Belma Hops

[HawksBrewer]

Brewed up a massive APA/IPA (it teeters on the edge of IBUs, but ABV is only 5.9%) a week ago. Here is the hop schedule (10 gallon batch)

2 oz Belma mash hop
2 oz Cascade mash hop
1 oz Belma FWH
1 oz Cascade FWH
1.5 oz Belma 15min
1.5 oz Citra 15min
1.5 oz Cascade 15min
1.5 oz Belma 5min
1.5 oz Citra 5min
1.5oz Cascade 5min
2 oz Belma FO (hop stand @ 150F)
2 oz Citra FO (hop stand @ 150F)
1 oz Cascade FO (hop stand @ 150F)
2 oz Citra dry hop
2 oz Sterling dry hop
2 oz Belma dry hop

When I opened up the fermenters to dry hop on Saturday it smelled pretty good, but the first round of dry hopping is in now, second round goes in on Saturday. Will be bottled in 2 weeks. Can't wait.

 

[snaps10]

Brewed up a massive APA/IPA (it teeters on the edge of IBUs, but ABV is only 5.9%) a week ago. Here is the hop schedule (10 gallon batch)

2 oz Belma mash hop
2 oz Cascade mash hop
1 oz Belma FWH
1 oz Cascade FWH
1.5 oz Belma 15min
1.5 oz Citra 15min
1.5 oz Cascade 15min
1.5 oz Belma 5min
1.5 oz Citra 5min
1.5oz Cascade 5min
2 oz Belma FO (hop stand @ 150F)
2 oz Citra FO (hop stand @ 150F)
1 oz Cascade FO (hop stand @ 150F)
2 oz Citra dry hop
2 oz Sterling dry hop
2 oz Belma dry hop

When I opened up the fermenters to dry hop on Saturday it smelled pretty good, but the first round of dry hopping is in now, second round goes in on Saturday. Will be bottled in 2 weeks. Can't wait.

Good Lord. I think you should send me a bottle of that!

 

[remandsager]

I also saw the earlier posts, and ordered a couple pounds. Like everyone else, I also brewed with it this weekend - a SMaSH IPA; Golden Promise malt, Belma hops, WLP001 yeast. 2 oz Belma for 60 minutes, 1 oz at 20 minutes and at 0 minutes. Went into the carboy last night...and plan on dry hopping with an oz or two in the secondary... We'll see how it turns out. Using the same recipe as a GP/Cascade SMaSH that is tap currently (its quite nice, if I do say so myself...) so will have something to compare to...

 

[tre9er]

Brewed up a massive APA/IPA (it teeters on the edge of IBUs, but ABV is only 5.9%) a week ago. Here is the hop schedule (10 gallon batch)

2 oz Belma mash hop
2 oz Cascade mash hop
1 oz Belma FWH
1 oz Cascade FWH
1.5 oz Belma 15min
1.5 oz Citra 15min
1.5 oz Cascade 15min
1.5 oz Belma 5min
1.5 oz Citra 5min
1.5oz Cascade 5min
2 oz Belma FO (hop stand @ 150F)
2 oz Citra FO (hop stand @ 150F)
1 oz Cascade FO (hop stand @ 150F)
2 oz Citra dry hop
2 oz Sterling dry hop
2 oz Belma dry hop

When I opened up the fermenters to dry hop on Saturday it smelled pretty good, but the first round of dry hopping is in now, second round goes in on Saturday. Will be bottled in 2 weeks. Can't wait.

26oz. of hops for a 10g batch?? Really? Curious to see how this turns out. You might also try simply eating the hops...

 

[scottland]

26oz. of hops for a 10g batch?? Really? Curious to see how this turns out. You might also try simply eating the hops...

That's about 4lbs/bbl. That's not unheard of for an IPA. Union Jack is around 4lbs/bbl

 

[jammin]

26oz. of hops for a 10g batch?? Really? Curious to see how this turns out. You might also try simply eating the hops...

That's about 4lbs/bbl. That's not unheard of for an IPA. Union Jack is around 4lbs/bbl

Union Jack is tasty stuff. I think the flavor much better than Double Jack. I believe it when you say they use that much hops; the flavor and aroma is tops on that beer.

