Beer of the Week

The beer: Over

Brewed by: Pittsburgh Brewing Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in collaboration with The Alchemist Brewery, Stowe, Vermont

Description (from the can): "Brewed using the finest European barley and hops, this pilsner combines Old World tradition and New World innovation. Enjoy this modern-day classic with a distinct Alchemist twist, and thank you for supporting the good work of [the Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh]."

Would I buy it again? Buying this again is a moot point, since this was a limited collaboration, but yes, I would. It's an incredibly solid and tasty pilsner, striking the right balance between flavor and drinkability. If I had to nitpick, I'd say it was maybe ever so slightly too hoppy, but overall it's an excellent beer.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Heady Topper

The brewery: The Alchemist Brewery, Stowe, Vermont

Description (from BeerAdvocate): "Heady Topper is an American double IPA. This beer is not intended to be the biggest or most bitter. It is meant to give you wave after wave of hoppy goodness on your palate. Tremendous amounts of American hops will creep up on you, and leave you with a dense hoppy finish in you mouth. So drinkable, it's scary. Sometimes I wish I could crawl right into the can.

Freshness and control have always been my main concern when it comes to our beer. We are committed to providing you with an unfiltered and unpasteurized hop experience. Why do I recommend that you drink it from the can? Quite simply, to ensure a delightful hop experience. The act of pouring it in a glass smells nice, but it releases the essential hop aromas that we have work so hard to retain.

If you MUST pour it into a glass, you may find that some of the hop resins have settled to the bottom -- leave them in the can while pouring. This beer is perishable, and at its best when it is young, fresh and hazy. Keep it cold, but not ice cold. Drink this beer immediately, we are always making more."

Would I buy it again? Alas, I had to commit a great beer crime to get this picture, but this is the second Heady Topper I've had; the first was drunk properly from the can. And my opinion on a beer that's was rated in 2018 as the fourth-best beer in the world and still carries a perfect score on BeerAdvocate? 

I mean, it's good – juicy, hoppy, and pretty easy to drink – but one of my favorites? No. I am not, and never will be, an IPA guy.

To be clear though, neither example I had were at their prime, having gone through what my friend described as "refrigerator aging." A polite term for "they've been sitting around longer than I'd care to admit." I mean, free beer is free beer, and you do not turn down a beer with its own Wikipedia page, no matter how old. However, what I did drink was good enough that I would definitely consider buying a fresh one. If it's this good so far past its prime, I can only imagine what its like fresh from the brewery.

Cider of the Week

The cider: Baker's Dozen

The cidery: Citizen Cider, Burlington, Vermont

Description (from the can): "Sometimes the best part about visiting an orchard isn't the apples ... it's the cider donuts. In fact, we love them so much that a dozen just isn't quite enough. We want a Baker's Dozen! This delicious cider, inspired by our own house cider donuts, combines a fresh, fruity nose with aromas of cinnamon, vanilla, and allspice. It's so good, we think you'll agree and want just one more."

Would I buy it again? That's right, we have a hard cider inspired by a donut which is made using cider. Cider has truly come full circle. Now, I like a good cider, and I like a good cider donut. That made buying this a no-brainer. As for taste ... well, what do you think it tastes like? It tastes like cider. This is what happens when you make a hard cider inspired by something made from cider. And you know what? That works for me. I'd buy this again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Kanc Country

Brewed by: Woodstock Inn Brewery, North Woodstock, Vermont

Description (from the website) (trust me, it's down there): "Big, rich, robust porter with roasty notes balanced out with real NH maple syrup sweetness. Maple syrup made right next door at Fadden’s Sugar House."

Would I buy it again?: This is a winter seasonal beer, but it's perfect for a cool fall evening with that distinctive autumn crispness in the air. The maple syrup matches very well with the porter, making for a hefty beer with just the right amount of sweetness to it. So yes, I would buy it again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Peasant Bread

Brewed by: Burlington Beer Company, Burlington, Vermont

Description (from Untappd): "Peasant Bread falls somewhere between a English Mild and Brown Porter. Peasant Bread is a Fall/Winter Seasonal release brewed with Toasted Wild Rice providing flavors and aromas of Toasted Walnuts to the already Toast-y malt bill. Brewed with a wide array of specialty malts including Vienna Malt, Honey Malt, Pale Chocolate, Crystal 65, Brown Malt, and Melanoidin Malt to create a broad spectrum of Bread-y flavors and aromas. The recipe for this beer dates back to a home brew recipe that won Best in Show by our Founder and Owner."

