If you have spent a day on the mountain at Schweitzer and then rolled down into Sandpoint hungry and thirsty, there is a good chance someone has pointed you toward MickDuff's Brewing Company. The family-friendly brewpub has been part of downtown Sandpoint since brothers Mickey and Duffy Mahoney established it in early 2006, growing from a fondness for hand-crafted beer and a love of this year-round vacation country into one of the town's best-known gathering places.
The setting alone is worth the visit. In September 2019 MickDuff's purchased Sandpoint's Old Federal Building, and in December 2020 the restaurant moved into its new home at 419 North Second Avenue. It is one of the most historic buildings in the area, so much so that the Bonner County Historical Society and Museum compiled a book about its history. Around the corner, the MickDuff's Beer Hall and Brewery Tasting Room at 220 Cedar Street houses the brewing side of the operation, giving the business two distinct downtown doors to walk through.
On the beer side, the invitation on the brewery's own site is simple: explore the brews on tap, or take a keg to go. Names regulars have long known include Tipsy Toe Head Blonde Ale, Irish Redhead, Knot Tree Porter and Lake Paddler Pale Ale, and several MickDuff's ales have earned awards at the North American Beer Awards over the years. A sampler tray, like the one pictured here, is the friendliest way for a first-time visitor to work through the range and find a favorite.
The kitchen keeps the same welcoming spirit as the taps. MickDuff's describes itself with three short instructions — eat, drink, be merry — and its menu is built for families and groups coming off the lake, the trails or the slopes, with gluten-free and vegetarian options noted in its own background materials. It is the kind of place where a ski day can turn into an unhurried dinner without anyone needing to change out of mountain-town clothes.
For Schweitzer visitors, that combination is exactly the point. Sandpoint is the mountain's front porch, and a locally owned brewpub with its own history, its own beer and a building full of Sandpoint stories gives a trip a sense of place that a chain stop never could. Locals get a living room downtown; visitors get a genuine taste of the town, in every sense.
You will find MickDuff's Brewing Company at 419 North Second Avenue in Sandpoint, with the Beer Hall at 220 Cedar Street. The restaurant's own site lists hours of 11 in the morning to 9 in the evening daily, making it an easy lunch after a morning in town or an early dinner after a day up at Schweitzer. Stop in, order a sampler, and raise a glass to a Sandpoint original that has been pouring since 2006.