Ten Suds Songs for American Craft Beer Week

It's no secret that craft beer holds a special spot in our hearts over here at the New Times office. As any good journalist worth their weight in malt and hops, we are always on the prowl for any old excuse to hoist a cold micro-brewed beverage. So when news filtered in over here that South Florida would be hosting a slew of events for the 6th Annual Craft Beer Week, we were revved up and ready to roll. To help everyone's weekend specialty brewed binge, County Grind complied this list of songs we'd like to call our "ode to suds." Look for them after the jump

The Replacements - "Beer For Breakfast" Paul Westerberg and co. really nail it on this one; beer for breakfast and barbecue chips to wash it down, is there a better cure for the working class blues in the morning? Who says you have to wait until the socially accepted starting time of noon. It's craft beer week folks, time to live a little.

Bad Manners- "Lager Delirium"

 These English ska-revivalist package all the simple pleasures of hooligan life within its punchy chorus -" lager... birds... footie... fags..." And with all the malted barley indulgences we are taking in this week, you bet your bottom dollar that we'll be trembling deliriously come Monday.

Led Zeppelin - "Misty Mountain Hop"

This track from Led Zepplin's behemoth career-defining untitled fourth album in '71 deals more with the classic fantasy work of J. R. R. Tolkien than it does with the savory suds we are celebrating this week, but we thought "Misty Mountain Hop" would just make a heck of a name for a hoppy IPA produced from a microbrewery from Colorado or Oregano or some place mountainous.

Fiery Furnaces- "Restorative Beer"

A little bit of "bite the hair of the dog" concept here. This brother and sister duo from Illinois lift the words from our mouths from our hangover blues come Monday: "I want a restorative beer/ so I can take my mind off these tears." Geesh don't we all. Sappy, but true.

The Roots- "Ain't Sayin Nothin' New"

The Dutch have been using fruits to flavor their beer for 500 years, long before the micro-brewing craze came to the States with all its blueberry and raspberry wheat creations. Jimmy Fallon's house band and neo-soul pioneers the Roots name check one of our favorite Lambic concoctions, "Lambic Framboise," a couple of verses in on this track from it's seminal alternative rap album Things Fall Apart. We think a beer with the alcohol content of wine deserves to be toasted to.

 Nada Surf- "Killian's Red"

So this rather inflective somber tune from '90s one-hit-wonder Nada Surf really has nothing to do with its frothy amber lager namesake, no problem. We still have to give props to the brewski we called 'the thinking man's Coors," in our college days.

Johnny Cash- "Sunday Morning Coming Down"

The man in black brings us back to our original question, why wait until noon?

Against Me! - "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong"

Never mind that Guinness is not American and unquestionably not craft brewed, post-hardcore Gainesville troupe Against Me! succinctly captures the bravado that normally ensues when downing a handful of malty beverages on this track from it's debut album Reinventing Axl Rose

Tom Waits - "Warm Beer and Cold Women"

Just our worst nightmare! 

Dropkick Murphys - "Kiss Me, I'm Shitfaced"

We all know what a "ladies delight" completely wasted dudes are. Celtic-punk maestros Dropkick Murphy's' captures them in all their spoiled splendor on this one. You never know ladies, perhaps that cuddly drunker might just be the prince with a golden heart you've been looking for...