Chips come in so many varieties, just like beer — good thing they’re ideal snackmates

What’s the quickest way to satisfy your post-game hunger? A bag of crunchy chips and an ice-cold brew might just be the best duo since Jágr and Lemieux. Whether you’re a nacho cheese man or an all-dressed kind of gal, here’s which beer to pair with your favourite chips.

Plain Potato Chips + Pilsner

From ruffled to paper-thin to kettle-cooked, plain potato chips demand an equally straightforward beer. Clean, crisp pilsner is a natural with fried foods and cuts through the starchiness of the potatoes. Meanwhile, all that salt softens the tasty bitterness of the brew, making this a perfect matchup.

Salt and Vinegar + English Style Pale Ale

Since Brits love to douse their french fries in vinegar, it’s a no-brainer to crack open an English-style pale ale with your salt and vinegar chips. Also known as ESB (extra special bitter), this hoppy ale stands up to that puckery tartness, which, in turn, brings out the beer’s fruity flavours.

Dill Pickle Chips + Kolsch (Lagered Ale)

While it doesn’t quite have the power of salt and vinegar, dill pickle is another tongue-tingling chip choice. Here you’re going to want a kolsch (a.k.a. lagered ale) to revive your puckered taste buds — its grassy hops really flatter that herby pickle flavour.

Ketchup Chips + Saison

Whether you’re Team Ketchup or not, you can’t deny these bright red chips belong in the Canadian Snack Hall of Fame. This true-north flavour is excellent with saison, a brew that originated in Belgium and sometimes goes by the name “farmhouse ale.” Whatever you call it, saison’s gentle sourness plays well with that sweet-sour ketchup seasoning.

Barbecue Chips + Porter

Dark, full-bodied stout (or its lighter sibling, porter) may not be the first beer you think of when opening a bag of barbecue, but it’s perfect with these tasty chips. Stout’s coffee and chocolate flavours complement the smoky spices, and its gentle acidity enhances the sweet tang of tomato.

Sour Cream and Onion + Cream Ale

Here’s an easy pair to remember! Mild, frothy cream ale has the smooth texture to balance that sour cream zing, while its sweet corn-like flavour flatters the roasted onion in the chips. They match up like Federer and Nadal.

All-Dressed Chips +IPA

This genius mashup of barbecue, salt and vinegar, sour cream and onion, and ketchup flavours is another all-Canadian fave. To handle the flavour fiesta, you’re going to need a beer with some moves. Enter zippy, bitter India pale ale (IPA), which packs some punch yet is still refreshing enough to recharge your mouth for the next chip.

Tortilla Chips +Radler

Whether they’re blue, round or restaurant-style, plain tortilla chips get a major flavour boost from a radler, the thirst-quenching mix of beer and citrus soda. In addition to complementing the roasted corn flavour of the chips, refreshing radlers can handle the heat when spicy salsa and guacamole join the party.

Nacho Cheese Chips + Brown Ale

Since brown ale goes so well with sharp cheeses, it’s a slam dunk with a bowl of nacho cheese tortilla chips. This brew’s malty sweetness helps balance the intensely savoury seasoning. Bonus: Brown ale also pairs beautifully with the other orange-fingered favourite, cheesies!

Exotic Veggies Chips + Wheat Beer

A multicoloured mix of exotic vegetable chips — which usually includes sweet potatoes, plantains and beets — are always the first to disappear at a party. And a light wheat beer will allow the subtle flavours of the veggies to shine. A Belgian-style witbier is slightly tart, so it’ll cut through the sweetness of the roots, while the clove notes of a German-style weissbier will spice them up.