With 23 regularly rotating taps, the goal of Moscow Alehouse is to make sure there is a type of beer for every customer who enters the restaurant and bar.

Owner and bartender Wendy Johnson prides herself on the beer variety she has been able to offer the community since she purchased the place in 2012.

“We always wanted to make sure that we had a lineup of something for everyone,” Johnson said.

Her choice to rotate in kegs of similar types of beer from different breweries was a risk, she said, but one that has paid off. The craft beer market has since exploded.

“I think the secret to my success,” Johnson said, “is that if you give everyone a hug and a beer, they will be happy.”

In addition to the constant change in beer variety at Moscow Alehouse, once a month the restaurant and bar hosts a featured brewery that brings in a large lineup of their products.

“It gives the breweries an opportunity to showcase all of their beer in one spot at the same time,” Johnson said, “which can be a lot of fun organizing.”

Every year in April, Moscow Alehouse also hosts an outdoor brew fest with live music. All the profit made at the event is then donated to Relay for Life. Next month, to celebrate the fifth year of the brew fest, Johnson said they will sell at least 50 different types of beer at the event.

Giving back to the community she is a part of is important to Johnson, especially through events like this.

“I have this huge sense of community in that we all have to be taking care of each other here,” she said.

Johnson also maintains the longstanding “Mug Club” tradition that originated with the previous owners of the alehouse. For $30 a year, you can personalize your own 20-ounce mug that stays at the bar to be used whenever you come in. With the yearlong membership, you can order your mug filled with any beer on tap for the same price as a pint.

“What [the Mug Club] really does is it gives people a sense of ‘that’s my place, that’s where my mug is, I’m going to go where I have a part in it,’” Johnson said.

Moscow Alehouse even hosts weekly events like “Faculty Fridays” and “Student Saturdays,” where college students and faculty from WSU and the University of Idaho can come in and get happy-hour beer prices all day long.

Rugby players from the University of Idaho host a trivia game night at the restaurant and bar at 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday, featuring new quiz subjects at every gathering. Once the weather gets warmer, Johnson also opens up the deck area for open-mic nights.

She said events like these give everybody a place to come and hang out, have a beer and eat some good food – creating a stronger sense of community in Moscow.

Johnson has been working at the Moscow Alehouse location as a bartender and server since 2006, when the restaurant was owned and operated by the Coeur d’Alene Brewing Company.

Since purchasing the restaurant and bar, she said she loves operating the business, connecting with her employees and the locals, and has a different perspective than most business owners because she reached the position from the ground up.

“I didn’t come in to this restaurant to buy a restaurant,” Johnson said. “I came and started working here and just fell in love.”

After her takeover of the business, Johnson tried to keep the feeling of the alehouse the same, while enhancing the menu and variety. Now she gets all of her meat locally from the University of Idaho.

In keeping with tradition, Johnson stocks “famous” huckleberry ale and vanilla bourbon stout made from the original Coeur d’Alene Brewing Company recipes year-round. The two beers are local favorites she felt she couldn’t do away with because of the nostalgia they possess.

“I carry [huckleberry ale and vanilla bourbon stout] at all times,” she said. “They are absolutely nectar of the gods.”

With 23 rotating taps, Johnson recommends even those customers who have a go-to beer should be open to trying new options. As the self-reported “taster queen,” she suggests sample platters as a great way to fall in love with new flavors without consuming too much.

However, when someone enters her bar looking for help with something to try, Johnson said she can suggest a beer in the profile they like after asking a few questions.

“It can be very overwhelming to look at all of these beers,” she said. “So my first question always is ‘What do you like? Do you like something light, something dark, or something in the middle? Do you like something hoppy or not hoppy?’ ”