Im glad you posted that, Scott! Every so often when I'm building an IPA recipe, my eyes will bug out when I read the total amount of hops. That's why I buy my hops in bulk though; I know how much I enjoy the finished product.


o/t: took my new hop back for a spin last night. 3.5oz rinsed with hot wort heading straight into the CFC. Hopefully it locked in some good flavor and aroma.

 

[dbrewski]

o/t: took my new hop back for a spin last night. 3.5oz rinsed with hot wort heading straight into the CFC. Hopefully it locked in some good flavor and aroma.

OT or not, report back here on your results. I've been curious as to how effective those are!

 

[jammin]

OT or not, report back here on your results. I've been curious as to how effective those are!

I tasted my SG sample and it was noticeably hoppy. Lots of fresh hop flavor in the sweet wort - almost like chewing on a hop. Not your typical late addition flavor.

As to how much of that will be retained after fermentation... I'll have to wait and see.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I got sidetracked and didn't end up dry hopping like I planned. I'll be brewing Sunday though. I'm going to do three plaes. One all cascade, one all belma, and one centennial, cascade and belma. From what I've read so far, it should turn out to be a pretty good hop.

 

[doublehaul]

Changed my mind, brewing a Zombie Dust clone subbing all Belma this weekend

Please post how it compares to the original!

 

[naiek]

Please post how it compares to the original!

Send me a bottle of the original and I will

 

[doublehaul]

Send me a bottle of the original and I will

ahhh - i was assuming you had brewed the original. I have once and it was excellent! and I have a pound of belma, so i'm interested in how yours turns out

 

[naiek]

ahhh - i was assuming you had brewed the original. I have once and it was excellent! and I have a pound of belma, so i'm interested in how yours turns out

It smells great, I will be kegging this weekend and will post results

 

[cfonnes]

Used belma for flavor, aroma, and dry hop.

Nice citrus on the front of the tongue but there is something on the back (resin perhaps) that I find less enjoyable.

 

[TimBrewz]

Update on Belma APA. Decent. Not amazing IMHO. Nice subtle aroma and flavor. Compared to other single hop APAs I have done, it is very mellow. As mentioned earlier, I think it will be a good blending hop.

 

[jammin]

I just packagedy Belma pale ale.

Dry hopped on 2oz for 10 days, then racked into onto 2.5oz for 9 days. So a total of 4.50oz dry hops.

Sample tastes pretty good. I like the hop and find it mostly floral and slightly spicy. It does have a tropical sweetness to it as well. I would not compare it to Citra.

We'll see how it is in 2 weeks when it is finally carbed.

 

[bobbrews]

Spicy how? Like Willamette, Chinook, and Ahtanum had a baby with some added tropical fruity notes?

Does it have Noble traits or would you call it a distinctly American Pacific Northwest hop in terms of character?

I haven't even opened my bag yet. Brewing Sunday.

 

[jammin]

Spicy how? Like Willamette, Chinook, and Ahtanum had a baby with some added tropical fruity notes?

Does it have Noble traits or would you call it a distinctly American Pacific Northwest hop in terms of character?

I haven't even opened my bag yet. Brewing Sunday.

Wish I knew those hops better so I could help.

I am open to a bottle swap though if you want to try it first hand.

 

[Chriso]

Subscribed, as I've got a pound of Belma heading to me right now, and need ideas. Thanks for posting your recipes!

 

[HawksBrewer]

For those who really think 26oz for 10 gallons of APA is too much, you're crazy. 4oz was mash hops so no bitterness imparted. Did a one week dry hop w/ citra and sterling pellets and just racked onto 2oz of belma for a secondary dry hop of a week. Taste sample was PHENOMENAL. I agree with the other statements that Belma is a more subdued hop, but in a good way. Man does it play well w/ the citra and cascade!!!! The aroma from the sterling was a nice counter to the otherwise citrusy hop profile. Looks like I may have a new favorite hop combo.

