Crab cakes and football craft beer, that’s what Maryland does.

Easily the most talked about summer beer on the Maryland-area scene is the new Flying Dog Brewery concoction, Dead Rise OLD BAY Summer Ale.

Yes, it’s as awesome as it sounds.

But, there’s a catch: it’s not great as a standalone beer. We’re sorry, but it’s not. We know Marylanders love their OLD BAY and they love anything that comes from their beloved state almost to a fault. However, there is a plethora of other, great (read: better) summer beers that are both refreshing and sessionable and we recommend any of those before trying to down one of these in the middle of the day.

“But, hey, y’all just said it’s awesome.”

And oh boy, is it ever. The Dead Rise is, in fact, a great beer. But it’s a great beer when it’s paired with – wait for it – Maryland crabs! Crab cakes, crab legs, crab sandwiches, crab dip, crab crab, etc.

It’s incredible. Go do it. Now. (You’re welcome).

You can taste the McCormick saltiness in this beer and that’s NOT a bad thing when enjoying it alongside a meal. It’s this reason why Dead Rise isn’t a great beer on its own. The salty Old Bay flavoring in the beer is almost too much to enjoy unless you’re pairing it with some crab.

Now, if you have a shell food allergy we’re not suggesting you shouldn’t give one of these a try. That’s not what we’re saying. As is the case with all craft beer (and all types of food from this planet, for that matter) you should try everything once.

We tried this new Flying Dog brew twice: once on its own and again whilst enjoying some delectable fresh crab cakes. And there’s really only one thing we have left to say about this:

Thank you, you Frederick, MD-based crazies.