Belma Hops

Yakima 728
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Has anyone used Belma as a whirlpool hop below 170 degrees? I'm pretty sure it has high myrcene levels, so might contribute a decent amount aroma, but what I don't know is if it's a good or bad contribution.
 
eulipion2 said:
Agreed. There must be cheaper ways to ship a single pound of hops. Or maybe that's the point: people see that shipping doesn't increase very much with the addition of a second (or third) pound, so they see greater value in ordering more. Brilliant!
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I always do at least two pounds, or else it is almost not worth it to me. As for Belma, I am really liking this hop, and if I could get it for $5.00 a pound again, I might use it almost exclusively for bittering hops. 11%! Nice.
Plus, I have done three pale ales with this and the first two were highly praised. I'm thinking this one I put together yesterday is on track to be the same.
BTW, if nobody else has claimed it yet, I got dibs on Belma and Louise Pale Ale®.
 
I did an all belma pale with 2 oz hopstand at 150ish. There was almost no aroma in the finished beer. Belma is entirely useless as an aroma hop IMO, unless you want to use a pound per batch. I like it for bittering though. I had high hopes for it, but unfortunately it hasn't lived up to the promises for me.
 
masonsjax said:
I did an all belma pale with 2 oz hopstand at 150ish. There was almost no aroma in the finished beer. Belma is entirely useless as an aroma hop IMO, unless you want to use a pound per batch. I like it for bittering though. I had high hopes for it, but unfortunately it hasn't lived up to the promises for me.
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I use it solely for bittering IPAs. Cheep and adds that ibus. I did a 2 oz belma 60min last night with 3oz chinook at the end. Sample was awsome so I'm excited
 
Terek said:
I use it solely for bittering IPAs. Cheep and adds that ibus. I did a 2 oz belma 60min last night with 3oz chinook at the end. Sample was awsome so I'm excited
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I used 5oz for bittering my RIS. Sample tasted awesome when racking to secondary.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Home Brew mobile app
 
masonsjax said:
I did an all belma pale with 2 oz hopstand at 150ish. There was almost no aroma in the finished beer. Belma is entirely useless as an aroma hop IMO, unless you want to use a pound per batch. I like it for bittering though. I had high hopes for it, but unfortunately it hasn't lived up to the promises for me.
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I get plenty of flavor and aroma from this hop, and got good feedback from my friends that tried it, and I always tell them not to sugar coat it. I don't understand how our results could be so different.
 
Starderup said:
I get plenty of flavor and aroma from this hop, and got good feedback from my friends that tried it, and I always tell them not to sugar coat it. I don't understand how our results could be so different.
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Would you explain your results a little more? What flavors and aroma did you and your friends get? What was your hop schedule?

What you're saying is promising. It seems like this hop should be excellent at aroma and flavor, but so many brewers here are saying no that I hate to waste a batch if it's not going to produce good beer.
 
I used an ounce at 30 and another ounce at 10. The flavor and aroma are citrusy and have some tropical fruit/melon elements. It is much different than typical piney Cascade like impressions I get from other hops.
I am not a judge, and definitely not an expert on hop aroma and flavor, but all I know is, both batches of APA I have made with only Belma are ones where my heart sinks when the keg blew. That's how I tell if it is a favorite.
Jeff
 
Starderup said:
I used an ounce at 30 and another ounce at 10. The flavor and aroma are citrusy and have some tropical fruit/melon elements. It is much different than typical piney Cascade like impressions I get from other hops.
I am not a judge, and definitely not an expert on hop aroma and flavor, but all I know is, both batches of APA I have made with only Belma are ones where my heart sinks when the keg blew. That's how I tell if it is a favorite.
Jeff
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Weird, when I got them last year they gave me an old bruised strawberry flavor. I did not get piney or tropical or citrus notes at all. If it has changed, are you noticing the same strange head retention boost from it that it gave before?
 
My take on Belma:
I've used the hop now 3 times, twice in IPAs and once in a RIS. Nowhere did I get any strawberry or other fruity flavors from it, but that may be the grain bill talking. I do however find it to be incredibly smooth for bittering, and think it is a perfect compliment to a stout or fruity hoppy beer if used as a bittering component.
 
sailtheargo said:
My take on Belma:
I've used the hop now 3 times, twice in IPAs and once in a RIS. Nowhere did I get any strawberry or other fruity flavors from it, but that may be the grain bill talking. I do however find it to be incredibly smooth for bittering, and think it is a perfect compliment to a stout or fruity hoppy beer if used as a bittering component.
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That's weird. I have session saison (Belma/Strisselspalt) and session IPA (Belma/Calypso/Citra) recipes, and a couple other folks have posted a Belma cream ale and stout. I get the berry/melon in both the saision and cream ale, and plan to brew the stout next month. The IPA is mostly about Citra and Calypso, but still has a distinct Belma undertone. Either way, it is a great all-around bittering hop.
 
