Our Recommendation: Fuller’s ESB Cask Conditioned Ale
Where: Half Moon Restaurant & Saloon, 108 West State Street, Kennett Square, PA
I chatted with Scott Hammond, the owner of Half Moon Restaurant, to learn about this British cask-conditioned ale, which Half Moon serves by hand pump at their bar. Fuller’s ESB has won the gold medal in the Premium Ales category at the 2003 International Beer Competition and took home the silver medal in the following year.
Scott described Fullers ESB as “a dry, medium ale with medium bitterness.” He noted this cask ale “has floral, fruity notes and good malt flavors.” Cask conditioned ales actually age while in their containers, with darker beers being held and aged longer than lighter beers. Scott noted that “Fullers is meant to be drunk young.”
Bartender Jamie Bailey hand pumped a pint of this ale for me to sample. The ale pours a mahogany color, and like most cask ales, is served slightly warmer than a typical draft. Cask ales are also not as carbonated, though Half Moon uses some CO2 to maintain the ale’s freshness. Jamie noted one of the most popular requests at Half Moon is for a “black and tan” made with Fullers ESB and topped off with Guinness Stout.
Half Moon has a nice selection of beers on tap. Scott informed me they are always rotating in new selections as they finish kegs. While sitting at the bar, I even noticed a beer called the Hopsecutioner. Jamie informed me this IPA is from Terrapin Brewery based out of Athens, Georgia.
As this was my first time in Half Moon, I checked out the covered rooftop dining area, which also features a bar. Between their wide selection of beers and the view from the second floor, Half Moon provides reasons to keep returning and sampling.
Previous On Tap columns featured the following: Earth Bread + Brewery’s Black Irish Stout, click here; Sierra Nevada’s A Lighter Shade of Pale, click here; Deschutes Brewery’s Mirror Pond Ale, click here; Sierra Nevada’s Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale, click here.
