Drink your way to the World Cup final!

Will England's Newcastle Brown Ale make it to the semis?
Or will Serbian brew Jelen beat them in the Round of 16 first?

The good folks over at Slashfood have developed a World Cup bracket substituting beer for teams. Here's a taste:

With the World Cup in full swing (games started early this morning), we wanted to hop on the soccer bandwagon Slashfood-style -- and that means a little something to drink, of course... In this case, we chose beers from around the world. Thirty-two countries, 32 different beers -- one for each country represented in the games -- all hand picked by our beer guru, Josh Bernstein.

Starting next Wednesday, Slashfood is starting it's own little tournament -- the Slashfood 2010 World Cup Beer Bracket. That morning, we'll open up the polls on Facebook and Twitter to see which beer you think should make it to the finals.

After the jump, get a head start on your picks with an in depth look at all 32 beers well be using for the tourney. Don't forget, the first round picks two winners from each group. A total of 16 beers will advance.

Algeria: Tango Though Islamic tradition forbids alcohol, beer has taken a foothold in this North African nation. The most popular tipple is the light Tango lager.

Argentina: Quilmes Cristal This light, pale-golden lager dominates the country's beer scene.

Australia: Foster's Hoist a hefty can of this Aussie lager when cheering on the footballers from Down Under.

Brazil: Skol Though the caipirinha is Brazil's national drink, the country's most common beer is this clear, bubbly thirst-quenching pilsener. .

Some of their selections are iffy (Foster's, really?), but kudos for finding and knowing about beers from North Korea and Cote d'Ivoire. Now just to track down which are available in BC:

BC Liquor stores
Private liquor stores in BC (where you'll pay more)

The Spanish Cruzcampo isn't available at BC Liquor stores, so I'm substituting Estrella Damm, a nice light lager from Barcelona. Good drinking to you all, and may the best beer win.