Would I buy it again?: Wild rice goes really well with brown ales, it turns out, because this beer is really good. The nutty flavor of the rice compliments the toasty maltiness of the beer, and neither overwhelms the other. I'd buy it again.

Review: Manchester Country Club (Part 2)

It's time to check out the back nine at Manchester Country Club, go here to see the front nine.

Up to this point, Manchester has been quiet and subdued, reminiscent of a Golden Age course. That changes on the back nine. Most of the back is up on a plateau, but to get there, the tenth has to traverse a wide marsh and pond, and it doesn't pull off the transition well. The hole is only 330 yards, so you don't need to use driver, but still, there is precious little room to maneuver on the tee shot. Even ignoring the forced pond carry, there's a smaller pond right of the fairway eating into the landing area and dense forest immediately left, and a large tree covers the section of fairway you'd ideally aim for. If you're fortunate enough to find the sliver of fairway, the second shot is a wedge over a cluster of bunkers to a large, undulating green. 

The tenth hole.

The tenth green.

After a long climb up a hill, the eleventh hole is a fairly long par 4 winding through groups of pine trees. The fairway is quite undulating as it slowly descends, so you may not have a flat stance for the approach. The second is the real challenge here: It's a short or mid iron to a long, narrow green (actually a double green shared with the sixteenth) wedged between a pair of bunkers right and a steep dropoff into a close-cut chipping area left. It's no easy green to putt either.

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The eleventh and sixteenth holes share a green.

The twelfth hole is the shortest hole at Manchester, playing just 150 yards. It's a classic short par 3, playing to a small, slightly elevated green guarded by several bunkers all around. There's not much room for error, but since the hole is short, it still plays well.

The twelfth hole.

The thirteenth hole is the longest hole at Manchester, playing 565 yards into and back out of a valley. The fairway looks pretty wide from the tee, but as it bends right, the fairway narrows considerably, squeezed between forest left and a hidden pond right at the bottom of the hill. That pond can catch out long drives, though it is at least partially obscured by trees right of the fairway. A 3 wood up to the edge of the valley may be the best play, followed by a lay up short of a second pond that narrows the fairway about 100 yards from the green. That will leave a fairly long third shot, and the green certainly isn't an inviting target either, but you can't really lay up any closer, since there's about 15 yards to work with in between the pond and the hillside right. Long hitters can go for it in two, but the green is small, tucked behind a bunker, and guarded by forest on two sides. That's not an easy task either. So there's really no good or simple options. Par is something you'll have to work for, which is not something you see very often with par 5s. This may actually be the toughest hole at Manchester.

The thirteenth hole.

The thirteenth green.

When you're building a golf course on terrain that isn't exactly suited for it, you have two options. You can either stick holes in odd, inappropriate places, completely ruining all flow of the routing, or you can do what the fourteenth hole does, and simply move a bunch of earth to make the hole work. Looking at this hole, you can instantly tell that nature did not make this fairway. The left side was lowered and the right was raised (a lot) to provide a fairly flat and quite narrow fairway, with a dramatic dropoff into forest waiting right. A good drive on this 425 yard hole will leave a shortish iron into a undulating green protected by three small bunkers right. It's not a bad hole, it just doesn't really look particularly natural.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is a long par 4, the longest on the course at 445 yards. The tee shot is pretty straightforward, though there is a cluster of fairway bunkers right if you hit an especially long drive. You will need that solid drive to gain view of the green, which is very blind from the tee. The second shot is steeply downhill to a small green protected by a pair of bunkers short right, a single bunker left, and a steep falloff in front (almost a false front, but not quite). It is quite tricky chipping up to the green if you end up in the fairway just short.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is a fairly long, slightly uphill par 3 playing to the second half of the double green it shares with the eleventh. Most uphill par 3s don't have a particularly dramatic view, but this is a notable exception, with the big mountain looming in the background. This is actually quite a tough tee shot, there are four bunkers around the green, which is really not that big all things considered. At the very least, the green itself is pretty flat, so the hole isn't quite as difficult as it looks from the tee.

The sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole wins the award for "most mystifying tree on a golf hole." I get that it's big and old and it would have been a shame to cut it down, but it is so ridiculously in the way. If you hit a fade with your driver, it's not the biggest deal, but if that's something you struggle with, then good luck with the 20 yards of fairway you have to work with between the tree and the forest immediately left of the fairway. The only saving grace is that the seventeenth is a sub-500 yard par 5, so you don't necessarily need driver to get home in two. If you do find yourself in decent position, the second will be a long, slightly uphill shot to a semiblind green protected by five bunkers. I'm not sure it's a good hole, but it's got some charm and quirk to it, and I can appreciate that.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is also memorable, but not in the same way as the previous hole. From high atop the mountain, you hit down into a thin ribbon of fairway doglegging almost 90 degrees between marshland left and a pond right. The hole isn't very long at 410 yards, so thankfully you don't need driver, and I sincerely question anyone who does. You might as well just throw the golf ball into the marsh at that point. Providing you do hit the fairway, the second shot is at least a bit easier. The green is narrow, but it's nestled in a little bowl, so you do have some leeway, and there are no bunkers directly against the green.

The eighteenth hole.

The eighteenth green.

Manchester is really the story of two nines. As I mentioned earlier, the front nine is gentler and flows with the land better. If I hadn't known any better, I would have believed the front was designed by Donald Ross. It's solid in a quiet way; not spectacular, not especially memorable, but it works well. The back nine is more in your face, more modern, by virtue of the fact that it traverses more extreme terrain. Now, that does make for a more memorable experience, but that's not necessarily a good thing, since I think the golf itself is a step down from what the front offers. Also, the tenth and eighteenth are just bad golf holes. I would classify Manchester as a bit better than average, but if you're looking for a round in Manchester, Vermont, and can't get onto Ekwanok, I would prefer Equinox over this, just by virtue of Equinox's occasional madness. The seventeenth and its tree can't compare with the pit hole at Equinox.

Review: Manchester Country Club (Part 1)

After playing Equinox in October 2020, I very much wanted to return to Manchester, Vermont in the future to play Ekwanok, its more famous and far better cousin, but I didn't see any way to get onto such a private golf course. In 2021, my brothers and I came back to Manchester to play a private country club. Unfortunately, it wasn't Ekwanok we would be playing, but Manchester Country Club, designed in the 1960s by Geoffrey Cornish, a very prolific designer who worked mostly in New England. His most famous design is the now-defunct International, notable for being the longest course in the United States; it measured over 8,000 yards when it opened in the late 50s. That's a lot, even by today's standards.

Manchester CC is not 8,000 yards, though at 6,800 yards from the back tees it isn't a pushover. It's a bit north of town, though still in the same valley as Equinox. That means the views of the surrounding mountains are roughly similar. Combine those mountain views with typical mid-October fall foliage, and we end up at a point where the golf is really not the main attraction. But it's still nice to have a good golf course, so let's find out if Manchester CC has one. 

The first hole is a classic gentle opening par 4. It's 360 yards and the undulating fairway plays gently uphill. It's not a wide hole, but there aren't any hazards in play save for a few trees. You can use driver, but it isn't really necessary, since a solid fairway wood will still leave just a wedge up to the green, which has bunkers left and right and slopes significantly from back to front. 

