BEER brewed in Wiveliscombe is fighting for glory in a national competition today (Friday).

Exmoor Ales has reached the final of the Tesco Beer Challenge with a new, as yet unnamed brew.

And the prize is to have beer from Wiveliscombe sold in stores across the UK.

Based at Golden Hill, Exmoor is Somerset's largest brewery.

Founded in 1980, it offers five permanent and four seasonal beers and is proud to have introduced the first 'single malt' cask-conditioned beer in the UK.

In 2002, brewers introduced the 6.6 per cent Exmoor Beast, which won the Tesco challenge and is now widely available nationwide.

Now, the brewers are hoping to repeat that success with the lighter 3.5 per cent beer, developed for the spring and summer markets.

Last time, the company beat off beers from big names such as Scottish and Newcastle, Green King and Marstons and this year's competition is set to be just as fiercely contested - of the top 20 premium bottled ales sold at Tesco, five are past beer challenge winners.