Sara and I had a post-Easter trip to The Pub With No Beer, which is at Taylors Arm, about an hour-and-a-half's drive from Coffs Harbour. The pub is named after a song which was a big hit for the late Australian Country singer, Slim Dusty, and did once, allegedly, run out of beer, although the song refers to another pub altogether. Apparently.
They've solved the beer problem now by building a small brewery out the back, run by a bloke called Murray. The only remaining problem was that despite accepting our overnight booking, they were mostly closed. We were wandering out of our room looking forward to supper at 6pm when the barman approached and said: "Glad I've found you because the locals have all gone home and I'm shutting early. Do you want to come and eat? The chef's left you some risotto."
Luckily, it was excellent, as was the beer, and it gave us just enough time to admire the collection of photos and song lyrics ("you have to drink the froth to get the beer" - how true) before we wandered back to our room clutching a stubbie of Murray's Sassy Blonde and a glass of unidentified Chardonnay. That was 7pm. It is very dark in Taylors Arm at night and, apart from the insects, very quiet indeed. But it is a beautiful spot.
