The Brewers Association has produced a handy quick-reference chart that helps you pair your favorite beers with food, and the well put together document is the rare combo of useful and free.

The full PDF download is available here, and the chart lists 19 style-categories with icons denoting specific qualities of the styles and what glassware is recommended for service.  Each category also gets suggested cheeses, main courses, and desserts to pair with the beer:

In addition to the beer serving and pairing suggestions the PDF also outlines a “three-step, can’t fail guide to matching beer & food.” The three guidelines they suggest following when matching beer and food are:

• Match Strength with Strength
• Find Harmonies
• Consider Sweetness, Bitterness, Carbonation, Spice, and Richness

This is a useful resource, and certainly something that is worth saving to your Dropbox (Dropbox referral link) or on your phone so that you can pull-up pairing suggestions quickly when you’re in the Whole Foods trying to decide what cheese to buy.

Download the document to get all the details, or visit the Brewers Association Webstore to purchase their $1 guide to pairing food and beer.

• Source: Craftbeer.com – Craft Beer and Food Pairing Chart via Reddit