Flying SquirrelWith 20 rotating craft brews on tap, Flying Squirrel needs an expert to head its beer program. Enter beer manager and bartender John Carr.
"Beer is kind of my forte," he told me.
Though, that might be an understatement. John is a vast source of beer knowledge, from its flavors to its history. He is one essential part of what sets Flying Squirrel apart from other pubs, though there are several others.
First, Flying Squirrel does not offer standard domestics - Bud, Coors, Miller, etc.
"Less is more," said John. "The more beers you offer, the longer some are sitting around. They get stale."
Second, Flying Squirrel is downright uptight about keeping its taps clean. Every two weeks the bar contracts a third party to come in and clear the lines, which can build up bacteria otherwise.
Third, the staff stays current and knowledgeable about every one of the boutique brews.
"Every time we get a new beer I send out a spec sheet to all the servers. It'll say the name of the beer, the ABV [alcohol by volume], a short blurb - it'll give the elevator pitch of the beer," John said.
John wasn't always a brew aficionado. "I used to drink PBR like it was going out of style. Pretty much I was shamed into learning about craft beers," he said. "Now, people come in and say, 'I don't like beer.' I say, challenge accepted. Beer can taste like anything. Raspberries, coffee, rum."
John says his favorite is "weird beer." So he regularly goes out of his way to procure brews nobody else has. For example, Flying Squirrel was the first in the state of Tennessee to serve Anchor Steam on tap. Likewise, it was one of the first places in the country to serve Canada's Unibroue.
"Spontaneously fermented sour beer. That's the weirdest beer we have right now," said John, grinning. The sour beer is brewed in Belgium. It is described as a sour apple flavor with a musty middle, Champagne-like bubbles and a dry finish.
On the sweeter side, you might find a raspberry or blueberry brew. If you like hoppy, you might like a seasonal IPA like Lagunitas Sucks with the hefty alcohol content of 7.85 percent. To put that in perspective, Coors Light's ABV is 4.2 percent. "But the Lagunitas is still approachable. It's clean," said John.
There is no guarantee how long Lagunitas Sucks or any of Flying Squirrel's brews will be around. Nor is there a recurring house beer on which to depend.
However, John says he almost always carries a pilsner, an American wheat or Hefeweisen, and a fruit beer. "After Prohibition there was something like 231 breweries in the country. By the 1980s and '90s there were under 80. Now, there is over 3,000 breweries. So they have to find a way to stand out," John said.
Chances are good that the most unique brews will find their way to Flying Squirrel. Cheers!