A pub with no beer is just an ugly building, or so we’re told by a truck-loving publican whose taps never run dry. ROADBOSS hitches a ride north, to find out what it takes to keep Australia’s busiest pub stocked, carting cans, bottles and kegs across the country
To quote Slim Dusty, “There’s nothing so lonesome, morbid or drear, than to stand in the bar of a pub with no beer.” One North Queensland pub owner was so determined to avoid this predicament, that he bought a Kenworth T909 and a B-double trailer set – branding it all up as a mobile billboard.
Mick McFie owned and operated the Airlie Beach Hotel (until very recently) and also has a few bottle shops, and while not a truckie himself, he spent his childhood years in the cabin of his grandfather’s Atkinson.
“Pop loved trucks,” Mick tells me. “He had an Atkinson, UDs, Isuzus. Actually, my favourite was a bright yellow Mack Super-Liner.”
Going back a few years now, Mick had a seven-figure transport bill and two pubs to service, so he figured he’d be better off running his own truck and the clear benefit, aside from money saved, would be taps that never run dry.
Pop loved trucks. My favourite was a bright yellow Mack Super-Liner.
“We’d tried it all,” Mick tells me, over a beer of course. “Rail was first and they were going to Bowen, unloading then bringing freight back. But that could take up to two weeks and we needed two loads every week. Then we used a local freight provider, but he struggled with staff. We tried a few others, but it just wasn’t working.”
It wasn’t until Mick called his mate, Geoff Richards – of Geoff Richards Refrigerated Transport – that the idea of buying his own rig was floated.
“So, I rang Geoff and we got talking about how much I spend on freight,” Mick explains. “When I told him what I spend each year, he said I‘d better go out and get my own truck – so I did.”
The idea was that Mick would add just one extra employee to his payroll, but he’d give them a beautiful new truck and they’d be responsible for it. He lucked upon gun operator Brad Gallagher – whose experience driving trucks around New Zealand made him a perfect fit.
“Brad came recommended,” says Mick. “Actually, he came highly recommended. I made him come up to meet my Pop too – that was the interview process! He looked him up and down, asked him a few questions, and that was it.”
Airlie Beach Hotel publican Mick McFie lucked upon gun operator Brad Gallagher to steer his first truck, a beautiful Kenworth T909. Images: Sam Thies
Mick’s grandfather approved alright, and apparently he still calls Brad most weeks for a chat all these years later.
Fast-forward some years and Mick’s now got two B-doubles and a handful of rigids, all with the sole purpose of running booze and supplies between his bottle shops and pubs. Beer is big business, it seems.
“It’s really about certainty for me,” Mick says. “The freight industry needs to run both ways, and you can’t with beer. You’ve got empty pallets and empty kegs, so you can’t backload.
“Plus, there’s no point having this big hotel if I can’t sell beer – it’s just an ugly old building without beer!”
After catching up with Mick, we organised to ride along with the fabled Brad, who’s entrusted with carting up to three B-doubles’ worth of beer from Brisbane to Airlie Beach each week.
When I told him what I spend each year, he said I‘d better go out and get my own truck – so I did.
It’s an arduous 13-hour run up the east coast ending at the pub that never runs out of beer, and it’s as close to ‘god’s work’ as I can imagine.
Kegs for kilometres
It’s 5:30am on Monday morning, and after helping with the Brisbane Truck Show bump-out for most of the night, I’m not loving the prospect of 13-plus-hours on the road. As we pull into a yard at Crestmead, the truck is just about loaded so it looks like we’ll be north-bound before 6:00am.
We’re met with a friendly face and professional demeanour, as Brad introduces himself. He takes this gig particularly seriously, aware of the chaos that could ensue if he’s a day late on one of his runs carting the liquid gold.
“It’s the biggest pub in Australia,” Brad tells me over the hum of the Cummins idling a few feet in front of us.
I’m stumped…it sounds far-fetched. The Airlie Beach Hotel can’t possibly be the biggest pub in Australia, can it?
“Oh, well I mean what other pub carts in three B-double loads of beer each week?” he asks.
