Warm weather is (un)officially the season for citrus beers—lemony shandies, and tart summer ales that help cool you down and push through the humidity. This summer, Samuel Adams Brewery is taking it one step further by pairing its New England IPA with a brand-new, limited-edition flavor of Cape Cod potato chips. The two New England brands came together to create (drum roll please) Cape Cod Summer chips, with cracked pepper and a hint of lemon meant to complement the citrusy notes of the IPA. It’s the first time Cape Cod has partnered with a brewery to create a chip flavor from scratch (and geared toward a specific beer, nonetheless)—and we got to try it out before the launch.
Overall, our editors found the chip and beer worked surprisingly well together. The IPA is smooth and fairly hoppy; the chips, crisp and lemony with a sharp pepper aftertaste. One editor noted that the IPA brings out the citrus flavor of the chip; another said “lemony chips with a lemony/hoppy beer, what’s not to like?” A third commented on the complexity of the citrus with the haze of the beer, saying it cut through the “funk”—I found the same, as the beer tasted brighter to me after I had eaten a few chips. The lingering heat from the black pepper was also a nice touch.
“I wouldn't normally go for a NEIPA, but I think the pairing works well together and could make me change my mind,” an editor said.
If the flavor combination sounds up your alley, the chips have already started hitting supermarket shelves, and will be available nationally by the end of the month—bags are $3.79 a pop (suggested retail price). Participating stores include Stop & Shop, Hannaford, and Giant. However, as this is a limited-time-only summer pairing, you’ll want to act fast. (The beer, of course, is around all year.)
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