The Ultimate Beer Pairing For Salt And Vinegar Chips

Any bag of chips is virtually irresistible, but if they have salt and vinegar flavor, it's game over. Something about the combination of saltiness and tanginess lights up your tongue and is only made better by the satisfying crunch you hear every time you bite into one — which all of the best salt and vinegar chips do. Sat down on the couch to watch the game or served at a backyard cookout, the only thing that could make them better is a nice, refreshing beer. Not just any beer, however; the ultimate one: A hazy IPA.

According to Chef Jessie Massie, the Executive Chef at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Taproom in Mills River, NC., when it comes to pairing the bold flavor of salt and vinegar chips with a beer, you want to aim for something that will provide an opposing flavor. She told Tasting Table, "Salt and Vinegar chips need to be balanced by a counter flavor, because it's usually a relatively intense flavor on the palette, which is part of the appeal. I recommend something juicy with a slight but very approachable bitterness." That, of course, would be a hazy IPA.

Getting specific, Massie recommends Sierra Nevada's own Hazy Little Thing IPA, but it's certainly not the only one that will pair well with your favorite chips. Choosing a good beer can be more complicated than you'd think, however, so let's break it down some more.

Hazy IPAs are just one of the many styles of India Pale Ales (IPAs). Also known as a New England-style IPA — named after the region in which it was first created — this style of IPA is one of the most popular at craft breweries. But, despite their name, these beers are made with hops sourced from far and wide. Just like the grapes in a wine or the beans in your coffee, the terroir of those hops comes through in your glass. Cascade hops come from Oregon, and are the most synonymous with hazy IPAs. They give them an almost grapefruit-like flavor. However, made with hops from Australia or New Zealand, the beer gets a more tropical flavor.

In any case, a hazy IPA is the ideal style of beer to provide those contradicting "juicy" flavors that Massie mentions. The fruity flavors of hops also do a good job of subduing the bitterness you'd get in a classic IPA, making it a very approachable beer for beginner drinkers and further building on its salt and vinegar chips compatibility. Fortunately, given its commonality, you have all sorts of hazy IPA choices to choose from at the store. Trader Joe's even has its Boatswain Hazy IPA, but its vinegar chips are limited so grab them while you can. Voodoo Ranger also makes a Juicy Haze IPA that, along with Massie's recommendation, can be found at many retailers, including Walmart, Target, and Publix, where you can also get your chips.