Snack Review: Beer Chips

Beer and food. A tag-team combination enjoyed throughout the world, and the stuff of comedic genius captured on film in such modern day classics as Beerfest. Sure, we have Beer Nuts, beer cheese soup, beer-can chicken, and beer-battered-anything-you-can-fry. But chips?

Finally, an idea whose time has come. Beer + Chips = Beer Chips. So simple. So Zen. Right there in front of us all along and we couldn’t see it.

Available in three flavors, these thick-cut kettle style chips are bold, hearty, obnoxious and fun, just like your hard-drinking college buddy. These chips are your wingman and might even take a bullet for you. (Okay, that was really over the top - it’s just the beer chips talking.)

BEER CHIPS

The company’s signature chip, these resembled standard chips in size and color. The first bite revealed the unique flavor in a high note for the olfactories: a sharp essence of strong pilsner. The flavor receded quickly, replaced with a rather sweet and malty potato taste (ingredients include barley, hops, and yeast, of course).

Quite satisfying.

My only complaint was after continuous snacking, the beer taste devolved into the way a beachside hotel room smells the night after a raucous keg party. Sure, it took me back, but it was a rather bittersweet mixture of the good, the bad, and the ugly. I felt as though I needed ibuprofen and a minty mouthwash. (Purely psychological since none of these chips contain alcohol.) Too much of a good thing is not a good thing, or as the late Ken Kesey put it, “You don’t need a big tuning fork to find E.” These are mighty tasty in moderation, as the aftertaste can be overwhelming. Please snack responsibly!

HOT POTATOES: SPICY BLOODY MARY CHIPS

My favorite and the undisputed champ among the other snackers in the snack review lab. The initial bite was full-on tomato followed by a satisfying potato flavor. Despite the “hot” and “spicy” claims on the package, these were not hot at all and the spice was negligible. Still, very tasty.

After continued consumption, the taste changed to cocktail sauce (ingredients include horseradish and Worcestershire sauce), and then to ketchup and french fries. Quite enjoyable over the long haul. And no embarrassing vodka aftereffects.

CHIP SHOTS: MARGARITA AND SALT CHIPS

My initial reaction was disappointment at the oddly sweet flavor. I enjoy chili lime chips (and tequila), but these tasted like a plate of gingersnap cookies placed next to a pile of smoldering incense hovered over and served by a guy drenched in too much cheap cologne in a Chinese magic shop. After a second and third taste, however, the initial shock dissipated, and the chips weren’t half bad. The lime and orange oils and the “natural TEQUILA flavor” culled from the agave plant might be at fault, or possibly my aforementioned hotel party memories, but all of the test snackers agreed that these chips were the least successful.

Strangely enough, chasing a Margarita Chip with a Beer Chip was effective at quelling the former chip’s odd taste.

I give the makers high marks for flashy and fun packaging. As for the product itself, quality ingredients combined in a creative combination turned out pretty well. Try them for yourself!

• Beer Chips Website

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