HBC 342 hops

Mosaic is a good name for that hop. I had Schlafly's all HBC 369 beer last week and it was like Citra, Columbus, and Sorachi Ace in that order. Tropical with a little bit of stank and lemongrass. I have 6 ounces o HBC 342 at home but no opportunity to use it yet.

Ok,time to bring this thread back to life again. I just tasted the first taste of my SMASH with this hop. This is JUST a really early taste and it is still a little green! Been in the bottle conditioning for only one week. I can't taste any watermelon yet I also can't pin down what I CAN taste yet. It is definitely a clean taste and right now, I would say it is similar to a cleaner version of cascade with something dank in there. It's not real citrusy, not real fruity or not quite anything enough yet but it's surprisingly a refreshing hop but kind of all over the place right now. hard to describe. I can't wait to post it in another week or two and see how it matures. Stay tuned!

i just tried my single hop IPA of this after a week of bottling and it was pretty interesting. very melon-y, sort of like cantaloupe, not very citric at all. really reminds me a lot of green melon (musk melon?) candy/ice cream you can find at asian markets. clean and light tasting. not sure if it's a good single hop candidate overall, but does show a lot of promise in terms of what new experimental hops do with unique flavors. i can see it being really good in wheat beer with a little standard bittering hop at the beginning of the boil.

divrguy said:

Ok,time to bring this thread back to life again. I just tasted the first taste of my SMASH with this hop. This is JUST a really early taste and it is still a little green! Been in the bottle conditioning for only one week. I can't taste any watermelon yet I also can't pin down what I CAN taste yet. It is definitely a clean taste and right now, I would say it is similar to a cleaner version of cascade with something dank in there. It's not real citrusy, not real fruity or not quite anything enough yet but it's surprisingly a refreshing hop but kind of all over the place right now. hard to describe. I can't wait to post it in another week or two and see how it matures. Stay tuned!

Click to expand...

domdom said:

i just tried my single hop IPA of this after a week of bottling and it was pretty interesting. very melon-y, sort of like cantaloupe, not very citric at all. really reminds me a lot of green melon (musk melon?) candy/ice cream you can find at asian markets. clean and light tasting. not sure if it's a good single hop candidate overall, but does show a lot of promise in terms of what new experimental hops do with unique flavors. i can see it being really good in wheat beer with a little standard bittering hop at the beginning of the boil.

Click to expand...

Tasted it again this weekend. It is definitely changing but still a little tough to figure out. I get some sort of slightly sweet candy flavor. Very slight citrusy and a melon that's not easy to figure out.

I am not sure i would use this again unless I find a good combo hop to help bring out its strong points if they settle in..

tasted like one of these. if you have an asian market nearby, here's what to look for. going to let it condition another week to see if it develops a different taste, but from what i had, this is pretty spot on.

domdom said:

tasted like one of these. if you have an asian market nearby, here's what to look for. going to let it condition another week to see if it develops a different taste, but from what i had, this is pretty spot on.

Click to expand...

That's probably right where that melon taste is. The sweet candy part is there too and I'm noticing that's its a little more drinkable. I only have a few left since I did a small test batch so I may let its sit for a month to see what happens. Very odd hop to say the least

divrguy said:

Tasted it again this weekend. It is definitely changing but still a little tough to figure out. I get some sort of slightly sweet candy flavor. Very slight citrusy and a melon that's not easy to figure out.

Click to expand...

I brewed up a single hop pale ale with HBC342 and it seems to change every time I pull a pint from my keg. I get melon in the aroma, but don't pick any up in the flavor. I might try and track down some of those melona thing and see if that helps me pick up the flavors.

IffyG said:

I brewed up a single hop pale ale with HBC342 and it seems to change every time I pull a pint from my keg. I get melon in the aroma, but don't pick any up in the flavor. I might try and track down some of those melona thing and see if that helps me pick up the flavors.

Click to expand...

I agree... It's the oddest hop ever. It's like a new brew each time.

