After the success of the regionally-inspired “Do Us a Flavor” chips, Lay’s is back with something new – chips inspired by genres of music.
ARE Y’ALL READY TO TURN UP THE FLAVOR?!
I’ll take that tepid response as a “yes.”
Like snack preference, musical taste is subjective, but I’m gonna try to compare each new chip flavor to a song from the genre they’re inspired by.
Tonight’s opening act is Classic Beer Cheese.
I guess Lay’s took the classic “rock” inspiration literally by making these “hard as a rock” kettle chips.
The chips smell like cheese, but not much like beer. The initial taste is that of flat pilsner followed by a muted indiscriminate cheese taste. I was hoping for a sharp cheddar flavor, but it’s dulled down a bit by that faint hint of a beer you may have consumed ten minutes prior.
As with every kettle chip I’ve ever had, they tasted kinda stale, and I wished these were just a regular chip, but I know people love this style. They’re fine but didn’t rock my socks off like I thought they would. I prefer Kettle Brand’s Cheddar Beer flavor, which are the only other beer cheese chips I’ve tasted.
Inspired by the classic rock genre, the beverage featured, and the lightning bolt in the name, I’ll compare these to a solid rock song I never need to hear again in my life – Have a Drink On Me by AC/DC.
Whatever, no one comes to see the opening act anyway.
Next up to the stage is, Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle Remix!
Here we have a Hip-Hop inspired continuation of Frito Lay’s brand-crossing Flamin’ Hot line, and they’re exactly as advertised.
The smell from the bag is amazing. There’s heat as well as that aroma of popping the lid off a pickle jar. The chips may be a mess, but they taste like pickles. Imagine dipping a pickle in hot sauce, and that’s essentially what you get. The heat is a nice complementary Hype Man for the pickle. I mean, these may have been slightly better without the Flamin’ Hot element, but that wouldn’t be very “hip-hop,” now would it?
I’ll compare these to a classic hip hop track that fires me up so much I can only listen in small doses – Ante Up by M.O.P.
And now ladies and gentlemen, give it up for your headliner, Electric Lime & Sea Salt!
So, upon opening this bag, there were some technical difficulties.
I was taken completely aback by the scent of expired cold cuts took me completely aback. It was confusing, to say the least. Most pop music stinks, so maybe I didn’t realize how literal they were with the inspired genre?
Despite the smell, I trudged on, and I am glad I did. The initial smell cleared a bit and I was left with a nearly flawless potato chip. I like these better than any single “Do Us a Flavor” release.
There’s nothing crazy here, it’s just a wavy chip flavored with lime and sea salt, and it works so damn well. If you’ve ever had Tostito’s Hint of Lime (the best tortilla chip in the aisle, IMO), it’s that except it somehow works even better on a ridged potato chip.
I polished off the bag in two sittings.
I tried to think of a pop song I initially thought was a giant fart bomb but almost instantly changed my mind on. There’s only one fairly recent pop song I could recall that hit me, and it CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL.
“Did he just hype Miley Cyrus while basically calling AC/DC average earlier?”
He did. Wrecking Ball is great. You like it, and you know it. You’ll like these chips too, even if they’re a guilty pleasure.
I wouldn’t be upsetting if any of these become mainstays, but Lime & Sea Salt is elite. Now that the former King of Pop is “canceled,” we should pass the name on to these chips.
Lay’s needs to expand on this new line. Gimmie a country-inspired flavor. Classical. Whatever you call that electro-techno music. Bring ’em on. Here’s hoping they turn up some more varieties. We need an encore.
Purchased Price: $2.50 each
Size: 7.5 oz. bags
Purchased at: Wegmans
Rating: 5 out of 10 Classic Beer Cheese)
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle Remix)
Rating: 9 out of 10 (Electric Lime & Sea Salt)
Nutrition Facts: (15 chips) Classic Beer Cheese – 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 grams of sodium, 165 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein. Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle Remix – 150 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 grams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein. Electric Lime & Sea Salt – 160 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 grams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.
Great review- I always love your creativity and humor!! The flaming hot dill are calling my name….
I think your pic of the lime and sea salt one is wrong. I had these today, and I agree it was great. But the pic shows smooth.
I just had comment to say that reading “followed by a muted indiscriminate cheese taste” is the best thing I will probably read all week. I think we have a replacement for the “in bed” game.
Hmmmm I just bought kettle cooked “lightly salted” jalapeño. I took one bite and thought this tastes a lot like BBQ chips only hot. I read the ingredients…..yep no jalapeño peppers at all…just onion power and other stuff not jalapeño. I really expected jalapeño flakes on the chips and they would at least taste like jalapeño on chips instead of a BBQ taste with onion power.
I just can’t decide if none of these flavors boil my potato, or if I’m just burnt out on the whole wacky flavor thing. Maybe they should skip a year?
We should all thank whatever higher power makes us happy that there’s not a cappuccino flavor this time. *shudder*
Blasphemy. I am one of those rare people who *wishes* cappuccino came back. It tasted like tiramisu to me — freaking delicious!
I had the beer one and was disappointed. Didn’t really taste like beer or cheese. If I concentrated I could pick up a malty flavor, but that’s it. The other flavors hold no interest for me. I wished they’d bring back the Korean BBQ. It was fabulous.