sustainably sourced ingredients. The barley comes from Harbor View Farms on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, malted by our friends at Delaware’s Proximity Malt. We added a touch of Eastern Shore honey for good measure, from Apex Apiary, along with Citra, Simcoe, and Talus hops. Candied orange and a touch of pine come through in full hop glory, backed up by the local malt."

Would I buy it again? A honey IPA sounded good, but the issue here is that the honey is frontloaded (and frankly the honey taste is fairly minimal). Once you get past that, this beer really only has hoppy bitterness to offer. The aftertaste is very bitter on this one. I'm really not a fan of it, so I would not go for this beer again.

Review: Sunset Golf Club (Part 1)

I've been curious about Sunset Golf Course for a while. Not because of any particular design heritage (it doesn't have any), but it seems to have an intriguing location up in the hills lining the Susquehanna River. Also, I have a friend who I visit fairly often who lives very close by, so I go through the Middletown, Pa., area more often than most people who live 90 minutes away. And since I'm kind of running out of interesting golf courses within reasonable driving distance of home, any amount of curiosity is enough to convince me to try a course out. 

This isn't a very promising start. Or a convincing one. Sorry, not every course can be fascinating. (I promise things will get better starting next month.)

The first hole is 370 yards and a fairly welcoming opener to start things off. The fairway doglegs hard left about 250 yards out, so if you're a longer hitter you'll definitely need to cut some of the dogleg, or risk running out of fairway. The long grass bordering the fairways at Sunset is distinctly of the "you won't find it in there" variety. The second shot is a wedge or short iron to a medium-sized green overlooking the Susquehanna River. This is the one decent view of the river we get, so enjoy it.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is not the most fun hole in the world if you play from all the way back. From the white tees, it's a mid-length par 4, but from the tips, it's about 100 yards longer ... and still a par 4. At least on the scorecard. Practically, it's a par 5 (Sunset is a par 70, so it's not like adding an extra par 5 makes it some nontraditional par). The fairway is partially blind as it negotiates a series of small hills; if you can hit a solid drive of about 275 yards, you'll get to the top of the hill and receive a good view of the green. That leaves a wood or long iron to a green sloped from back to front and rather well guarded by three bunkers. Like I said, this is a par 5 in all but name, and 5 is a perfectly reasonable score here.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is a longish par 3 at 210 yards, playing over a valley to a wide and fairly shallow green. There's a large bunker short left and another out to the right. It's not an easy hole, but it's not a particularly exciting one.

The third hole.

The fourth hole is a mid-length par 4 playing uphill to a fairly narrow fairway squeezed between bunkers left and high grass right. You definitely want to favor the left side; like on the first, you can run out of room pretty quick on the right. A solid drive will leave a wedge or short iron to a fairly small green protected by four bunkers, two on each side.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is just under 200 yards and plays to a fairly large and undulating green. The front half is protected by three large bunkers, with a pretty narrow gap in between. You probably just want to aim at the center of the green no matter where the hole is located. Hole locations on the left or right edge are going to be tough to get to.

The fifth hole.

The sixth hole is a very short par 5 at only 470 yards, which is in fact less than the second hole, which is a par 4. Yeah, that's a weird one. There's not much to see on the tee; the fairway is completely blind and the trees are oddly distributed to make it look like there isn't a fairway at all. It is out there though, bending left than right to the green. Favoring the left side is a good idea, since trees about 100 yards short in the corner of the second bend will block tee shots that drift too far right (which is easy to do considering the fairway slopes from left to right). The green is on the small side and flanked by sand. It's an excellent birdie opportunity overall, especially if you place your drive correctly.

The sixth hole. Trust me, it's out there. The ideal line is along the right edge of the two small trees on the left side.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole plays parallel to the sixth and is also a short par 5 (though this one is at least technically longer than the second). It's also quite confusing off of the tee, since the only fairway you can see is offset way left and absolutely not where the hole goes. A good line is just right of the cart path. Get far enough and you'll have a long iron or wood into a small green with a big bunker right and forest left and long.

The seventh hole. Not sure why they routed the fairway/cart path where they did.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a very short little par 3, just 135 yards. tucked against forest left. There are two bunkers right of the green, which is the primary source of interest here. It's a pretty undulating green, so two putting is no simple task. The hole location I saw was up on a small shelf, making it particularly tricky. This isn't quite as easy a hole as it looks.

The eighth hole.

The ninth hole is a mid-length par 4, and a pretty tough one at that. The fairway is not wide, slopes severely from right to left, and is wedged between a bunker right and dense brush and high grass left. If your driver can clear that right-hand fairway bunker, then driver isn't a bad choice; if not, you may want to consider using a club to get you into play. That will obviously leave a pretty long second shot uphill to a semiblind green protected by two small bunkers, one on each side. This is a hole to make a safe, cautious par on and walk away. 

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

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: Prowess Wheat

The brewery: Guinness Open Gate Brewery, Halethorpe, Maryland

Description (from Untappd): "This hoppy wheat-style ale is our 2023 International Women's Day Collaboration Beer. A donation will be made to our longtime partner, the Pink Boots Society which exists to ASSIST, INSPIRE, and ENCOURAGE women and non-binary individuals in the industry. It’s bright and fresh with subtle tartness from the orange peel."

Would I buy it again? I mean, it's not bad, but it's just got a little too much orange flavor for me. A bit too tart, in my opinion. I guess I wouldn't say no, but I wouldn't go out of my way for one.

Whiskey IN SPACE

Sometimes, the best reason we have for doing something is "why not?" And that's exactly the mentality Mystic Farm & Distillery in Durham, N.C., brought to the table when they announced they were going to age a batch of bourbon in space for a year. 

Theoretically, anyway. It's important to note here that nothing has happened yet, and in fact the rocket Mystic is planning on launching the Mystic Galactic bourbon into orbit with doesn't technically exist (The Exploration Company's Nyx rocket is planning its first test launch in 2024 and first official launch 2 years later). For now, the whiskey is going to age on Earth normally, as any normal bourbon would. But when 2026 comes around, that bourbon's going to space. Somewhat hilariously, bourbon has rules to it, and one of the rules of bourbon is that it has to be aged in the United States. Space doesn't count. So while the label might say Mystic Galactic bourbon, Mystic's really engaging in a bit of tomfoolery, as they've been forced by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to register the beverage as a "distilled whiskey spirit."

Adding to the tomfoolery is the anticipated price of Mystic Galactic: $75,000 per bottle. Not exactly something your average whiskey/space enthusiast is going to be able to sample or enjoy. Just something for rich people to show off at parties. Which is a shame, but it's not cheap sending things to space. I suppose the rest of us will just have to get drunk off of bland, boring, Earth-based beverages like the poor peasants we are.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Redland Lager

The brewery: 7 Locks Brewing Company, Rockville, Maryland

Description (from the can): "The first sip brings you back, smooth caramel notes cresting to meet gentle floral hops, creating a layered, balanced finish. The second sip says: This is home, atop a sturdy red land foundation. The third sip? Simply put, life should always be this easy."

Would I buy it again? It takes a lot to stand out in the drinkable lager category, but this beer definitely manages it. It does have a pleasant floral yet slightly sweet taste, making it taste distinctly different from your standard Yuengling. I've never seen a red lager before, but I'll have to keep my eye out for more in the future, because this was very good.