Chairman of the Board festival was on so I walked u with Ian, and later met Sim. We managed to get some seats inside, which was great as they had air conditioning.

1st visit of this outing: My first outing to Gadds’ Chairman’s Beer Festival held at their taproom off Pysons Road, Broadstairs, arriving for 12.15pm from my mile and a half walk from Ramsgate Station. With the one-day festival commencing from 12 noon, there were already a good few in attendance for the 10 guest beers on, alongside Gadds’ normal range at their main bar, and including at the festival bar a Gadds’ collaboration with East Sussex's Burning Sky and Gadds’ special annual brew for the festival to commemorate Gadds’ late chairman, Dave Green’s contribution to Gadds’ in the years he served on their board. Prompt friendly service from the festival bar and with no one else queuing when I first got here. Good banter to be had with fellow festival goers throughout and a very enjoyable hour and a half spent before my walk for some fish and chips opposite the Magnet micropub in the centre of Broadstairs.

1st visit of this outing to Broadstairs: Quiet for my earliest arrival at Gadds’ taproom, a little after mid-day and for day-two of their Easter Beer Festival. A short trot along footpaths wending their way through neighbouring fields and allotments from Ramsgate Station for our party of two real ale enthusiasts got us here in under 30 minutes. It would appear Gadds’ had 4 casks in reserve from their sell-out of all festival beers on Good Friday. By about 1pm on this Easter Saturday, the venue started to fill up but not even the band was fully assembled by then. Thankfully no plastic glasses as would have taken off from the outside bench-tables in the gusty wind. Very generous halves served by the friendly staff. A good hour spent supping all four festival halves and with no waiting to be served at any time.

Gadd's Easter Beer Festival. Here with Ian, and Steve. Euan and Colin here too. It was heaving, and by about 4pm all the festival beer had sold out!

Beer festival in the icy wind..and rain on the way.Lots of great ales on, all £5, up from last years £4.

Lunchtime cycle meet. 6 of us helped to keep the place occupied while most of the other custom was for takeaways. At least six pumps in action - just noted the two I had.

5th visit of the outing: Packed on the inside when I got here from my walk from the Sonder in Broadstairs at around three-thirty. Met up with a fellow real ale enthusiast from SE London for Gadds' launch of the Little Cracker, a seasonal ruby ale and here with a mild ginger hint in on the mix. Prompt, efficient service for the numbers in attendance alongside the Gaddzukes' singers and band performing festive numbers on the inside.

Fourth stop of the outing: Busy for my mid-afternoon arrival and as to be expected as Gadds' Green Hop festival was in full flood and swinging with a live band outside the business unit housing Gadds' taproom with a main bar and a festival bar with casks on gravity dispense. Made it just in time for the special stronger green hopped ale Gadds' also had, apart from their main one sampled 3 weeks earlier at its launch. This was alongside 6 other local micro-breweries' green hop ales. Met up with a fellow real ale enthusiast from SE London who had made it about an hour earlier to this festival but was still lucky to get the last Gadds' strong pale out of the barrel. No queue for buying the tokens or being served. All pints regardless of strength, £4.00 a pint and with no mark-up for a half at £2.00. Friendly, prompt staff and the main brewer himself, Eddie Gadd, very much in evidence and helping out.

3rd stop of the outing: Very busy on my arrival at 2.30pm and to meet up with a fellow real ale enthusiast from SE London to sample a green hopped beer or two. The Gadds' festival-bar's Green Hop Ale inside a small version of a barrel, called a kilderkin and holding 144 pints, had all been supped by 2.20pm some 10 minutes before getting here. Thankfully the brewery had another one already piped up and being served from their main bar. The event's literature refers to a barrel of Green Hop being tapped at 12.30pm. The traditional old-fashioned barrel would hold 288 pints but this is rarely used as a physical container today. The barrel that had been all consumed was draped in a hop bine, which is a festive garland of hops and foliage traditionally hung to bring luck during the hop season in late summer, and from the same local Kenitsh farm as in previous years for the green hop beer-making. The hop farm near Faversham has been in the same family for over 300 years in East Kent and at the current site since 1919. Their hops include the renowned East Kent Goldings (specifically the common "Cobbs" type) and Challenger. Certainly I was thirsty on arrival as the sun had made its way through the clouds on my 40 or so minutes' walk from Broadstairs to the industrial estate just outside and where Gadds' is based.

Lunchtime. First meet of our cycle group here - only other customers were for take-outs. We had an enjoyable couple of hours.