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The cheapest beers in town…
Sure, you've come to expect the $2 Pabst as your Portland birthright, even at restaurants with $15 corkage fees. But why stop there, when the beers get even cheaper? MATTHEW KORFHAGE.
Cheap punk-rock cans
LoBu's B-Side Tavern (632 E Burnside St., 233-3113) serves $1 Tecate, Rainier and Hamms tallboys to old-guard rockers and longtime regulars every day from 4 to 7 pm, under the watchful eye of a psychedelic portrait of "Tronicorn" that will—according to a Post-it note—"fuck your girlfriend."
In a parallel northern universe, Alberta's The Know (2026 NE Alberta St., 473-8729, theknowpdx.com) throws down $1.50 PBR, Hamms and Rainier tallboys at the exact same time, to the exact the same people, in a bar with almost the exact same amount of graffiti.
The Florida Room (435 N Killingsworth St., 287-5658), meanwhile, offers $1 Olympias around the clock, under the glow of a sign that says, helpfully, "YOU'LL NEVER GET LAID DRESSED LIKE THAT."
Old Town old men
Brave the Yamhill Pub (223 SW Yamhill St., 295-6613) and get your reward: $1.50 Pabst tallboys before 8 pm.
Ash Street Saloon (225 SW Ash St., 226-0430, ashstreetsaloon.com), Lefty the One-Armed Guitarist's favorite day-drinking bar for many years, serves $1.25 PBR drafts from 4 to 8 pm daily (11 am-8 pm Wednesdays).
Eastside lean-tos
With a marketing sensibility that's either daffy or completely brilliant, Da Hui (6504 SE Foster Road, 477-7224) offers $1 Pabst and $2 well shots during three different happy hours, from noon to 1 pm, 6 to 7 pm and 11 pm to midnight. The Hutch (4606 NE Glisan St., 235-4729, thehutchonglisan.com) also offers a $1 Pabst pint happy hour for its neighborhood regulars from 4 to 7 pm weekdays, but only if you pay cash.
$1 beer invasion
For a crowd mixing eager, penurious 21-year-olds with mildly annoyed regulars who've had their bar invaded for the night, marvel at the efficiency (pints in the fridge!) at the packed $1 Hamms night at The Standard (14 NE 22nd Ave., 233-4181, thestandardpdx.com) on Wednesdays. Witness a similar spectacle on $1 Pabst night at decor-free dive North (5008 SE Division St., 546-9973, northbarpdx.com) on Wednesdays. Or, if you prefer, go to the Barmuda Triangle's Bar of the Gods (4801 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 232-2037, barofthegods.com) for $1 Pabsts on Thursdays.
Pizza, pizza, beer
Order two slices at Brooklynized Baby Doll Pizza (835 SE Stark St., 459-4450, babydollpizza.com)—just like Radio Raheem in Do the Right Thing—and get a $1.50 Rainier instead of a street riot.
The invisible lakeshore
At Rae's Lakeview Lounge (1900 NW 27th Ave., 719-6494, raesportland.com), where there is neither a lake nor a view, you can sip a $1 Rainier draft on the back porch every night after 9. And every weekend morning after 9, you can get $5 bottomless mimosas till 2 in the afternoon. Choose your poison, choose your meridian, and toast the parking lot.
Cheap fancy beer every day of the week…
Way back when, $4 pints were common in Portland. That was before the city became a relocation destination for out-of-work creative types from all over the nation. Luckily there are still a brave, lonely few who are keeping the dream of the '90s alive with $3 craft pints available all day. EZRA JOHNSON-GREENOUGH
- Monday: Wash down $5 nachos at Lompoc Tavern (1620 NW 23rd Ave., 894-9374, lompocbrewing.com) or $4 totchos at Sellwood’s Oaks Bottom Pub (1621 SE Bybee Blvd., 232-1728, lompocbrewing.com) with $2.50 pints all day. Other days of the week, you can get $2.50 pints from 4 to 6 pm and 10 pm to close.
- Tuesday: Choose between $2.50 pints at EastBurn (1800 E Burnside St., 236-2876, theeastburn.com) with sensitive-minded bros or $2.50 pints at Lompoc’s Fifth Quadrant (3901 N Williams Ave., 288-3996, lompocbrewing.com) or Hedge House (3412 SE Division St., 235-2215, lompocbrewing.com) locations with unemployed regulars and middle-class, dog-loving families.
- Wednesday: One of Portland’s best beer bars and bottle shops, Belmont Station (4500 SE Stark St., 232-8538, belmont-station.com) has a rotating $3-a-pint beer special, and they always have great stuff on.
- Thursday: It’s Throwback Thursdays, a perfect time to look back at an era when Portland Brewing (2730 NW 31st Ave., 228-5269, portlandbrewing.com) was MacTarnahan’s and pints were still $2 after 6 pm. If you don’t feel like driving to industrial Northwest, then how about the inner-Southeast Pod Bar (5205 SE Foster Road, 853-3541) for $2.50 beers and $3 ciders among food carts and strippers on their lunch break from Devils Point?
- Friday: Vintage dive bar Hannigan’s (2622 SE Belmont St., 233-7851), more lovingly referred to as the Vern has a daily $3 microbrew pint special.
- Saturday: Life of Pie (3632 N Williams Ave., 719-7321, lifeofpiepizza.com) has more going for it than just Ang Lee movie references; they also have $3 draft beers from 11 am to 6 pm, plus $5 margherita pizzas. It’s way better than being trapped on a small dinghy with a tiger. More into house parties? Alameda Brewing (4765 NE Fremont St., 460-9025, alamedabrewing.com) offers $5 growler fills.
- Sunday: And the greatest deal of them all is at The Standard (14 NE 22nd Ave., 233-4181), which has $3 microbrews all day on Sundays. Capture the moment in their onsite photo booth.
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2015 Cheap Eats Guide to 165 Portland Eateries
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