I'm going to do Belma and El Dorado in an American Wheat ale. I've got a pound of each so I can definitely do some playing.
 
I ended up making a blond ale with belma and it turned out better than the blonde ale with cascade. Can definitely say it is a good bittering hop. I did a 2 min addition with belma and it added a pleasant melon aroma.
 
Gus_13 said:
I'm going to do Belma and El Dorado in an American Wheat ale. I've got a pound of each so I can definitely do some playing.
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I had planned on doing something like this but never had the time or grains to do so. Perhaps this will be my next brew? I've only got 2 oz of El Dorado though. Pale Ale perhaps...
 
Bumping an old thread here, but I just poured my first draft of "Cornell's Strawberry Blonde," (75% pale malt, 20% wheat malt, 5% carapils, with several late Belma additions and dry hop) and it is amazing! You really get that strawberry/pineapple nose with a surprisingly dry finish. Crisp, clean, refreshing, and confusingly aromatic, I highly recommend brewing with this hop! I stayed neutral with the yeast (US-05). And yes, next time I plan on adding a little El Dorado (another amazing hop) to this recipe. It's delicious!
 
FreshSafari said:
Hops direct is out of Belma.
Makes me sad I wanted to try it out without paying $19/lb.
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Farmhouse has them for $19/lb, but their shipping is a lot cheaper than HopsDirect. They also have them in 4 oz bags if you don't want a whole pound.

Also, Yakima has them at $17/lb, but also offers 2- and 8-ounce bags as well. Shipping is reasonable with them as well.
 
eulipion2 said:
Farmhouse has them for $19/lb, but their shipping is a lot cheaper than HopsDirect. They also have them in 4 oz bags if you don't want a whole pound.



Also, Yakima has them at $17/lb, but also offers 2- and 8-ounce bags as well. Shipping is reasonable with them as well.
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Yeah I saw that! I want a pound or two. Idk maybe I will post a WTB in the market.
 
Made an American Wheat with several late hop additions and a three ounce dry hop. While it does provide a snappy bitterness, I found it to be an unremarkable hop overall. Some fruit but no strawberry and very little citrus.
 
AgentHubcap said:
I've got a leftover pound that you can have for whatever shipping costs. I'm not a fan of this hop
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Funny - $19 per pound for Belma. Glad some folks are liking them and some of my favorite suppliers seem to be making a some nice margin on them.

I bought them 'cause they were cheap 2 (or was it one) year ago. I didn't like them either. Used some for bittering. Tossed the rest.
 
Hello. I know this thread is old already and that many of the responses to this thread are just to hate. Anyway, that being said...

I brewed a Julius NEIPA all grain clone with Warrior as the bittering hop, and a ton of Apollo / Citra as continuous boil additions, i.e. aroma and body hops. No hops at flame out just a ton at the 1 minute mark of the boil. (Check the picture, left)

Dry hopped my 6g carboy with 1.5oz Belma whole cone in a muslin bag, and Apollo and Citra loose. Then after close transferred and dry hopped with another 1.5oz Belma in a muslin bag in my ball lock keg under pressure (pressurized / sterilized keg with hops C02 bled, cold all the while).

End result: Accolades from friends and IPA lovers alike. Sampled side by side with Julius and reviewed to be equivocal if not preferred.

This being said I plan on omitting the Belma, double dry hopping only with Citra and repeating this all grain brew and asking the same tasters for results. I will however in the future do a SMASH with organic briess 2 row and Belma throughout and post the results. Right now loving dank IPA and loving Belma... please stop the hate.

It's not what you brew it's how you brew and the love given to the process.
 
Interesting posit, but having tried Belma once I can't imagine anyone coming up with a Julius reference.
I don't hate Belma but I never bought it again. Call it a "meh" response...

Cheers!
 
Actually I didn't buy Belma hops because they were cheap and an addition to my hop order I actively sought them out. First came across them in a LIC Beer Project beer Higher burnin' and man is this brew strawberry in your face... like I can't believe there aren't strawberries in here. A taste I had never had in a IPA yet alone a beer.

"A double dry-hopped IPA featuring Belma, El Dorado, and Mosaic hops." - Their notes on BA

In my instance as only dry hop and DDH additions to my IPA they did not throw strawberries at me but they added a depth of funk and a dimension of flavor otherwise missing.

This must have offset my smoother hop balance but not at all in a bad way. As stated in the last post gonna do this again without Belma and see if it's preferred.
 
I used Belma in a Wit-beer a while back and it turned out pretty good. It was quite citrusy, but I did not get any strawberry notes at all. I don't remember the recipe off the top of my head, but it had 4 ounces of Belma in it at various points, mostly late boil and dry hop.
 
