4 Pines Truck Bar

Between the red Dodge truck for a bar (complete with 24 taps and a growler station); wooden wagon wheels and truck tires for lights; and the repurposed keg seats, 4 Pines’ Brookvale bar is industrial at its best. Brewing giant AB InBev purchased the formerly independent company in 2017, but that hasn't changed anything yet.

A mezzanine upstairs, which sits on beams reclaimed from an old wharf, offers pinball and shuttle-board; and a projector on the main floor runs a rotation of sports (including locally pertinent surfing championships), charity documentaries and music events throughout the week.

There’s a small, designated eating section that serves four types of pizza pie (“pies” with moulded pizza crusts and pizza-esque toppings, including pepperoni, pineapple and red onion; and pulled pork with coleslaw and crackling). A little-advertised bottle shop at the front stocks the freshest 4 Pines bottles in the country.

On the taps, the core range of seven beers (including the pale ale, Kolsch and hefeweizen), plus the apple cider and zingy ginger beer, are complemented by 10 Keller Door varieties – on rotation from the 60 created by 4 Pines brewers annually – and two wine options.

As the truck bar is located in one of the four 4 Pines warehouses within a much larger industrial park, it’s surrounded by the action of the commercial brewing vats and the tumble of kegs. Bottling is also done on site.

The hum of vats in action accompanies the playlist – generally a mix of rock’n’roll, blues and surfy beats, fittingly. Blundstone-booted brewers move between watching the surfing on screen to attending to their bubbling blends, making the venue as immersive as it is inclusive.