 

[Gameface]

I just got a pound of this delivered today. I was ordering centennial and tossed in a pound of Belma to help justify the $10 shipping charge. I'm making a two-hearted clone with the centennial but plan to make a similar recipe with amarillo, cascade and belma to compare.

 

[HawksBrewer]

plan to make a similar recipe with amarillo, cascade and belma to compare.

That looks like a winning combination to me.

 

[Crustovsky]

After getting sucked in by how hops direct marketed their "Calypso" hops about this time last year (damn that was a really weak hop) I'm a bit skeptical of their new hop varieties, or at least their marketing pitches. Bit disappointed from everyone's descriptions, as I was hoping these would be a bit stronger, although I'll probably still grab a pound of them soon. I want to try them in a really super aggressively hopped American Red blended with equal parts Ahatnum and either Amarillo, Columbus, or Summit (pending I can find Summit that haven't been visited by the onion fairy).

 

[BBL_Brewer]

After getting sucked in by how hops direct marketed their "Calypso" hops about this time last year (damn that was a really weak hop) I'm a bit skeptical of their new hop varieties, or at least their marketing pitches. Bit disappointed from everyone's descriptions, as I was hoping these would be a bit stronger, although I'll probably still grab a pound of them soon. I want to try them in a really super aggressively hopped American Red blended with equal parts Ahatnum and either Amarillo, Columbus, or Summit (pending I can find Summit that haven't been visited by the onion fairy).

If nothing else, even if the character is too weak for your tates, they are high alpha. I'm sure you could put them to good use.

 

[FATC1TY]

I'm thinking of a simple pale... Comet to FWH, Chinook, Cascade and Belma... Call it, "Report Card Pale Ale".. 3 C's and a B.

I think the fruity notes from Comet, and Cascade will play well with the spicy Chinook, and the Belma has traits of them all, but "supposedly" more fruit notes.


8 # 2 Row
1# Munich
.5# Victory
.5# C20
.5# C40

FWH the Comet at around 1oz.

Fire in the Chinook @ 15, Cascade @ 10, Belma @ 5, and then Belma and Cascade at flameout.

Dry hop with whichever ones make you want, an ounce of each, 2 oz total.

 

[scottland]

I got 2lbs in the mail today. It's a very nice hop. Tropical and a little funky/grungy. I get a little citrus, but mostly like over ripe pineapple with some 'funk' to it. And I mean that in a good way.

It's not quite as oily as Citra, but sh**, few hops are. Definitely looking forward to using it.

 

[jheld00]

I have two pounds of pellets coming my way. I think I'll order a pound of whole tomorrow with my Citra/Amarillo order. I plan on doing an all Belma Pale Ale and turning filter into a "Randall" with some Belma leaf.

 

[Beerrific]

If nothing else, even if the character is too weak for your tates, they are high alpha. I'm sure you could put them to good use.

You are right. The price per alpha is really good on this hop. Worth trying for flavor/aroma, and if you don't like it, you can just use it as a bittering hop.

I bought some Bravo hops from Hops Direct many years ago (first place I ever heard of it). I really wanted it to be the next Simcoe or Citra, but, it did just fine for bittering at 17+%.

Let's be honest. If this was the next Simcoe or Citra, Putterbaugh would not be the only ones with it and they would not be selling it for $5/lb.

 

[FATC1TY]

I packaged my #1 of leaf last night into smaller vac sealed packages.. I rubbed some and smelled it. I get a bit of earthy citrus in there, a little melon notes, very soft smelling. Didn't really get the strawberry, but it's all in what you imagine I think.

Smelled good though, and will look to use it in my next pale perhaps.. Planned to be most cascade and citra, but might say to hell with it and toss in some belma.

I got some pellets coming with my other orders since it was so cheap and worth trying, atleast for the high AA to bitter. Might end up being a nice hop to layer with,

 

[bobbrews]

I can see what they meant by tropical strawberry and spice. Belma smells like strawberry-pineapple bubblegum with a hint of funky spice complexity, whereas Citra is similar but wayyyyyyyy more tropical, oily, and fruity. If you wanted to balance things out, I'd go with a dank hop like Apollo/Columbus, and/or Cascade for added floral citrus.