alehouse vs public house

alehouse and public house both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
alehouse	Yes	No	No	No
public house	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, public house is a hypernym of alehouse; that is, public house is a word with a broader meaning than alehouse:

alehouse: a tavern where ale is sold
public house: tavern consisting of a building with a bar and public rooms; often provides light meals

Other hypernyms of alehouse include gin mill, pothouse, pub, saloon, taphouse.

alehouse (noun)	public house (noun)
a tavern where ale is sold	tavern consisting of a building with a bar and public rooms; often provides light meals