Belma Hops

[eulipion2]

I still have a pound sitting in my freezer that I haven't tried yet. I was just thinking about making a saison (or maybe a wheat beer), and adding some additional strawberries in secondary to make a very fruity summer beer.

dpatrickv, care to share your recipe?

I took the session saison I listed above to my homebrew club meeting, and it was a hit. The strawberry plays very nice in a saison. Try brewing with just the belma before you add actual strawberries to it, just to get a taste for it.

If you do add strawberries, cook them first. Raw strawberries tend to promote plastic flavors.

 

[chiteface]

I saw Stan Hieronymus speak last night and he mentioned that some "flavor" of hops will increase over time. I thunk that is what happens with Belma. My IPA has been in keg for about 3 months and is just now starting to taste super fruity. But it is a strong strawberry and melon taste. I like it a lot.

 

[Clonefan94]

I've definitely noticed the fruity sweet kind of flavors you get from Belma. I did an APA with it, mixed in a little cascade, but for the most part Belma was used in all the hop additions. At first I thought I had it too hot while fermenting, but it was always in the low to mid 60s during fermentation, so I was a little confused, until I started reading on here. What I figured was the banana fruity flavor (I've had a warm fermentation with US-05, that's why I was confused, it was a similar fruity flavor, but not quite ester banana), was actually strawberry and melon, that people mention here, I just couldn't place it. It's not bad, just not my thing on something I made to drink on a daily basis. Other than liking actual strawberries, I have adverse reactions to anything flavored strawberry, candies, soda, so this just wasn't a taste I wanted.

I recently used it on another APA I brewed, this time only using it for the bittering addition and it worked well enough for that, that $5 was definitely a bargain. I don't see myself using it for anything other than bittering though, in the future.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I've definitely noticed the fruity sweet kind of flavors you get from Belma. I did an APA with it, mixed in a little cascade, but for the most part Belma was used in all the hop additions. At first I thought I had it too hot while fermenting, but it was always in the low to mid 60s during fermentation, so I was a little confused, until I started reading on here. What I figured was the banana fruity flavor (I've had a warm fermentation with US-05, that's why I was confused, it was a similar fruity flavor, but not quite ester banana), was actually strawberry and melon, that people mention here, I just couldn't place it. It's not bad, just not my thing on something I made to drink on a daily basis. Other than liking actual strawberries, I have adverse reactions to anything flavored strawberry, candies, soda, so this just wasn't a taste I wanted.

I recently used it on another APA I brewed, this time only using it for the bittering addition and it worked well enough for that, that $5 was definitely a bargain. I don't see myself using it for anything other than bittering though, in the future.

Same here

 

[pkrath84]

I worked well in my Honey APA. Used it to dry hop and it came out nicely with good comments from a BJCP judge. Made me feel good about my first brew.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Figured on a whim tossed a little into a Pale Ale I made since I had ingredients on hand on Friday. The last time I brewed it it was extra bitter for some reason and I thought wht the hell, I will add some belma to fruity balance it up a little. WIll find out how it turns out in a couple weeks.

 

[jessup]

I just had a Belma Pale Ale at Full Sail Brewery the other day...it was underwhelming as well. Slightly better than my Belma PA, but I still wasn't getting any major flavor and aroma...and continue to look for the strawberry roll up essence reported by others, don't get that either.

I made an American Wheat with Belmas, it is a good wheat, no major fruity flavors in it either tho.

Oh well, they are a cheap bittering and flavor hop to round out big IPA's and DIPAs.

I'm curious to see your recipe. Can you put up for a critique? Perhaps HBT can help

 

[Hawaiibboy]

I'll be cracking open my Bemla/Motueka pale ale this weekend. Tasting the sample for gravity when bottling was a joy. It was extremely guava like and not so much strawberry or melon. Here is my hop bill:

Hops
Amount IBU's Name Time AA %
0.40 ozs 14.67 Motueka 60 mins 7.50
0.10 ozs 4.25 Belma 30 mins 11.30
0.20 ozs 5.64 Motueka 30 mins 7.50
0.10 ozs 2.74 Belma 15 mins 11.30
0.20 ozs 3.64 Motueka 15 mins 7.50
0.50 ozs 3.66 Motueka 5 mins 7.50
0.25 ozs 2.75 Belma 5 mins 11.30
0.10 ozs 0.00 Belma 4 days 11.30
0.20 ozs 0.00 Motueka 4 days 7.50

 

[dpatrickv]

I still have a pound sitting in my freezer that I haven't tried yet. I was just thinking about making a saison (or maybe a wheat beer), and adding some additional strawberries in secondary to make a very fruity summer beer.

dpatrickv, care to share your recipe?