Well my all HBC342 beer has finally stopped its metamorphosis and has settled into something decidedly bland. The dry hopping aroma dropped off much faster with this hop than it does with Simcoe or Cascade. Aroma is otherwise non descript. I don't pick up any more melon or citrus flavor/aroma at this point.

As a big fan of fruity hop notes, I don't think I'll be rushing back to use this one. I was really hoping for the watermelon notes to come through and this hop has let me down.

IffyG said:

Well my all HBC342 beer has finally stopped its metamorphosis and has settled into something decidedly bland. The dry hopping aroma dropped off much faster with this hop than it does with Simcoe or Cascade. Aroma is otherwise non descript. I don't pick up any more melon or citrus flavor/aroma at this point.

As a big fan of fruity hop notes, I don't think I'll be rushing back to use this one. I was really hoping for the watermelon notes to come through and this hop has let me down.

Click to expand...

I have to agree. I have I think 2 more left and I'm not rushing to even drink them. This hop is just boring. Nothing I can see it will add to anything

I bought a few ounces from morebeer a while back and have yet to use them. I think these might be "Belma." Check HopsDirect and look at the "Belma" hop description which is new variety for 2012. That being said, some hops just don't make great aroma hops (a lesson learned when I used 3 oz of palisade to dry hop an IPA last year--it tasted funny and smelled like green hay. However, when I used Palisade to bitter a porter the results were amazing. Use these HBC's as bittering additions and choose something else for aroma in an IPA.

TriggerFingers said:

I bought a few ounces from morebeer a while back and have yet to use them. I think these might be "Belma." Check HopsDirect and look at the "Belma" hop description which is new variety for 2012. That being said, some hops just don't make great aroma hops (a lesson learned when I used 3 oz of palisade to dry hop an IPA last year--it tasted funny and smelled like green hay. However, when I used Palisade to bitter a porter the results were amazing. Use these HBC's as bittering additions and choose something else for aroma in an IPA.

Click to expand...

Yup, I agree. I'm going to use the rest bittering and see how it is.

I made a black IIPA with these and Apollo as flavor and aroma (from 20 min to flame out every 5 min) and magnum as bittering at 60 min and i get a strong melon flavor. It is actually to strong for me. I am going to give it time to age out a little. It is a 10% ABV beer so I will probably treat it like a weird barley wine and just let it age. Who knows.

I have 3 oz of this sitting in my freezer. I intended on making an IPA (single hop) with it. I'm a little hesitant now.

The consensus here is not to use it for an aromatic addition?

rodwha said:

The consensus here is not to use it for an aromatic addition?

Click to expand...

I wouldn't use it as the only aroma hop, that's for sure.

Those of you that have used this hop:
What would you use it with? How would you set up your hopping schedule?
I'm kind of a hop hoarder. I have a small collection of various hops in 1 and 2 oz bags.
Amarillo, Bravo, Cascade, Centennial, Cluster, Columbus, Liberty, Mt Hood, Perle, Simcoe, and Willamette, as well as the SBC 342. Next month I'll be ordering a few others not listed.

I'm brewing with it this weekend. I'm using it as a bittering, aroma, and dry hop with other hops thrown in the mix. It wont be a star of the show but interested on how it will turn out.

Mind sharing what you've got going on? And then posting back with your findings?

Many of the flavors used to describe it have put me off. I want to give it a fair try, but it seems the best thing to do with it is use it for bittering.

So, is "El Dorado" the name that was chosen for HBC 342 ?

I think that the bartender told me this while i was at the Ballast Point brewery drinking a cask of El Dorado dry hopped Sculpin.

rodwha said:

Would you mind sharing your recipe with hop schedule? And maybe any explanation as to why you chose the schedule that you have?
I'm quite curious.
I'm drawn to still make a single hop IPA with it, but I know I'll just regret that I didn't listen to other's advice.

Click to expand...

