The 14th Thanet Easter Beer & Cider Festival

The Easter Bank Holiday has now come and gone, and the weather did not disappoint.  Not least when we headed along to Thanet CAMRA’s (Campaign for Real Ale) Easter Beer and Cider Festival held, as ever, at Margate Winter Gardens.

The festival has become quite the tradition in a lot of circles, including ours, and a highlight of the calendar year.

Camaraderie is always the order of the day(s) with everyone in good spirits, which makes for an excellent atmosphere throughout, and this can lead to new friendships being born and old friendships being rekindled. Rarely is there any sign of anyone wanting to cause problems; people simply go there to have a good time and enjoy themselves with their friends. (I suspect that this is part of the reason people go back there year after year.)

Good Friday was our day of choice this year (as we get older, two days of it can prove rather tiring…). The mood was good and the sun was shining.

The festival kicked-off at 12pm, and we arrived outside the Winter Gardens shortly before this.  As a testament to its popularity there was already a long queue of thirsty patrons forming – and forming fast!  We hurriedly joined the line and when the clock struck 12, the queue started to move and it wasn’t long before we were in.

We pay our entrance fee and get our ‘starter park’.  £10 gets you your glass for the day, which you can either keep or return at the end and get your money back, and some ‘beer tokens’ to get you started.

Then, a challenge of sorts.  Pick a beer.  With 200+ to choose from as well as over 70 ciders/perries, it can be a bit of a minefield, but you are given a handy booklet with your starter pack so if you’re looking for something specific you can choose from the book and then head to the relevant area.

With beer in hand and the gorgeous weather to boot, we headed outside to sit on the green bank of grass which is a delightful suntrap.  For most of the afternoon we were able to bask in beautiful bank holiday warmth, catch up with friends old and new all whilst supping on a variety of different beers which were all in fantastic condition (as they are every year).

If you forget to eat before you go out, never fear, there is plenty of hot and cold food available at the festival to keep you going – and to soak up the alcohol!

As ever, Gaddzukes, the excellent ukulele group and Beer Festival favourite, got the crowd going in the evening with an energetic performance which saw the Winter Gardens collective clapping their hands and singing along to a set list of songs that everybody knows.  They really bring the festival alive and it’s a pleasure to hear them every single time.  They started at 7pm, so you can imagine everyone is already quite in the ‘spirit’ of things by then which, frankly, makes for an incredibly vibrant atmosphere.

The whole event is a wonderful occasion and we wouldn’t miss it.

With such a selection to choose from, it’s not an easy task, however, favourite beers of the day included, but are not limited to, Dorset Knob from Dorset Brewery and Lucid Dream by Turning Point Brewery.

If you’ve never been to Thanet Easter Beer & Cider Festival then we’d encourage you to go the next year’s (the 15th outing!) and enjoy a day of excellent beer and cider, good music and good company.

The beer brought us here in the first place, but the memories keep us coming back.

So here’s to Thanet CAMRA, all the volunteers who give up their time for free to put on such a great event, Gaddzukes, and to the Winter Gardens for continuing to host.

Until next time…cheers!

By Nick Foreman

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