Gus
Block 15 Brewing - Southtown Tap Room
- From:
- Block 15 Brewing - Southtown Tap Room
- Oregon, United States
- Style:
- American Barleywine
- ABV:
- 11.5%
- Score:
- +6 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 4.19 | pDev: 4.53%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Feb 19, 2026
- Added:
- Sep 14, 2025
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 1
NO SCORE
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Third beer in the "Pick of the Litter" collaboration series with Hair of the Dog.
We blended our young Honey Barleywine aged in Four Roses Bourbon barrels with Hair of the Dog’s 2015 Bourbon Fred to create an incredibly deep, complex, and warming beer — perfect for this transition into fall.
Gus is inspired by Nick’s father, whose love of HOTD sparked his passion for brewing. Brewed with honey from Gus’s own hives, aged in bourbon barrels, and blended 1:1 with Bourbon Fred, this release is as personal as it is delicious — and today, we release it in celebration of Gus’s birthday.
We blended our young Honey Barleywine aged in Four Roses Bourbon barrels with Hair of the Dog’s 2015 Bourbon Fred to create an incredibly deep, complex, and warming beer — perfect for this transition into fall.
Gus is inspired by Nick’s father, whose love of HOTD sparked his passion for brewing. Brewed with honey from Gus’s own hives, aged in bourbon barrels, and blended 1:1 with Bourbon Fred, this release is as personal as it is delicious — and today, we release it in celebration of Gus’s birthday.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by slaintemhor from Oregon
4.26/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.26/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Tap at Belmont Station. Colour is clear garnet hued amber. Nose is brimming with dried stone fruits, medjool dates and quince. Palate is dry, very fruity and lightly astringent, with ethanol notes that seem
Way more heady than the 11.5% suggests. The finish is very long and laced with even more dried stone fruits, especially apricot.
Feb 19, 2026Way more heady than the 11.5% suggests. The finish is very long and laced with even more dried stone fruits, especially apricot.
Reviewed by vurt from Oregon
3.87/5 rDev -7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.87/5 rDev -7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
8-ounce pour enjoyed in a snifter at Wildwood Taphouse in Hillsboro, OR.
Look:
The color is quite lovely: a clear burnt orange body with vivid Pantone 021 highlights. (Hey, sometimes this is what you get when a graphic designer does a beer review.) A thin vanilla-white ring hugs the edges of the glass without leaving much lacing.
Smell:
The nose is loaded with oak, bourbon, and traces of caramel, malt, almond cookies, white toast, and dried apricots and strawberries.
Taste:
The flavor is initially sweet but dries out as fast as water evaporates on a hot sidewalk. Semi-sweet malt and roasted mixed nuts provide a backdrop for flavors of honey on toast, candied orange peel, pears, and bourbon-adjacent notes of vanilla and oak. Bitterness is muted but still prominent enough to show some nuances. Pine and orange peel bitterness rush to the front, but the lingering bitterness is earthy/herbal.
Feel:
Medium-full body with a texture that stops just shy of oily. Carbonation is mild but effective.
Overall:
Gus is a blend of barrel-aged honey barleywine from Block 15 and 2015 Bourbon Fred from Hair of the Dog. Despite being mixed in equal proportions, the Hair of the Dog character is agreeably heavy in this one. Gus comes across as a more fruity version of Bourbon Fred. While tasty, it isn't quite as good as Bourbon Fred by itself, and ends up being rather less than the sum of its parts.
Nov 03, 2025Look:
The color is quite lovely: a clear burnt orange body with vivid Pantone 021 highlights. (Hey, sometimes this is what you get when a graphic designer does a beer review.) A thin vanilla-white ring hugs the edges of the glass without leaving much lacing.
Smell:
The nose is loaded with oak, bourbon, and traces of caramel, malt, almond cookies, white toast, and dried apricots and strawberries.
Taste:
The flavor is initially sweet but dries out as fast as water evaporates on a hot sidewalk. Semi-sweet malt and roasted mixed nuts provide a backdrop for flavors of honey on toast, candied orange peel, pears, and bourbon-adjacent notes of vanilla and oak. Bitterness is muted but still prominent enough to show some nuances. Pine and orange peel bitterness rush to the front, but the lingering bitterness is earthy/herbal.
Feel:
Medium-full body with a texture that stops just shy of oily. Carbonation is mild but effective.
Overall:
Gus is a blend of barrel-aged honey barleywine from Block 15 and 2015 Bourbon Fred from Hair of the Dog. Despite being mixed in equal proportions, the Hair of the Dog character is agreeably heavy in this one. Gus comes across as a more fruity version of Bourbon Fred. While tasty, it isn't quite as good as Bourbon Fred by itself, and ends up being rather less than the sum of its parts.
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