Laughing Dog housewarming

More than six months in the making, Laughing Dog’s new taproom opens Saturday.

The party from 2 to 9 p.m. will feature the Zags game on multiple TVs at 3, live music by local singer/songwriter Justin Lantrip at 6 and a trio of new beers – a limited-release Bock at the Moon, seasonal Dogs of Helles lager and year-round American Amber – along with familiar favorites.

The Sandpoint-area brewery moved to a bigger facility last summer at 805 Schweitzer Plaza Drive in Ponderay (off Highway 95 behind Taylor Chevrolet), a mile north of its former location. Production has been humming along with the addition of an in-house canning line, but the taproom has remained a work in progress.

On Thursday morning, the new space passed its final inspection. But its liquor license still is in process, so the owners of nearby MickDuff’s Brewing, Duffy and Mickey Mahoney, stepped in to arrange for a temporary catering permit under their license to last through the weekend.

“That was really nice of them,” says Laughing Dog owner Fred Colby, grateful but weary from the 14-hour days he’s been putting in getting the taproom ready.

It will have a familiar touch, with the bar moved over from the previous taproom and rebuilt. There’s no kitchen, so dogs on leashes again are welcome (they traditionally have been, but were banned last spring when food service started at the former location); children accompanied by adults also are allowed.

Regular hours will be Sunday through Thursday from 2 to 7 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from noon until close (usually around 8, depending on business).

Among the new beer offerings, the dark, rich Bock at the Moon lager is the latest quarterly Brewer’s Whim release. The lighter Dogs of Helles, a tweaked version of last year’s anniversary beer, is a seasonal that will be available in cans through the summer.

“It’s my new favorite if it’s hot,” Colby says. “It’s a nice, easy-drinking beer.”

The malt-forward amber, an update of a recipe from the brewery’s early days, is only available on draft for now but will be packaged at some point, he says.

Customers buying beers on Saturday will receive a souvenir glass, while supplies last, as part of Pints Up Idaho , the kickoff event for April’s Idaho Craft Beer Month.

Other participating establishments in North Idaho include MickDuff’s Beer Hall, Daft Badger , Post Falls Brewing, Wallace Brewing and the Capone’s pubs in Coeur d’Alene, Hayden and Post Falls.