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is 535 yards, and the hole tumbles down the hill we just climbed on the first, the fairway threading between trees and a single fairway bunker, with O.B. lurking left. The fairway bunker is pretty easily cleared though, especially when the hole plays downwind. The green is quite tough to hit if you're going for it in two, with three bunkers scattered around, but since it's a fairly large green, if you've laid up, the wedge third is pretty simple.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is a 370 yard par 4 that plays downhill to an undulating fairway. It's pretty wide, unlike the previous two holes, although there are fairway bunkers on both sides, plus the O.B. left continues on from the previous hole. You can hit a big drive, but you'll be left with a hanging lie; using a fairway wood leaves a longer second but it'll be from a flat lie. The green has three bunkers around it and also has two big tiers. It's a fun green, unless you end up on top when the hole's cut at the bottom. That's less fun.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is a long straightaway par 5 that plays to a partially blind fairway. There is a fairway bunker right, but it's pretty easy to clear with a solid drive. The second is complicated by a bunker about 75 yards short of the green that eats into the fairway, so you'd probably want to lay up short of that. The green isn't large and has two bunkers left and one right, so while long hitters can reach the green in two, actually hitting is a tall order.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is a mid length par 4 that doglegs right, then drops down a big hill. If your drive goes too far, you may be blocked out by trees, but you'd have to hit a pretty big drive, so unless you hit it 300 plus, driver should be fine. That will leave a wedge or short iron into the green, which is domed, making it tough to hit. It's also got bunkers left and right, and there's a pond short, which is extremely tough to see if you're playing here for the first time. Not a big fan of blind water hazards, but it's less of an issue if you end up on the right side of the fairway. 

The fifth hole.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is the first par 3 at Manchester, playing 210 yards over a pond to an elevated green. It's also guarded by two bunkers, one right and one behind. It looks like a pretty tough hole, and that's because it is. The green isn't very big, and there really isn't any good place to miss. Obviously, short is the worst, but no matter where you miss, the chip back onto the green will be tough. Par is a good score here.

The sixth hole.

The seventh hole is a short par 4, only 325 yards, though since it plays uphill (parallel to the first) it's not really driveable for most people. A cluster of bunkers about a hundred yards short forces a decision off of the tee: Either you use a long iron to stay short of them or you try to clear them with a driver, fading the ball around trees right. Either way, the second shot will be up the hill to a semiblind green that's wide but shallow and guarded by bunkers on each side. 

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a downhill 200 yard par 3 with quite a dramatic view. If you can keep your head down long enough to focus on the tee shot, it's actually not a particularly difficult hole. The green is decently sized and receptive to longer irons, and while there are three bunkers around the green, recovering from them isn't hugely challenging. That just means you're more free to enjoy the view.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is 435 yards from all the way back (it's a much milder 355 yards from the tees most people use), and is squeezed between a hillside left and marsh right. It's not a very wide fairway, and the second shot isn't much easier. The marsh isn't in play, but the green is small, elevated, and protected by two bunkers on the right side. 

The ninth hole.

The ninth green.

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

Review: The Golf Club at the Equinox (Part 2)

It's time to see the back nine of the Equinox, go here to see the front.

The tenth hole is a big dogleg right with bunkers and O.B. in the corner of the dogleg. The rest of the hole is very open and there's no distinct advantage for going down the right side, so you can aim left and hit driver here. Sure, that lengthens the hole, but at 355 yards it's not a very long hole to begin with. The green is fairly small and almost entirely surrounded by sand.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a mid-length par 4 that goes downhill on the tee than gently back up. There's a long fairway bunker to the right that you'll want to get close to in order to have the optimum angle into the green, which is angled right to left and protected by a cluster of three bunkers to the left. Not the most exciting hole in the world, but solid enough strategically.

The eleventh hole.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is 360 yards and has several bunkers lining the left side of the fairway. The right side is a bit more open though. The elevated green is very heavily bunkered in front, and pretty significantly sloped from back to front. It's got a similar sort of bowl in front like the eighth, though not quite as extreme. 

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The twelfth green.

The views at Equinox are enough to make the trip worthwhile, but the thirteenth hole makes a compelling argument on its own. Very few holes have a feature as unique or quirky as this one. My brothers and I first saw it as we were walking up to the eleventh green: A massive pit, something like 30-40 feet deep, guards the right portion of the thirteenth green. This is no decorative feature either, the thirteenth is 425 yards and the pit is just feet away from the edge of the green. It is very much in play, as you'll probably be coming into the green with a fairly long iron. But let's back up a step. The drive is to a fairly wide fairway with a big slope to the left. The approach is up a big hill, with the pit right and a bunker left that is not nearly as intimidating but admittedly still a concern. The green is sloped fairly sharply from back to front, which makes it easier to hit but less than fun to putt when you're above the hole. I don't know if I'd call this a good hole, but it's certainly a unique one, and I'm glad it's there.

