A chalkboard at the Southampton Publick House proudly announces that the microbrewery on Bowden Square in Southampton Village has produced a whopping 8,070 barrels of beer since it opened in 1996.

That sounds impressive until it is compared to, say, the output of Anheuser-Busch, which, in the first half of 2004, rolled out a mere 52 million barrels of beer.

But now, the Publick House, which already offers its craft beers in take-out half-gallon jugs wants to stake its claim to shelf space in grocery stores and delicatessens.

By late this week, six-packs of the Publick House's Secret Ale, which it advertises as "smooth, malty and mysterious," will begin making their way through the pipeline and be available in stores throughout Suffolk and Nassau counties, in the five boroughs of New York City, and in the Hudson River Valley.

The first year's goal, said Donald Sulivan, the Publick House's owner, is to produce 30,000 to 50,000 cases and gain a toehold in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut tri-state market.

Mr. Sullivan said the beer would be marketed as a "premium" beer, which will sell for between $7 and $9 for a six-pack.

Ultimately. Mr. Sullivan said, the company's "goal is to be the premier specialty brewer from Boston to Philadelphia in the next five years."

The Publick House signed a contract with the Old Saratoga Brewery in Saratoga Springs. The upstate brewery, which produces beers for a number of other small specialty brewers as well as its own label, will start with small batches of 1,200 to 1,500 cases a month.

The bottled Secret Ale "will be made exactly the same way" it is brewed in Southampton, according to brewer Phil Markowsld's recipe, Mr. Sullivan said.

Secret Ale will be sold in a brown bottle with a gold label and dark blue lettering. The package background is a wooden chest with a gold key and keyhole on it. Discreet labeling on bottle and packaging describe the beer, tout the brewery's awards and announce "the secret is out."

"It's a little conservative," Mr. Sullivan said of the packaging. "It's not flashy. There's enough three-legged patches on beer labels already."