It can be expensive to be a craft beer fan in DC. With such a huge selection of great beers to drink, trying everything that looks tasty can quickly leave you with moths, rather than cold hard cash, in your wallet. Luckily, some of DC's best craft beer programs have great happy hours that will allow you to get awesome beers at much lower prices than usual. We've laid out some happy hours that hit the sweet spot between good deals and good beers here. These are just for DC venues, but in a future post we'll let you know about some spots over the river where you can find deals. In the meantime, our friends over at DrinkDC keep a much more complete library of drink specials and happy hours than we do, so check them out as well! 

Anything we left out? Be sure to let us know in the comments!

Iron Horse Tap Room – 507 7th Street NW
There is perhaps no more important happy hour for craft beer in the city. Why important? We're cooking up another piece to fully explore that, so stay tuned. The long and the short of it is that by being located near the Verizon Center, Iron Horse has the opportunity to introduce craft beer to more people than most other bars. Every day (yes, weekends too) from either 4-8p (weekdays) or 5-8p (weekends), all draft beers are $2 off. With Iron Horse's already pretty reasonable prices and assortment of taps, this makes for a lot of deals and variety. Be sure to bring in some food for your happy hour as Iron Horse doesn't have a kitchen.
 
GBD – 1323 Connecticut Avenue NW
Monday to Friday, the GBD team selects one beer each at the $3, $4, and $5 price points. Some of DC's most ridiculous deals can often be found here. For example, we've seen $5 DC Brau On the Wings of Armageddon and De Struise beers and $4 The Bruery Tart of Darkness. For the non-beer lover in your life, they also have deals on stiff punches and wine. Check Twitter daily to see what the specials of the day are. Admittedly the three beers a day is a bit of a limitation, but the opportunity for home run deals on any given beer can't be passed up.
 
Scion – 2100 P Street NW
Sponsorship

(Full disclosure: as of this posting the author is a part-time employee of Scion.) Scion has 11 taps that beer director Tim Liu keeps in constant rotation. From 5-7p on weekdays and from 5pm until close on Sundays, all of these drafts are half price with a selection of half price appetizers as well. On Tuesday, you can also get a half priced burger.
 
Pizzeria Paradiso – 3282 M Street NW (Georgetown), 2003 P Street NW (Dupont Circle), and 124 King Street (Old Town)
Pizza P's savings potential during happy hour is also immense with half priced drafts from Monday to Thursday (at Old Town and Georgetown) and on Tuesday and Wednesday (at Dupont Circle). At the Dupont Circle location, you should get there early because the bar isn't that big and happy hour only takes place at the bar. In Georgetown, you've got the entire downstairs, so that's helpful. There aren't just beer savings to be had either. During happy hour, apps are $5 and you can find 8 inch pizzas for $9.95 and 12 inch pizzas for $15.50. This is another bar whose rotation is constantly in flux, so be sure to check ahead and see what's pouring!
 
Smoke and Barrel – 2471 18th Street NW
Everyone's favorite craft beer venue slash barbecue restaurant (or just mine) also has a great happy hour. They feature four beers for $4 or $5 every weekday from 5-8pm. On Tuesdays, why not enjoy a $5 taco platter with your happy hour beer? On Wednesday, ALL drafts are half price from 5-8p. Not a carnivore? Fear not, there is also a wide menu of vegetarian and vegan friendly options. Too crowded upstairs? Descend into the Bottom of the Barrel where you may find some of your intrepid beer writers drinking out of fresh fruit (on Fridays).
 
Smith Commons – 1245 H Street NE
Check out $5 select beers, wines, cocktails, and small plates from 5-7pm daily. When the weather is good, take said drinks out onto the outdoor patio. When the weather is bad, cozy up on the comfy couches on the second floor. 
 
Quick Hits

Well, if the above wasn't enough for you, here's a quick rundown of some other venues with happy hours that include craft beer. The beer selections may or may not be as wide here, but there are deals to be had, so check these spots out too if you're nearby!

Sponsorship