When Wendy Smiley Johnson first came to the Moscow Alehouse 10 years ago, it was simply called the Alehouse. The business originally opened in 1999 and was run by the Coeur d”Alene Brewing Company until 2010, when they lost the lease.
With that, the remaining surplus of beer was sold, the brewery shut down and in 2013, the Alehouse was put up for sale – and Johnson jumped on it.
To celebrate three years under its current ownership, Johnson said she has planned festivities for Wednesday, the anniversary of her taking over the business.
Tess Fox | Argonaut
A pedestrian passes the Moscow Alehouse, which is celebrating its 3rd birthday this month.
All day the Moscow Alehouse will serve 18 different beers from the Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon. Johnson said the celebration will begin in earnest at 6 p.m. Wednesday when she kicks off a party that will feature live music, raffle giveaways and cash prizes. The Alehouse will raffle off a Deschutes Brewery dartboard worth $250 as well as three cash prizes of $100 each, one for each year Johnson has owned the business.
Johnson said since taking over the business she has made a few changes besides the name. She brought in a 20-tap rotating beer selection and introduced the “Vandal Burger,” made with meat produced by the University of Idaho”s Vandal Meats. Johnson said that a portion of all money made from the Vandal Burger is donated to Moscow charities.
She said she also started the Moscow Alehouse”s “mug club,” in which participants pay $30 to get their own personal 20 oz. mug that is customized and kept at the Alehouse. Members of the mug club pay the same price for their beer every time, no matter what they choose. The membership lasts one year at which point members can either renew it for $18 or simply take possession of their mug.
Johnson said the owner of the Coeur d”Alene Brewing Company has since opened a new brewery in Spokane called River City Brewing and has resumed making two beers from the old brewery. She said those two beers, Coeur d”Alene Huckleberry Ale and Coeur d”Alene VB Stout, are now sold at the Moscow Alehouse, and unlike the typically rotating selection of beers, are always available.
Johnson said working for a local business has made her feel more connected to the community, which is why she jumped at the opportunity to buy it. She says that she has worked to strengthen the connections between her business and the city and university that have kept the Moscow Alehouse in business through the years.
She said purchasing her meats from the university, supporting local charities and renaming the business from the Alehouse to the Moscow Alehouse to emphasize its connection to the community have been her way of fostering connections with the town she cares so much for.
“Being here in the last few years has really allowed me to be a part of, and help support, this great community that supports us,” Johnson said. “Happy to be a part of it.”
Ryan Locke can be reached at [email protected]