I'm planning to do a split batch (10 gallons total) next using just belma hops as late additions. 1 batch will be with a kolsch yeast, the other I'm thinking I'll use Nottingham but i also have london esb yeast that may be interesting but less attenuated. I also have us-05 that i could use. My hop schedule right now is 1.5oz at 15 and 5 minutes and then 2 ounces at flameout for an ibu of 20. Since this is a softer hop i don't think this is too much, but I'm trying to get a fruity and less bitter beer. My other half says she doesn't like hoppy beers but I'm thinking/ hoping what she means is overly bitter beers.
 
Hello Jimmy,

Never used Belma in anything but an IPA. Belma is a very unusual hop and garners a fair bit on negative attention. That being said it is one that I love and use all the time. I have made a SMaSH with Belma which was great. It also seems that very little about Belma single hop beers can be found in home brewing forums. The hop can produce notes of strawberry but also grassy tones that are well hidden when used in combination with other hops. Using the small amounts that you plan to use all late boil is a good idea. May I suggest to use a bit less in the whirlpool but then also to dry hop in a muslin bag for two days. Remove the hops after two days and way before kegging or bottling. In my opinion less bitter phenols will be released when the hops are added to cold instead of hot water (mash). Also I will highly recommend using the freshest Belma hops you can find! Good luck with the Kolsch, would like to know how it turns out.
 
CircaChris said:
Hello Jimmy,

Never used Belma in anything but an IPA. Belma is a very unusual hop and garners a fair bit on negative attention. That being said it is one that I love and use all the time. I have made a SMaSH with Belma which was great. It also seems that very little about Belma single hop beers can be found in home brewing forums. The hop can produce notes of strawberry but also grassy tones that are well hidden when used in combination with other hops. Using the small amounts that you plan to use all late boil is a good idea. May I suggest to use a bit less in the whirlpool but then also to dry hop in a muslin bag for two days. Remove the hops after two days and way before kegging or bottling. In my opinion less bitter phenols will be released when the hops are added to cold instead of hot water (mash). Also I will highly recommend using the freshest Belma hops you can find! Good luck with the Kolsch, would like to know how it turns out.
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Thanks for the input, maybe I'll just use an ounce at flameout. I don't really do any stand at flameout and just stir as it cools. I don't want to have it be too hoppy but i think this hop shouldn't be too overpowering based on the reports I've read. My other half is seemingly liking somewhat maltier beers as i have given her some irish red ales and i try to make beers she will drink too.
 
CircaChris said:
Hello Jimmy,

Never used Belma in anything but an IPA. Belma is a very unusual hop and garners a fair bit on negative attention. That being said it is one that I love and use all the time. I have made a SMaSH with Belma which was great. It also seems that very little about Belma single hop beers can be found in home brewing forums. The hop can produce notes of strawberry but also grassy tones that are well hidden when used in combination with other hops. Using the small amounts that you plan to use all late boil is a good idea. May I suggest to use a bit less in the whirlpool but then also to dry hop in a muslin bag for two days. Remove the hops after two days and way before kegging or bottling. In my opinion less bitter phenols will be released when the hops are added to cold instead of hot water (mash). Also I will highly recommend using the freshest Belma hops you can find! Good luck with the Kolsch, would like to know how it turns out.
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Brewed on friday night, 9 gallon boil for 30 minutes. Used 5 oz total of whole leaf belma hops over the last 15 minutes, mostly at the 5 minute and flameout, small amount a few minutes after flameout. Split between two fermenter buckets and topped up to a little over 5 gallons each for an og 1.054. One bucket got Nottingham fermenting at room temp (ambient 68) and second bucket i ended up using cali common yeast because i have twice as many packets of that vs kolsch, going to use that yeast for an intentional kolsch. For the cali common yeast i have been trying to do a controlled temp by doing a water bath in my boil kettle and ice packs, it has been chugging along at 63* so far.
 
jimmyjusa said:
Brewed on friday night, 9 gallon boil for 30 minutes. Used 5 oz total of whole leaf belma hops over the last 15 minutes, mostly at the 5 minute and flameout, small amount a few minutes after flameout. Split between two fermenter buckets and topped up to a little over 5 gallons each for an og 1.054. One bucket got Nottingham fermenting at room temp (ambient 68) and second bucket i ended up using cali common yeast because i have twice as many packets of that vs kolsch, going to use that yeast for an intentional kolsch. For the cali common yeast i have been trying to do a controlled temp by doing a water bath in my boil kettle and ice packs, it has been chugging along at 63* so far.
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Just curious since this thread ends here, how'd the beers turn out? I know it was a while ago.
 
CircaChris said:
Just curious since this thread ends here, how'd the beers turn out? I know it was a while ago.
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Personally underwhelmed by the flavor as i couldn't taste any. It's the only whole leaf hop I've used so I'm not sure if that's a factor. I was talking to another homebrewer and he was saying this hop is pretty mild so you need to use more to get much out of it. So my thoughts on this hop are still to be determined.
 

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