The Airlie Beach Hotel fleet carts an incredible three B-double loads of beer each week, making it arguably the biggest pub in Australia. Images: Sam Thies
Brad’s got a fair point. That’s nearly 130 tonnes of beer a week, which some rough maths reveals to be nearly 100,000 litres of the stuff…or 300,000 stubbies, 226,000 cans, 2,000 kegs – you get the picture.
“It’s a high-value load, especially when you get wine and spirits on there, so it can get into the millions,” he tells me.
As we prepare to hit the road, I take one more look in the back before Brad slings the curtains closed on his Vawdrey trailer. Neatly packed kegs and slabs of beer from floor to ceiling. It’s a sight to behold.
“We use dividers between every pallet,” he tells me, “so that the presentation of the cartons is good for the bottle shops and obviously breakage is something we go out of our way to avoid – we’re very careful when we load and unload.”
This load won’t last long either, I’m told, as thirsty North Queenslanders and adventurous backpackers hook into it later this week.
It’s really about certainty for me. There’s no point having this big hotel if I can’t sell beer – it’s just an ugly old building without beer!
“The first load of the week is all the stuff they’re really relying on, then the second and third load tops up the kegs,” Brad says.
“There’s the pub, plus three bottle shops and they also supply restaurants and bars around Airlie Beach – so a B-double load doesn’t go very far!”
Our journey takes us out of Brisbane, north along the Bruce as we head towards the Sunshine Coast. Traffic isn’t too bad for a Monday morning, and at this rate we’ll hit Rockhampton just in time for a late lunch.
The plan is to make it to Rocky and camp the night, given we’re slowing Brad down with additional stops for photos. This can easily add hours to a trip, so we’ve accepted that this trip is likely to run over two days.
That’s fine with Brad, who is about the easiest-going fella you’ll meet. Having come from a transport family, I can tell you we’d have been stoked to have 20-odd Brads working for us.
Steerer Brad is entrusted with carting up to three B-doubles’ worth of beer from Brisbane to Airlie Beach each week. Images: Sam Thies
“I’d actually gotten a bit sick of trucks after doing interstate work, never being home,” he tells me. “I was getting pretty over it until this job. Now I look forward to driving again…it reignited my spark. I’ve found the perfect transport job!”
Joining us is one of Brad’s two sons, 17-year-old Lucas, who isn’t steering the Kenworth just yet but hopes to one day man the cab of a similar truck.
Why isn’t Lucas at school? Well, he skipped out to come to the Brisbane Truck Show – AKA a ‘careers expo’ – because he knows that’s where he wants to take his career. In fact, when he’s not pouring beers, he slaps his P plates on the hotel’s little light-duty Isuzu, running around doing local deliveries.
“He spends every spare moment driving those little trucks,” Brad says. “He absolutely loves it. He’s clearly got the same passion for it that I have.”
We’re making miles and the rolling billboard gets plenty of attention. It’s a bit of a ‘from where you’d rather be’ billboard on wheels, taunting road users with a good time – and, we’re told, a fantastic feed.
What other pub carts in three B-double loads of beer each week? There’s the pub, three bottle shops and they also supply restaurants and bars around Airlie Beach – so a B-double load doesn’t go very far!
“It gets so much attention,” Brad tells me, as we get a wave. “I’ll pull up at a truck stop or roadhouse and tourists come over to take a photo with it. I can’t drive through Rocky without people filming me. I’ve got 12,500 followers on Instagram, just because this truck is so well known and that leads to people turning up at the hotel to come and see it.”
There’s a more sinister side to the truck’s notoriety, though, as its livery makes it very clear it’s carting booze.
“To be honest, I drive with the doors locked,” Brad says.
“I’m also careful where I stop and I prefer to do the trip in one day. We do have issues where people try to cut the curtains to steal a carton.”
Despite the odd run-in, Mick says the public response is overwhelmingly positive and he’s always happy to show people around the truck.
The majestic scenery along the Queensland coast provide an epic backdrop for the drive north to Airlie Beach. Images: Sam Thies
“Cruise ship passengers or tourists love jumping in, and they can’t believe it. I only do it if we’re parked up at the Airlie Beach Hotel, though. A lot of these people have never been in or around a truck like this. It’s just such a good marketing tool.”
