Town Mill Cobb

*Guest post by Brett*

As I begin to dip my toe into the vast ocean of Real British Beer, it's daunting how much there is to learn. But learn I will, and with "microbrewery" the apparent buzzword of 2010, what better place to start than with Cobb bitter, from the Town Mill Brewery in Lyme Regis.

Thus far, Cobb (3.9% vol) is the sole offering from one of the UK's newest breweries. Having only been installed in one of Lyme Regis's historic Mill House buildings in March this year, Town Mill has made a promising start, and locally, demand is currently outstripping supply.

Whilst a fraction hoppy for my own preference, Cobb is a pleasant and generally well balanced bitter which is neither too fragrant nor too overbearing. And given the fact the brewery is still in its infancy, I've a feeling that Cobb could be tweaked over time to produce a slightly fuller flavour. However, it was in this instance the perfect accompaniment to a lunch which consisted entirely of bread and cheese - just the way the farmers do it.

Watch out for Town Mill's forthcoming Black Ven porter.