I used it as a back ground hop. I used magnams as bittering and I added HBC at 15 mins, at flame out and im going to dry hop with it. I'm also using citra and falconers flight with it too at flame out and dry hopping. hop this answers your questions. my recipe is this:

13lbs 2-row
8oz Crystal 60
8oz cara-pilz
2lbs of sugar

1.5oz magnams at 60
0.5oz magnams at 30
1oz HBC 342 at 15
1oz of falconers flight, citra, HBC 342 at 0
and
1oz of falconers flight, citra, HBC 342 dry hop (im thinking 7 days)

Yeast:
Cali yeast WLP002

og: 1.083 (What I hit today when i brewed it)
FG: 1.018 (hopefully)
Mashed at 151-152
IBU- 89-91

I heard this hop is mild, so dont expect a hop bomb with it. Do a single and see how it'll turn out it wont hurt and who cares what people say. It should be enjoyable.

I choose this schedule because I want the hops to stand out. Its an IPA so I choose to bitter and the rest at the back end for aroma and flavor. The 15 minute addition is to add more bitterness to the brew and i had one extra oz to add. if you have any other questions, feel free to ask

So, is "El Dorado" the name that was chosen for HBC 342 ?

I think that the bartender told me this while i was at the Ballast Point brewery drinking a cask of El Dorado dry hopped Sculpin.

Different hop. 342 hasn't been green-lighted yet. El Dorado is another hop. Big jolly rancher flavor.

scottland said:

Different hop. 342 hasn't been green-lighted yet. El Dorado is another hop. Big jolly rancher flavor.

Click to expand...

I had an El Dorado single hop DIPA at Flying Dog a few months back. That is a fantastic hop... 342 on the other hand, not so much.

What hops would it mingle well with? It seems like it would do OK with something citrusy.

And what would be the best use for the 1 and 2 oz package I have? Bittering or mingling it with others for flavoring/aromatics?

Town Hall Brewery uses it in their Masala Mama IPA one of the best IPAs IMO. They mix with: Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Mt. Hood, Citra. I have tried to get more specifics about their quantities and hopping order with no luck. If you take a look at the Lagunitas Sucks thread you will find some mention of it being in that beer as well (another of my fav ipas). I would think this is a 30 min addition and a hop stand hop.

Because I've heard so many negative responses to it's taste I decided to use some in an IPA I'll make.

I'll use Bravo, Centennial, Columbus, HBC 342, Simcoe, and Warrior evenly.

0.1 oz @ 60/30 mins, and 0.2 oz @ 15/5 mins and 10 day dry hop in a 5.8 gal batch slated to be 5.8% ABV with 68 IBU's.

I assume it ought to blend in there and do well. If not I don't know what I'll do with the 2 oz bag of it that I have!

Brau Brothers uses 342 in their Hopsession...I once read "watermelon" as a flavor description. Hopsession is delicious, although I still haven't used 342 in any of my beers, it's on the list of hops to use in my annual; and ever changing, summer pale ale.

I had Fahrenheit 342 at Beachwood brewing today and it was ok. 342 seems a nice mild hop, fruity and sweet but nothing to write home about.

If you are concerned, make a dark beer and use 342 as a bittering charge. I have like 6 oz of it and am unsure of what to do? Maybe I will take my own advice.

I feel I ought to make a pale/IPA first. I'd likely mix 1 oz of hops in a variety of 5 types. If I don't care for it then I'd use the other 2 oz as a bittering hop.

So I was making a Belgian IPA on Friday and decided to open up some HBC 342 for a knockout addition (I didn't have Chinook). I was pleasantly surprised in the smell next to Amarillo and Nelson Sauvin. I actually kind of like it for an IPA. The smell was a little subdued and reminded me of like a tropical starburst candy meets the floral aspect of say centennial (for a fruit comparison I would say mango or cantaloupe, but almost an artificial candy-fruit smell if that makes sense). If I were doing a totally citrus-laden IPA I would probably bitter with HBC 342 and mix it with Amarillo late, then bomb it with Citra. I would also mix it with other hops to add complexity to a hop profile (which is what I did with the Belgian--knockout with Amarillo, Warrior, and HBC 342. Smells pretty good.