Where to Find Cheap Beer By Fritz Hahn washingtonpost.com Staff Writer Wednesday, May 21, 2003

You can go out and have a good time at bars -- even if you're on a budget. (File illustration)

Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Daily | A Few Favorite Happy Hours

Monday
Bethesda's Caddies sports bar is laden with specials during the first half of the week. Monday through Wednesday, happy hour is extended from from 4 to close, and includes $2 domestic drafts as well as half-price burgers and food specials. Sometimes the crowd around the Golden Tee machine is as big as the one at the bar, but this golf-themed watering hole is worth a visit.

Tuesday
On the Hill, Tortilla Coast has $2 Budweiser from 5 until close -- perfect for an after-work session with fellow interns, legislative assistants and other besuited types.

Downtown, Recessions celebrates "South of the Border Tuesdays" with $1.75 Coronas and margaritas, plus $2.50 plates of jalapeno poppers.

Huge crowds are drawn to the Santa Fe Cafe in College Park for its long-running Dollar Bud Night for specials on bottles of Budweiser and Bud Light. Patrons tend to be on the young side, given the Fe's proximity to University of Maryland, although some customers are obviously beyond college age. The bar does fill up, and late arrivals may have to wait to get in.

Wednesday
Wednesday night at the Red River Grill features bottles of Bud for $1.50 and large swirled margaritas for $3.50. It's the place to be if you're interning on the Hill, and it's conveniently located on the way to Union Station if you Metro home. Doubling as a restaurant, Red River easily accommodates large groups as well as couples or singles on their own.

At the Rock Bottom Brewery in Ballston you're not limited to one type of beer -- you can choose from any Rock Bottom brew and get a dollar pint. Rock Bottom also caters to a slightly older crowd; if you're looking for your intern coordinator, you'd likely find him or her here.

Other all-night specials in Washington include $2 Yuengling bottles at Madhatter and $2 bottles of Bud, Bud Light and Yuengling at student-favorite Froggy Bottom Pub.

Thursday
Come to Dupont Circle on Thursday for Lucky Bar's legendary $1 Bud Night -- now $2 Bud Night (inflation, you know). The place is packed front to back with people who suck down discount bottles of beer.

If domestics aren't your thing, pay a little more for a Corona at the Tequila Grill or the Front Page. At both places, the Thursday night special is $1.50 -- still a bargain for a brew. (The Front Page also offers $1.50 Miller Lite.) However, the Front Page definitely cashes in on atmosphere during its discount beer night: patrons enjoy a free taco bar from 5 to 7, outdoor seating and a lively bar area with dance floor and DJ.

When you want to get an early start (and you're on the Hill), Politiki also has $1 Buds on Thursday, but you have to watch the clock: They're $1 from 4 to 8, $2 from 8 until midnight and $3 after that. You could also split the difference and head across East Capitol Street to My Brother's Place, where bottles of Bud and Bud Light are $1.50 from 6 until close.

The Rock Bottom Breweries in Bethesda and Arlington and radio station DC101 co-sponsor a weekly event called "Days of Summer" that features $1.01 beers (geddit?) from 4 to 9, followed by live music in the bar area.

Other specials: Madhatter has $1.50 bottles of Miller Lite and Rolling Rock, while Froggy Bottom Pub offers $1.25 bottles of Miller and Icehouse from 5 until closing time.

Friday
It's rare to find great drink specials on a Friday -- especially those that go outside of happy hour. At the Madhatter, Budweiser and Bud Light are $2 all night, and rail drinks are only $2.50.

Whether or not you consider MCCXXIII's happy hour a deal depends on how much you'd usually spend at a bar. From 5 to 9, this swank martini lounge hosts an all-you-can-drink open bar with top-shelf liquor -- think Absolut, Belvedere and Jack Daniels, not the no-name "rail drink" brands found elsewhere. Be warned that you should look good -- there is a "professional" dress code, and jeans and sneakers can be frowned upon by bouncers.

Centerville's Red Rocks Cafe and Tequila Bar offers a daylong special -- $1.75 pints and $2 rail drinks from 11:30 to 7, followed by two additional hours of $1 Budweiser and Miller bottles.

Saturday
The Shiner Bock happy hour at Asylum has become legendary in Adams Morgan. Beginning at 5, pints of the Texas favorite cost a quarter. Every 60 minutes, the price rises 50 cents. If you're visiting bars on 18th Street, this is a great starting point.

Drink specials are plentiful around Capitol Hill during the working week, but there are few deals to be had on weekends. However, My Brother's Place -- a tavern popular with softball teams and Catholic University students -- offers an all-you-can-drink beer special beginning at 9 p.m. Pay $12 and choose from a wide variety of domestic drafts.

Sunday
It can be tough to find drink specials on Sunday, but Clarendon Grill comes through, big time. Every draft beer is $1 until 9, whether you're sitting at the bar or a table on the large rear patio. Stetson's changed its happy hour this spring, and while some customers grumbled about the new selections -- $2.50 Miller Lite drafts, Miller High Life drafts and rail drinks -- the specials are offered all day at the unpretentious U Street pub. Another good choice is Marshall's in Foggy Bottom, where Yuengling is $2 all day.

Daily
We'll say right away that we're not huge fans of the Common Share, an Adams Morgan dive that made its reputation by serving everything in the house -- beer, mixed drinks, wine -- for $2. It was (and is) a favorite of bike messengers, students and others watching their wallets. These days, beers start at $2 and rise to $3 or $4, depending on brand (blasphemy!), and the place often smells foul. But some people can look past that in the quest for cheap booze.

On a happier (and tastier) note, if you're in Bethesda, Uncle Jed's Roadhouse offers a different beer for $2.25 every night after 7. Some days it's bottles of Miller Lite, some days it's Yuengling or Murphy's Irish Stout drafts. The patrons -- mostly young professionals and locals -- drink them all while shooting pool and listening to the excellent jukebox.

Also in Adams Morgan, the divey Millie and Al's has $2 Icehouse all day, every day, and Asylum has a daily special, which includes $2 beers, and the hardest-rocking jukebox in town.

A Few Favorite Happy Hours
Thus far, most of the events listed last for several hours at a time, in case you don't want to rush into a bar and grab a drink before you turn into a pumpkin. But if you just need to grab a quick drink after work, here are a few of our favorite spots for discounted libations Monday through Friday, with weighed scores given for a good atmosphere and a fun crowd:

Cafe Citron: $3.65 mojitos, rum lemonade and sangria, $3 Coronas from 4 to 7.
District Chophouse and Brewery: $2.50 pints from 3 to 7.
Fox and Hounds: $2.50 mixed drinks from 4:30 to 6:30.
JV's: $1.75 drafts and $2 bottles from 4:30 to 7.
Ocean Grill: Half-price drinks and appetizers from 5:30 to 7.
Stetson's: $2.50 Miller Lite drafts, Miller High Life drafts and rail drinks from 4 to 7.
Zack's: $1 drafts, $1.50 bottles and $2 rail drinks from 5 to 7.