The Sneak E Squirrel

I honestly wasn’t expecting a lot from this place based on reviews but I was pleasantly surprised. The beer was *ok* — I only tried one of the IPAs so I can’t speak to the others. The food was really good though, and it was really difficult to decide what to order as there was so much to choose from. I had pulled pork, husband had wild game tacos, and we shared fried mac and cheese. I really think this place would benefit from marketing itself as a gastropub rather than a brewery as the food is really the shining star of this place.

Food was frozen fried goodness. Beer was unclear and non descriptive. Tried many beers and the said style of the beer did not fit the taste. Innovation Brewery is a great brewery and it’s right down the street.

This is one of those reviews that may be a little painful to read. So I’ll keep it short and rip it off like a Band-​Aid (likely with some arm hairs attached — ouch).
The good news — there’s a third brewery in Sylva now — the food is actually very good — I had a killer Bratwurst and a triple grilled cheese sandwich — the home made fries were excellent — the kind you get made fresh at carnivals where you see the potato cut in front of you and slid in the deep fryer. Four stars for the food.
The bad news — everything just felt a little bit homemade/​low budget — from the signage to the appearance of the taproom/​restaurant itself. I had a flight of four and as an IPA and dark beer lover, I didn’t have much interest in what I was tasting. Probably the Don Gato was the best and I don’t normally like lighter beers. I guess the best way I could describe the beers are that they seemed «Green», «young» or «underdeveloped». Two star beers for me. And before anyone gets too excited and starts shaking a fist in the air in outrage, I’m a beer nerd who’s been to almost 70 breweries just this year.
But you don’t have to listen to me, try it for yourself — the food here was the saving grace.

We stopped by to pick up some bottling supplies and to sample their craft beers. We had the Parrot Porter and Rehak’s Red Leg Red Ale and they were both excellent. If you want to watch sports, I suggest you go elsewhere, but, if you would like to engage in some fun conversations and learn more about making craft beer, this is the place to visit.

Was excited to here Sylva was getting another brew pub. When I pulled into the parking lot you could tell it was kind of half done. Once you make your way inside you can see it is really a half hearted attempt.
It was a big white empty space! The personality of the place was worse than a morgue. No big deal though, they can wow me with the beer and food to make up for it. Sadly that did not happen.
The beer was ok but very flat. One of the owners will tell you how great it is and how much experience they have brewing but it is nothing special.
I had the BLT sandwich and fries. Was made with beer braised pork belly with a horseradish mayo but lacked any flavor really. The fries were fresh cut but they were soggy and greasy. Not good eats at all.
This place just screams «we know nothing about restaurants» and has nothing to make me want to come back. If you expect people come hang out and sit in a boring, empty white room your sadly mistaken.

Sneak E Squirrel, owned by John Duncan, has opened at 1315 W. Main St. between Sylva and Dillsboro and is serving nine «mainstay» beers plus one small-​batch beer of the week, said brewer Joe Rehak. Using a seven-​barrel brewing system, Sneak E Squirrel is currently pouring such house beers as a red ale, a Mexican cerveza, an English pale, a Belgian wit and an American IPA. But so far, its Old Ale and Strong English Ale have been the most popular, Rehak said.
The brewery, which includes a restaurant serving burgers, nachos, wings and hot dogs, and a bread pudding made with house ale, has been in the works for 18 months, Rehak said.