Happy Beer Hour, Part One

Special to Seattlest by Paul Orch, craft beer advocate and writer.

So the recession has got everyone rethinking how they spend their spare change, even beer lovers. Seattle, much like Portland, is a town overwhelmed with craft beer options at bars and brewpubs, but despite the welcoming waft of citrus, pine, and toffee, there is still a pang of pennypinchers' remorse when you drop six bucks on a pint.

Adding happy hour to your craft beer craving solves that problem, so here's the first installment of our craft beer happy hours series. (If your local bar is missed, speak up in the comments, and we will make sure to get it in.)

Brouwer's Cafe, Fremont (3-7 p.m.). With sixty-four beers on draft, you can beat the heat with a Baron Pilsner in a Pilsner glass for $2.

Rock Bottom, Downtown Seattle and Bellevue (2-5 p.m.). If you have five minutes and three bucks, you can consume twenty-two ounces of award-winning craft, after you sign up for a membership.

Maple Leaf Grill, Maple Leaf (3-9:30 p.m. Wednesdays). Local spot that offers daily happy hour grub starting at $5 and would pair well with local favorites Boundary Bay IPA, Snoqualmie Porter, Big Time Bhagwan's Best, or a Manny's Pale Ale at $2.50 per pint.