Over the past few years, Honolulu has become a city where you can find good beer. With brewpubs such as Honolulu Beerworks to shelf specialists such as Bar 35, it’s a Golden Age.

Don’t forget Real a gastropub as you ponder where to get your next pour. Not only does Real show real commitment to bringing Honolulu’s beer lovers an international variety of brews; this casual joint is a good place to grab a bite, with a four-hour pau hana to boot.

The experience

A sunny afternoon at Real delivers a classic happy-hour experience, with the afternoon glow and the alcohol you’ve imbibed giving everything a soft sheen.

Inside it’s nothing fancy. There’s a long bar and a typical cavelike room full of small tables. The decor is distinguished by a wall-size chalkboard listing the beers offered that day.

This place is popular, so it’s good that happy hour starts early, because by 6 p.m., when the pau hana specials end, every table is likely to be full.

Servers are friendly and knowledgeable, and can describe the varieties if you have questions or want to put a sampler together. And speaking of samplers, that’s a good way to try out different beers, especially the heady styles with a high alcohol percentage, without getting too soused.

The food

Food offered here should appeal to most, with fresh salads, fried pub fare and specialty dishes available.

I like that Real is taking part in the Localicious initiative, with $1 from earmarked salads sold donated to the Hawaii Agriculture Foundation for educational efforts. Supporting the cause, I ordered a Localicious Beet Salad ($8) made with local, organic beets, organic greens, sweet onions and tomato. It was ono and I felt noble.

Balancing out my healthful fare, I tried the Buffalo Fried Deviled Eggs ($7), stuffed with blue cheese, spicy sauce and celery. These were fun to pop in my mouth, with the spicy and creamy flavors in good balance. Great with beer.

Food isn’t discounted at happy hour, but there are plenty of items on the menu that can be shared. I went for the Porter BBQ Smoked Braised Pork Sliders ($8), embellished with slaw and pickle. This, too, was good bar food, easy to eat with your hands, with a good balance of crunch and smooth, and pretty filling.

The drink

You like beer? You’ll like it here.

Real offers a good, long list of beer at a discount of one or two bucks during happy hour; a recent check showed Guinness Dry Stout, PBR, Goodlife Descender IPA and the Maui Big Swell IPA and family of beers in a can offered at $4. For $5 you could choose between Ballast Point varieties, Occidental Altbier, Mikkeller Keeper Pils and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, among other options. The happy-hour beers offer more variety than most local bars stock overall.

In addition, there are beer cocktails to consider, at $6 (regularly $9). Again, offerings vary, but last week choices included a Bloody Beer made with tequila and a pour of Irish dry stout, garnished with garlic candied bacon and a Ginger Beer Punch made with gin and nonalcoholic ginger beer, and topped with a lager and more.

Cocktail drinkers aren’t left in the lurch here, though this is not the emphasis at Real. On my visit, my dining companion had a delicious Old-Fashioned at $7, regularly $9.

The verdict

It has been a while since I sampled the pleasures available at Real, and I’d forgotten how much fun it could be. Gotta get back soon.