Brewfest, an annual event hosted by Moscow Alehouse, a restaurant serving Vandal Brand Meats and local beers, has been a community staple for eight years. This year, however, Brewfest has been postponed.
Moscow Alehouse Owner Wendy Smiley Johnson said normally she brings in 50 kegs of beer and local musical to raise money for charity. Recently, the event has raised $6,000 to $10,000 per year for the Northwest Cancer Foundation of Hope.
“One of my employees, years ago, passed from cancer at an early age. He was just barely graduated college before he died,” Smiley Johnson said. “We made this Brewfest for local people dealing with everyday issues.”
Smiley Johnson said the fundraiser has tentatively been planned for August. This would allow time for the metaphorical smoke of the COVID-19 pandemic to clear and students to return to Moscow.
Smiley Johnson said bands were already lined up to play for Brewfest before the event was postponed. However, she said most of the bands offered to play at the postponed event. The bands often donate their time, playing for free to provide entertainment for the fundraiser.
Smiley Johnson discussed the possibility of offering a virtual version of Brewfest with Skye Taylor, one of her contacts at the Northwest Cancer Foundation of Hope. The virtual event would have hosted local bands and encouraged participants to buy their favorite beers from local breweries. Taylor and Smiley Johnson decided an in-person event later would be more worthwhile.
“I know how much the Brewfest meant to people,” Smiley Johnson said. “Just not coming in and enjoying great beers and listening to live music, it was something that everybody has somebody in their life affected by, so coming in and supporting that as a community has always been a big thing.”
Moscow Alehouse closed for the month of April to rework its menu and organize how to offer curbside and to-go orders. The restaurant opened May 1. On that day the restaurant offered bratwurst, homemade potato chips and live bluegrass music in the parking lot as a socially distanced reopening event.
Smiley Johnson described the restaurant as a second home to her. She met with the head bartenders and kitchen managers recently and said all are excited to return to work and the family atmosphere of the restaurant. Smiley Johnson will be returning to the restaurant for the first time since a car accident in December. She said she is excited to jump back into the restaurant, healed and ready to go.
“I think the whole world got flipped like a pancake,” Smiley Johnson said. “We’re extremely lucky to be in the amazing community that we’re in that cares not only about their own families, but they care about each other. Hang in there, we will all make it through this because we’re going through this together.”
Moscow Alehouse is open 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily for to-go and curbside pick-up orders. Their new menu is available on their Facebook page and website.
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]