The thirteenth hole. The pit is hidden behind the trees.

Approaching the thirteenth green. 

Looking up at the thirteenth from the eleventh green.

A benefit of playing on a Wednesday: the course was pretty empty so we had time to throw golf balls down at the bottom and attempt an escape from the pit.

The thirteenth green.

Quite a view from behind the green.

The fourteenth hole isn't quite as funky as the previous one, but it's interesting nonetheless. The fourteenth is tiny, only 125 yards at most, shoved into a little corner of the property, downhill, and when we were there the tees were up 10-15 yards. Plus it was playing downwind, so it was effectively only 90 yards or so. The green is not large and fronted by three bunkers, and there's O.B. close behind. Sure, it's a small target, but it's a very small hole, and I'm a fan of it.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is a short par 5 with a very awkward tee shot. The hole is pretty straight, but the fairway starts way right at the bottom of a ridge, then swings left up and over through a saddle in the ridge before straightening out. Again, I don't know how much was changed in the redesign, but I'm guessing this tee shot is pretty original. The second shot, if you've cleared the hill, is gently downhill. The green is easily reachable in two, even when the hole is playing into the wind, however it's protected by eight bunkers, with six left and two right. 

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

It's a much more inviting approach from here.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is about 200 yards, making it the longest of Equinox's three par 3s. I don't think it's the best of the three, but it's almost as good as the fourteenth, thanks to the green. There's a swale running through the middle in almost Biarritz fashion, though the slope isn't quite as extreme as actual Biarritz greens. Still, it's definitely something to think about. There are three bunkers short right and one short left, and O.B. lurks beyond the green. 

The sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

While it's not unusual that a course measuring 6,400 yards from the back tees has only three par 4s over 400 yards, it is a bit odd that Equinox saves two of them for the last two holes. Not only that, neither is particularly good. The seventeenth hole is the longest par 4 at Equinox, playing a slightly uphill 435 yards. The hole doglegs quickly to the left, meaning you either need to hit a big draw or use a wood or long iron off of the tee. And that leaves you with a 200 yard approach. And when the green is small and protected all around by three bunkers, you don't want a long iron into it. This is a tough hole, to be sure, but it's not tough in an enjoyable or fun way like the thirteenth.

The seventeenth hole. I'd be willing to bet the containment mounds on the tree line are a new addition.

Approaching the seventeenth green.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole commits a cardinal sin of routing: It is a completely legitimate strategy (and maybe even the best one) to play down a wrong fairway. The problem is the big tree sitting in the dogleg. If you go to the right of it like you should, you can only hit the drive maybe 225 yards. The hole is 415 yards and uphill, so that'll leave you a mid or long iron into the green. That's not ideal. If you go left and hit into the tenth fairway next door, you can hit driver and have a wedge or short iron into the green. And there are no trees once you get within 150 yards of the eighteenth green. Yes, I suppose you do have to hit over a big deep greenside bunker, but I think that's worth it. The green is protected pretty closely by that bunker and O.B. right, so it's not like you've got smooth sailing if you play the hole the correct way. No one's ever sliced or hooked a 5 iron, right?

The eighteenth hole. Yes, this tee shot looks awfully similar to the previous hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

I'm a bit torn on how I feel about Equinox. On the one hand, it's a beautiful golf course. The scenery is spectacular, the conditions were solid, and there were a few fun, quirky holes thrown in. The thirteenth is something I'll always remember fondly. The last two holes weren't great, but everything that came before was pretty good. At $80 in mid-October, I wouldn't consider it great value in any way, but I did feel as though the conditions matched the price, which is something I didn't feel at Bulle Rock.

On the other hand, those really fun, quirky holes like the thirteenth (like 5, 7, 14, and the drive on 15) offer a tantalizing glimpse of what was probably a more fun golf course. Equinox got changed at a bad time in golf course design by someone with very strong and often-opposite opinions on golf course architecture, and I think that shows. No ponds were added, thank goodness, but there's often a homogenous feel to the greens that I don't imagine existed before. Walter Travis is known for his greens, but Equinox didn't have anything outstanding. I'm sure it'll never happen since the course seems to be doing just fine with the guests of the resort, but I would love to see a restoration.