The Half Moon Annual Beer Festival
Paul and Angela take pride in keeping their real ales well, as a result the Half Moon has been awarded a Cask Marque. A choice of carefully selected, well kept real ales is a feature of the Half Moon and keeps our regulars coming back for more!
The Half Moon's third annual beer festival ran over the August Bank Holiday weekend 2009. Over thirty real ales and ciders were featured along with five live bands and a barbeque. Some of the local beers are listed below and a more detailed list is available at the bottom of the page.
| B & T Brewery | Dragonslayer | Golden Beer with a malt & hop flavour. Bitter finish. | 4.5% |
| Bloomfield | First Gold IPA | A refreshing well hopped pale ale using maris otter pale & crstal malt. First Gold hops are used to give a pleasing aroma & lingering finish. | 5.0% |
| Brandon | Grumpy Bastard | Premium bitter-crystal malt fruity hops. Flavoured with chocolate malt to darken. | 4.5% |
| Brentwood | Heavenly Body | A blonde fruity number, light on the pallet with plenty of aromas & flavour coming through from Cascade hops....heavenly! | 4.3% |
| Summer Virgin | A fresh blonde beer full of citrus hop flavours & a good bitterness. | 4.5% | |
| Hopback | Crop Circle | An extremely pleasant bitter straw coloured beer with a terrific fresh hoppy aroma. | 4.2% |
| Summer Lightening | A pleasurable pale bitter with a good, fresh, hoppy aroma & malty, hoppy flavour. Finely balanced, it has an intense bitterness leading to a long, dry finish. | 5.0% | |
| Iceni | Fen Tiger | A redish golden beer, brewed with coriander. A fine distinctive taste. | 4.2% |
| Mauldons | Ploughman's | This ruby coloured traditional bitter beer has a combination of goldings & late boiled styrian hops giving this beer an exceptional fruity aroma & delivers a smooth finish. | 4.3% |
| Cox & Holbrook | Stormwatch | An unusual premium ale with a full, slightly fruity flavour. | Earl Soham | Cliff Quay | An amber coloured classic bitter, brewed with pale crystal & black malt, it has a honey-sweet aroma, a deep malted depth of flavour & a hint of marmalade & toffee. | 3.4% |
| Tumblehome | Deep Ruby in colour with a gently warming fruity aroma. | 4.7% | |
| Elgoods | Black Dog Mild | The use of crystal malt & roast barley give a deep & underlying characteristic flavour, which is balanced with fuggles hops as a sole variety. A traditional dark mild. | 3.6% |
| Grain | Oak | Amber coloured with hop & malt aroma. A barrage of hoppy bitterness with malt providing a sustained counterpoint throughout. | 3.8% |
| Hadrian & Border | Gladiator | Tawny coloured bitter with plenty of malt in the aroma & palate leading to a strong bitter finish. | 3.8% |
| Jetsom | Light coloured, refreshing & clean tasting. Dry hopped with Styrian Goldings. | 4.5% | |
| Milton | Neptune | Delicious hop aromas introduce this well-balanced, nutty & refreshing copper coloured ale. Good hoppy finish. | 3.8% |
| Nethergate | Drunken Monkey | Amber in colour. Fresh & tangy with a bitter taste. Tart, hoppy aftertaste with a dry finish. | 4.2% |
| Essex Border | Fruity & spicy overtones from the start with a sweet, soft orange note resulting in a complete, well rounded finish. | 4.8% | |
| Old Growler | Well-balanced porter in which roast grain is complemented by fruit & bubblegum. | 5.0% | |
| Oakham | Inferno | This light igniting ale flickers complex fruits across your tongue leaving a dry, fruity, bitter finish. | 4.0% |
| Waverney | Lightweight | A gentle beer with a light but well balanced hop & malt character. A light body is reflected in the quick, bitter finish. Golden hued with a distinctive strawberry & cream nose. | 3.9% |
| Whitstable | Oyster Stout | Rich & dry with deep chocolate & mocha flavours | 4.5% |
Find out more about this years's beer festival on our Beer Festival 2011 page