Flying Dog Dead Rise Old Bay Summer Ale Review

Name: Flying Dog Dead Rise Old Bay Summer Ale
Style: Wheat Ale/Spiced Beer
ABV: 5.6%
IBUs: 25

Since Flying Dog is back on Minnesota shelves, I guess I have more beers to review. Yesterday it was a rather humid 90 degree day, so what better time than now to review a summer beer. Today, I have Dead Rise Old Bay Summer Ale, a name that is totally lost on me due in part from not being from Maryland but I'm guessing it has to do with the ocean & crabs....or something. Oh but it does support the Maryland crabbing industry so there is that!

Also I've gotten conflicting reports as to what kind of beer this is. Some say it's a wheat beer while others say its a spiced beer. Since I can't exactly decide, I'll just go with both.

Appearance - Fairly clear bright yellow color with just a mild amount of haze and some moderate carbonation. The head is pretty thin for the most part but retains throughout and the lacing is also quite abundant.

Aroma - Some rye-like spiciness & pale malts upfront, and some malted wheat, mild citrus hops & kolsch-like yeastiness following immediately afterwards.

Taste - You've got some of that pale maltiness and malted wheat upfront, with some moderate citrus hops in the middle. Towards the back, I'm getting some white grape sweetness, with a fairly powerful, albeit brief, spicy kick and some more of that Kolsch-lager yeast. Aftertaste is fairly dry, save for some light malted wheat and spices.

Overall, this isn't bad, The spicy kick to a wheat beer is a combination that works out surprisingly well. I've seen from a couple of sources that you're supposed to pair this with seafood, so next time I have salmon, I'll have to pair it with this and see how it is.

Flying Dog Dead Rise Old Bay Summer Ale - 8/10