Meal Pairing: Rock Crab and Old Brown Dog

Today, Mere and I decided to have a bit of a dinner adventure. We walked down to the local asian food market and bought up 6 Rock Crabs. We brought 'em home, boiled 'em up, and ate bastards. They were tasty little buggers that didn't need any sort of seasoning or butter; they were succulent and buttery right out of the shell. Anyways, I inadvertently stumbled upon a great Food/Beer pairing in the process. 

About half way through the meal, I opened up a bottle of Smuttynose's Old Brown Dog Ale and poured it for the two of us to share. Just looking for a little something to quench my thirst, I was met with so much more. The mild roasty nature of the Old Brown brought out the buttery and salty notes of the crab and vice versa. Much like cilantro cuts sweetness, the bitterness of the beer opposes the sweet of the crab. Anyways, highly recommended pairing, although I might next time look towards something like the Ommegang Witte to give a bit of a lemon-y flavor to accent the crabs, and might also include an adjunct lager such as a corona in the broth to add some more sweet and salty notes.