Pour

Having been drinking mostly stouts and porters through the winter, I'm ready to shift towards the lighter side for summer. Dead Rise pours a light clear golden color as you'd expect from a summer ale. A frothy head bubbles up quickly like latte foam and lingers. Even as it bubbles down, the remnants of the foam cling to the side of the glass.

Aroma

On the nose, you get a lot of the malt and breadiness of the beer. For me, it actually smells a lot like a fresh pilsner with a little something extra underneath. Digging deeper you can definitely smell the spice of the Old Bay bubbling up, and behind that, just the slightest scent of lemon.

Flavor

I was actually a little surprised by my first sip, it was a lot more spice forward than I remember but I really like that about the beer. It takes me back to summers spent gathered around newspaper-covered tables, wooden mallet in hand, discarded crab shells littering the battlefield.

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If you've ever enjoyed a blue crab feast, you probably remember the stinging sensation as the spices on the crabs covers your hands and lips. You get a similar but much more gentle sting from the Old Bad in Dead Rise but the spice fades a bit throughout the beer as you get used to the flavor.

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As the spice drops off, you get a lot more of the lemon. By the end of the beer, the beer was actually tasting almost like a muted summer shandy, but not nearly as sweet. This lemon flavor is definitely a huge part of what makes the brew so refreshing in the summer.

Overall Rating

When I first tried Dead Rise Summer Ale I was expecting more of a fun novelty beer, but not one I would seek out in the future. What Flying Dog has put together is an incredibly light and drinkable ale that perfectly captures a few flavors of summer, especially for those from the Chesapeake Bay area.

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I was happy to find the beer is served in canned 6-packs this year because it's the perfect beach day, BBQ, or crab boil beer. Overall I'd rate the beer 4.3/5 and I can't wait to enjoy plenty more this summer!

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Rating System = 1 - Poured Out, 2 - Suffered Through, 3 - Would Drink If Available, 4 - Would Buy Again, 5 - Will Search For

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Cheers!