Flying Beaver Bar & Grill

This place is... very different from the sorts of bars I usually frequent.  That's by no means a bad thing, it's good to get outside your comfort zone.  The first, and most obvious, unusual thing about this bar it its location.  It's right next to the airport south terminal.  That tiny, itty bitty part of the airport way down on the South end of Sea Island that exists to launch float planes, and slightly larger aircraft to even smaller towns.  There's no public transit, and parking would be a pain even if I wasn't virulently ferocious about people drinking and driving (I am).  Yet, despite being a beacon of isolation, this place works.

It was absolutely packed when we checked it out; and it's not a small bar.  There's a beautiful patio overlooking the southern mouth of the Fraser, but like I said, packed, so we didn't get to try it.  It's a hard place to describe.  It's like fishing lodge meets disco, which I think is what they were going for.  Again, it sounds weird on paper, but trust me, it works.  The part that confused me a bit was the DJ.  He was running a small dance floor, but it was totally empty (the only part of the bar that was).  However, that didn't stop a few a forty year old dudes from getting their boogie on in other parts of the bar, so whatever works, I guess.

Food was good, a nicely varied menu, and a strong late night selection, too.  I hate it when bars only serve peanuts and nachos after 10.  Respectable beer list.  This isn't a place to go to try loads of new beers, it's a place to go to consume an abundance of proven beers.  I spent my evening drinking my way through a few too many pints of Blanche de Chambly, a light, Quebec beer, that I'm quite fond of.

Obviously the challenge for the Beaver is getting to and from it without driving your car up a lamppost.  The bar tries to mitigate that challenge by offering a shuttle service.  If you call them, they'll pick you up, and as long as you hit their four drink minimum, they'll drive you home again.  I THINK this services is for Richmond only, but don't quote me on that.  You can check the website for details.

Overall, The Flying Beaver is a weird and wonderful place, and I will definitely be dropping by again.

The Flying Beaver