The best beer pairing with BBQ chips is an APA

That balance of crisp and refreshing, yet flavorful, makes APAs a great choice for barbecue chips. There are really two things you’re looking for in your beer and barbecue chip pairing: you want a drink that will quench your salty thirst, and you want something that can stand up to the strong barbecue flavors without being so strong that it overpowers the chips. APAs fit that bill perfectly.

Sierra Nevada recently teamed up with Buffalo Trace to create a bold new brew called the “Colonel EH Taylor Bourbon Barrel-Aged Bigfoot.” While this is a great drink on its own, you probably wouldn’t want to pair it with barbecue chips, as the bold flavors will overpower the chips. On the other end of the spectrum, a pilsner might be the smartest beer pairing for regular potato chips, but it can’t match the intensity of flavor you’ll get with barbecue chips. Hopefully, this gives you a good idea of ​​the outer edges of what we’re looking at here.

APAs are right in the middle in terms of intensity. Other good options include a porter (but probably not something as strong as a stout), a brown ale, or an amber ale. These are all close to APAs in terms of flavor profile.