On tap in the Beer Cellar:

A new shipment of Pliny the Elder arriving on Friday. If you wait, you’ll be too late.

Full Sail’s newest release: Grandsun of Spot IPA, brewed with Columbus hops and Munichand Honey malts. ABV 6%, IBU’s 100. $4.29/22oz.

Maybe tomorrow, maybe Tuesday, Stone Vertical Epic 9/9/09 Belgian style Porter. Dark candi sugar, chocolate malt, tangerine peel, vanilla beans, and aged on French oak. My, My. $6.99/22oz.

Allagash Black , a Belgian style stout made with 2 row barley, Torrified (pre-gelatinized wheat for brewing, resulting in higher yields and longer lasting foam on the pour) wheat and oats, with added Belgian dark candi. Refermented in the bottle, 7.5%ABV, it pours a dusky brown head and exhibits chocolate, roasted malt, candied fruit and notes of espresso. $13.99/750ml.

A small shipment of Victory Hop Wallop Imperial IPA arrived last week and was gone almost immediately. Sorry about that! More today! (bad news…good news…). German malts, American whole flower hops and 8.5%ABV. $5.99/22oz.

Also from Victory, Prima Pils, a classic German style pale lager made from 2 row German pilsner malts, and whole Czech and German hop flowers. 5.3% ABV.$1.99/12oz.

Back in stock, Delirium Tremens, the classic Belgian Strong Pale Ale brewed by Brouerij Huyghe since 1989. Three types of yeast, 8.5%ABV, refermented in the bottle. $11.69/750ml

Samuel Smith Brewery was founded in 1758 in Yorkshire, Great Britain. The brewery is the only one to still maintain its stone square method of fermentation. Yeasts date back to the early 1900s and brewing water is drawn from a 200-foot well, located beneath the old Tadcaster brewery. Oak casks are used to age beer, some dating as far back as 100 years ago. Their master coopers replace the staves as needed, allowing the wood to soak up ale flavors from past vintages. The 2008 Stingo is bottled-conditioned ale, brewed every year and released on “Yorkshire Day” Aug. 1, the following year. 8% ABV and aged for one year in these well-seasoned oak casks, the caramel-colored ale is packed with raisin, toffee, caramel, fig and malt that linger on the palate. $12.99/550ml. Quantities are very limited, so get it while you can! (Only 200 cases made.)

Aecht Schlenterla Rauchbier Marzen is made in Germany by the Brauerei Heller Trum with barley smoked during germination from beech wood from 24 to 36 hours at different temperatures. Heller Trum is one of a very few number of breweries left in Germany to employ this process, which most breweries replace with kiln drying. This ale pours coffee colored in the glass with a dusky head. It has a distinct smoky nose with pleasing dryness on the palate, barbecue, malt and notes of roasted meat. $4.89/16.9oz.

Finally, from the folks at Samuel Smith, and made entirely from organically farmed apples, a jewel of a cider. Samuel Smith’s Organic Cider pours pale gold in the glass. It has a nose redolent of fresh cut Granny Smith apple, clean apple on the palate with some sour notes in the back, a light spritz and delightful finish. Fermented with wine yeasts. $4.99/16.9oz.

Our tasting schedule this week:

• Friday, Aug. 21, at 5 p.m. – Taste Wolfberger Edelzweiker 2007.

• Saturday, Aug. 22, at 5 p.m. – Try Pyramid and MacTarnahan Breweries, a selection of ales.

• Sunday, Aug. 23, at 5 p.m. – We will pour Dufouleur Hautes Cotes de Nuit Bourgogne Blanc.

“Say, for what were hopyards meant,

Or why was Burton built on Trent?

Oh many a peer of England brews

Livelier liquor than the Muse.

And malt does more than Milton can

To justify God’s ways to man.”

– Edward Housman

On tap in the beer cellar:

Pliny the Elder is back! Get it while it’s in stock (you’ve been warned). $4.19/12oz.

New in our Belgian section, Steenbrugge Blond Ale, brewed by Palm Breweries from a recipe handed down from the 11th century St. Peter’s Abbey in Bruges, Flanders. 6.5% ABV with a distinct orange peel nose and flavor with some candied fruits in the back and a lively finish. Pours pale gold in the glass with good and lasting foam. $8.99/25.4 oz.

Mad River Brewing is making some exciting limited release beers. The latest is the Double Dread Imperial Red Ale. 8.6% ABV, with 78 IBU’s. Cara, Munich, Carastan and Crystal malts and Columbus, Chinook and Cascade hops with Amarillo in the hop back and dry hop. Ruby red in the glass with a fine head, resin and citrus on the nose with malty flavors in the mouth buttressed with zesty citrus and pine. $2.89/12 oz.

Our tasting schedule this week:

• Friday, Aug. 14, at 5 p.m. – Try the 2007 Crowley Chardonnay and 2007 Ayres Pinot Noir.

• Saturday, Aug. 15, at 5 p.m. – Stop by and taste the Steenbrugge Blonde Ale.

• Sunday, Aug. 16, at 5 p.m. – Taste the 2007 Domaine La Bastide Syrah-Grenache.