The base for this fireside masterpiece is our Fortune Teller East India Imperial Porter.

Zoltar is the bearded fortune teller with a gold head wrap, gold shirt, paisley vest and jewelery who lives in a machine. When Zoltar speaks, we listen.

Inspired, we drove to Woodford County, Kentucky to obtain the barrel from Woodford Reserve. This is a small distillery, bottling only about 500 barrels a week. Their painstaking care in producing and warehousing their product matches what we do in our own brewery.

After bottling, the barrels go to Ireland and Scotland for use in aging single malt whiskeys. Except for the barrels we snag. This is a sipping ale, somewhat short of Barleywine on the ABV scale, but an extremely complex quaff.

Chocolate and vanilla notes rounded out by the bourbon that gives way from the barrel walls. Unmistakable bittering and finishing hops make their appearance next, and a peppercorn finish puts a smile on our faces.

Zoltar

Style Guidelines: Barrel-Conditioned East India Imperial Porter

Rotation Schedule: once a year when it's cold outside

Food Pairings: Excellent with shellfish and most meats, we prefer to sip this one due to the bourbon influence, perhaps with a raw oyster or two on the half shell

Body: medium to full
Color: nut brown

Grain: British pale, chocolate and Victory

Bittering Hops: Pacific Columbus, Cascade, Centennial and Millenium
Finishing Hops: Centennial, Cascade and Columbus
Dry Hops: Columbus and Willamette

Original Gravity: 1.080
IBUs (estimate): 67
Alcohol By Volume: 7.5% (plus additional alcohol leeched from the barrel)

First Tapped: On cask and firkin in early December 2011 to celebrate the holidays