Of all the styles of music that we’ve paired with beer on Backyard Road Trips, traditional folk is the most conducive for beer drinking. Heck, it seems like half of the songs in this genre deal with beer or other types of alcohol! From sea shanties to Irish reels, let’s toast and raise a pint to traditional folk music and a six-pack! Enjoy the videos to fully embrace the traditional folk music.
Cliff Haslam’s The Clockwinder and Samuel Adams’ Holiday Porter
Cliff Haslam is a singer of songs of the sea and traditional ballads. His deep baritone is unmistakable. Haslam, originally from England, has lived in coastal Connecticut for many decades. He sings with his Jovial Crew almost every Monday night at the Griswold Inn in Essex, Connecticut. Haslam to me is the finest of the genre.
Although Haslam has been singing and playing music for more than half a century, he has only recorded a handful of albums. And most have been recorded within the last ten years! His finest work dates back from the early 1980s and is his proper debut album. It is The Clockwinder, which is a mix of seafaring songs, bawdy tunes, and somber folk ballads. It pairs well with a Holiday Porter from Sam Adams. The holiday porter has the perfect balance of robustness and sweetness, similar to the range of songs on this album.
Finn and Haddie’s Fathom This and Moby Dick Brewing’s Pulpit
Finn and Haddie was a sea shanty duo that I saw perform at the Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival years ago. I was taken especially by their song “Yangtze River Shanty.” I had to go out and buy their album. For this record, I’m pairing another giant of the sea, Moby Dick! Moby Dick Brewing is from New Bedford. This beer is a fine take on an IPA.
The Wicker Man Soundtrack and Victory’s Winter Cheers Wheat Beer
Have you ever seen the movie The Wicker Man? No, not the remake with Nicholas Cage, but the original from the 1970s. It’s quite honestly the most creepy movie I’ve ever seen. Not creepy like The Exorcist but plain eerie. I won’t give away the plot but do highly recommend it. The film takes place in the fictional Summerisle off the coast of Scotland. The British folk-inspired soundtrack plays a crucial role in the film, from traditional songs such as “Summer is a Coming In” to others, including “Willow’s Song,” directly from the film but have become often covered.
As grog is drunk in the tavern in the film, for my own grog, I chose a wheat beer, Victory’s Winter Cheers. For some reason, wheat, the sticks of the actual wicker man, and the harvest season of the pagan isle all seem to relate. Even though it is a winter beer, it is light in body and can be enjoyed in any season.
The Chieftains 4 and a Guinness
If I’m listening to Irish I better be drinking Irish! The perfect traditional combo is the Chieftains with their instrumental 4 album and Guinness, which of course is the beer of choice in the Emerald Isle. Fiddle, drum, pipes, concertina, and tin whistle conjure up images of rolling green fields of the striking Irish landscape. And the Guinness, well that’s for the pub come sundown.
Cliff Haslam’s The Happy Man and Harpoon’s Winter Warmer
Seeing Cliff live, especially at a tavern setting such as that of the Griswold Inn, is something special. The tavern at the Griswold Inn dates from 1776 and is truly authentic. During his sea shanty set, he and the Jovial Crew play for three hours, taking breaks to socialize and for beverages in between. It’s a feeling of jubilation at the Gris with the crowd singing along and raising pints to the fun music.
A later release, only from about eight years ago, The Happy Man, is a fine collection of pub songs that are highlighted by Haslam’s baritone voice. Although it’s summer, this kind of album exudes the great indoors, staying warm with a Harpoon’s winter seasonal, the Winter Warmer!
“Old Dunn Cow” and Queen City’s Yorkshire Porter
Here’s one more for our traditional folk music and a six-pack. The song “The Old Dunn Cow” (or “Dun” depending on the version) is a track that seems to be covered by every traditional pub singer. It details a bar that is burning down while the patrons run down to the basement and consume all of the consumable liquid before the building is obliterated. The chorus includes the lines, “There was brown, upside down, mopping up the whiskey off the floor.” For such a rousing song, an English porter seems more than appropriate even if it is about an Irish bar. Although I’m familiar with Haslam and the Morgans’ rendition of it, here is a Youtube clip from singer, John Windsor.
I hope you enjoyed these beverages full of good cheer and good beer. This has been the easiest to pair as traditional folk music and a six-pack are simply a match made in the tavern.
For more, six-pack pairings try smooth jazz and smooth IPAs, J. Geils Band, and a six-pack or emo and sour beer, a six-pack.
