Blind Squirrel Brewery

We were big fans of Blind Squirrel Brewing before (favorites include the saison, Hefeweizen and nut brown) and now we’re happy to call ourselves fans of the lodge and restaurant. We ate a few meals here since we were staying in the lodge. Highlights included the loaded tots (delicious), wings (tasty buffalo sauce made in-​house) and Philly cheesesteak (yummy).
If seeking out Blind Squirrel (it is kinda in the middle of nowhere), consider staying at their B&B. We had a lovely, 2-​night stay at the lodge attached to the brewery. Let me tell you… there’s nothing quite like sleeping upstairs from a brewery when you’re a beer fan! The family that runs the place are some of the nicest we’ve ever met. We so appreciated the above and beyond hospitality like keeping the kitchen open late for us as we rushed back from an App State game that went into triple over time, cooked to order breakfast each morning and beer flowing long after closing time!

I’ve been here twice now. Getting here was easy for me as they provided directions from different areas on their website (do not is GPS).
The beer was fantastic and the bartenders/​Brewers could not have been more welcoming! My family owns a pub and I ended up taking kegs back with us (American Pale Ale). It is now a must-​go-​to spot for me every time I visit the High Country!

Let’s start this review off with a tip: You will need the world’s best GPS to get here! If your GPS relies on a cell signal, service is sketchy at best and you may be scratching your head on the side of the road. A Garmin should be cool.
Blind Squirrel is part of a complex, made up of Brewery, Restaurant and even a Bed and Breakfast. Nestled alongside of the North Toe River, if you blink, you might miss it. What gives it away is the outdoor seating area in front of the unassuming entrance; almost looks like a General Store from outside. I spent about thirty seconds inside, as it was too beautiful to dine in; it did have a stripped down lodge kind of feel but had some weird drop down ceilings. The downside to the patio area is that you are right by the roadside, the up side is that there’s not much traffic.
I really did enjoy the beer and have had it before. The American Pale was my favorite, followed by the Squirrely Eye PA, Blueberry Wheat and Mocha Java Porter. 4 stars on the beer.
For food we ordered the Beer Cheese Nachos made with house made chips — really like the black beans on them. The Veggie Lover’s Pizza was loaded — spinach, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and the works. I can appreciate that the crust dough is made in house with beer and molasses, but it imparted a bit too much sweetness and heaviness for my tastes. Again, chalk it up to personal tastes but Kudos for making an artisanal product!
Our waitress was nice but very «out of sync» with us. Sometimes we felt rushed and sometimes we felt like we needed a flare gun to get her attention. At one point, we thought she had left for the evening and wondered who was taking her place. I still left a great tip, because that’s how I roll.
After dinner and beer, we walked over to the river by the B&B property and played around in the water. Definitely worth a trip for the beer after a day of hiking!

We grabbed lunch here and a few pints after a long day enjoying the mountains of NC. The service was fantastic. We waited for less than five minutes for our waitress and they ended up giving us our first pints on the house because they felt like that was too long. I had the nacho plate and my husband had the philly cheese steak. The food was delicious, the ingredients fresh, and you could tell they paid attention to all details. They were very knowledgable about their beers and helped us make a great selection. This will definitely be a place we will visit again!

I had the misfortune of mistaking this places parking lot as a quick access to the river. I pulled in, dropped two people off to tube and was back to my truck when the owner started yelling at me telling me to get out of there. As I was trying to apologize he walked up to me and started speaking extremely vulgar and threatened to throw a cinder block off the bridge onto a young girl and guy I had dropped off. I actually believed he may harm either myself or them and went back to the campground we were staying at to contact the authorities.
After about 10 mins of him standing in front of me, yelling and me trying to tell him I was extremely sorry and that I understood why he was upset (they had a small sign posted at the road that said they offered river tubing on Saturdays which I missed since a truck had been parked in front of it when I pulled in) I got in my truck to leave. The guy walked away and then came back towards my truck again as I was driving out, again he was yelling and ranting about me being there etc, I again tried to apologize and told him I completely understood him being upset. This guy was a total hot head and honestly, as a business owner he needs a serious lesson in people skills. I was totally and completely in the wrong and admitted to it but he had no right to make me feel threatened or threaten the kids I dropped off. From what I’ve heard from the locals, his behavior is pretty typical.
I will never set foot in this business or even consider this place for any of their activities in the future.