The towns space out once as we pass through Gympie, and by the time Childers rolls around – always worth a stop for peanuts and ice cream – the North Queensland feel starts to set in.
“It’s great, this job,” Brad tells me from the driver’s seat, reiterating just how much he loves what he does. “It’s not like going to work, you know? I don’t know how to explain it. I guess you’re not busting your arse day in, day out like so many transport jobs. You do one or two trips a week, and it always feels new and exciting.”
We thunder past Bundaberg, with not a drop of rum aboard and no intention of stopping, because this is strictly a beer run. Although, we’re told the Airlie Beach folk do put away an alarming quantity of ‘sugarcane champagne’ each week.
It’s becoming apparent, five or six hours into our trip, that rather than pulling up stumps at Rocky, we’re better off trying to make it all the way to Airlie Beach. If we can get there before the kitchen closes, there’s the allure of a steak and a cold beer – which feels fitting.
I was getting pretty over it until this job. Now I look forward to driving again…it reignited my spark. I’ve found the perfect transport job!
Plus, after hearing that people have tried to cut the curtains in the past, we think it’s best we truck on.
If we’re going to make it into Airlie before the pub closes, it’ll have to be a quick lunch on the road. About 10 hours in, all absolutely starving, we see the ‘Golden Arches’ as we enter Carmila. A quick run through the McDonald’s drive through and we’re back on the road, just three hours from our final destination. Almost there.
Beachside beer for all
As we enter Airlie Beach, it all comes back to me. The last time I was here was for a footy trip in 2016, and I got dragged to two particularly wild nightclubs: Nomads and Mama Africa.
Lo and behold, both are absolutely pumping as we drive through the town – on a Monday night, mind you.
The atmosphere is far more relaxed when we turn up at the Airlie Beach Hotel, thankfully, so it’s time for a counter meal and a beer.
The fleet of two B-doubles and a handful of rigids service the hotel, several bottleshops, and bars and restaurants around the Airlie Beach region. Images: Sam Thies
The fact we spent the journey with 100,000 litres of beer sitting in the trailers behind us has created a particular type of thirst. Perhaps it was all the talk of beer.
“It’s like the prize at the end of the journey, getting here,” Brad tells me.
“It’s a long, tedious, trip on one of the worst roads, but you get here and it’s all worth it.”
We make a plan to unload in the morning, before turning in for a night. Mick was kind enough to sling us a couple of rooms at the hotel, and it’s got to be the best spot in town for a weary traveller.
After unloading the B-double bright and early, replenishing the bottle shop and pub with its most valuable commodity, we’ve got a few hours to spare. I manage to talk Brad into taking us on a scenic tour of the region, aboard his Kenworth.
I’ve got 12,500 followers on Instagram, just because this truck is so well known and that leads to people turning up at the hotel to come and see it.
We ride through the hills and farming country, out to Proserpine in what’s got to be the coolest ‘tour bus’ I’ve ever ridden in. I promised Brad a bit of a photoshoot amongst the cane fields, for the mighty Kenworth.
The sun cuts through the morning fog, washing over the truck and surrounding fields with a soft, warm glow. This is the money shot.
Back at the hotel, it’s time for Brad to give the truck a wash and go grab another load of beer, as the beautiful cycle continues.
“The only rule Mick’s got for washing the truck is that if I’ve got the hose in one hand, I’ve got to have a beer in the other!” Brad laughs, summing up just how bloody good his gig is.
“He’s made it clear he’ll give me a written warning if he sees me washing the truck without a beer!”
After the hard work is done, Brad’s last task is washing the T909 – always with a cold beer in hand! Images: Sam Thies
It’s clear Mick and Brad have a working relationship we’d all kill for.
In fact, before we leave, Brad slips up that they’ve actually got another truck on the way, and it’s he and Mick’s dream rig.
“Trucks are Mick’s hobby, as much as they’re tools for the business – and I get to drive them,” he says.
As we leave, we take one look back at the Kenworth, thinking it’s got to be the coolest billboard you could possibly have for a pub – short of the incoming Peterbilt.
But, while it’s branded up with the Airlie Beach Hotel livery, in reality it spends little of its time by the ocean.
The big Nine-Oh is relegated to the highways, with one goal: keeping pub-goers hydrated.