Here is my recipe....

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/41125/belma-farmhouse

I really do enjoy this beer. I think it would pair well with a bit of strawberries in secondary as well.

 

[strambo]

I'm curious to see your recipe. Can you put up for a critique? Perhaps HBT can help

Sure...

Belma Pale Ale American Pale Ale
Type: Partial Mash Batch Size (fermenter): 2.50 gal

Ingredients
1 lbs 12.2 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)Grain
3.5 oz Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM)
3.5 ozCaramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)
0.22 ozMagnum [14.30 %] - First Wort 60.0 min
2 lbs 3.2 ozPale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM)Extract
0.47 oz Belma [12.10 %] - Boil 20.0 min
1.00 ozBelma [12.10 %] - Boil 0.0 min
0.5 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) Yeast [23.66 ml]
1.00 ozBelma [12.10 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days

Measured Original Gravity: 1.061 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.4 %Actual Alcohol by Vol: 6.4 %
Bitterness: 45.2 IBUs
Est Color: 9.4 SRM Mash Profile

Note, some of the grain fractions seem odd, that's because I made a 5 gal size wort with the FWH addition, then after boiling for 40 mins, split it out into 2 pots for 2x 2.5 gal batches. One got Legacy for flavor/aroma, 1 got Belma. The Legacy was better.

 

[lumpher]

i tried belma in 3 different beers. i HATE it!!!

 

[emmdubb23]

i tried belma in 3 different beers. i HATE it!!!

I will put it to good use, send it to me...
Haha

 

[jessup]

Ingredients
1 lbs 12.2 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)Grain
3.5 oz Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM)
3.5 ozCaramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)
0.22 ozMagnum [14.30 %] - First Wort 60.0 min
2 lbs 3.2 ozPale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM)Extract
0.47 oz Belma [12.10 %] - Boil 20.0 min
1.00 ozBelma [12.10 %] - Boil 0.0 min
0.5 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) Yeast [23.66 ml]
1.00 ozBelma [12.10 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days

Measured Original Gravity: 1.061 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.4 %Actual Alcohol by Vol: 6.4 %
Bitterness: 45.2 IBUs
Est Color: 9.4 SRM Mash Profile
.

You've got a heavy malt bomb on your hands there!! MOPA, crystal & biscuit wowzerz!! You should go overboard with hopping to battle your malts & try to balance things. I would recommend multiple hop additions toward the end (<15 min) & big dry hopping. With this grain bill I don't think its worth even attempting "hoppy". Go another direction & try belma again:
8 lbs pilsner
1 lb honey malt
1 oz belma @60 min
2 oz belma @15 min
4 oz belma @0 min
*this will help put belma on the hop stage & shine through with slightly sweet malt bill but still balanced.

Just my $.02

 

[BBL_Brewer]

You've got a heavy malt bomb on your hands there!! MOPA, crystal & biscuit wowzerz!!

I disagree. He's using 3.5 oz biscuit and 3.5 oz 40L into 2.5 gallons. That's only 7 oz. That's not going to be a malt bomb. Unless, of course, you're used to drinking BMC

 

[jessup]

I disagree. He's using 3.5 oz biscuit and 3.5 oz 40L into 2.5 gallons. That's only 7 oz.

maybe "maltbomb" was exagerrated but you get my point. i see that recipe and it screams english style to me - there's alot to hide behind. a SG of 1.62 is going to challenge your hop utilization. all i'm saying is that this hop is much less aggressive than some other hops of equivalent AA% so you have to go excessive & up the quantity used. maybe puterburgh farms knew that & that's why they're dirt cheap! i try to defend a stupid hop and i'm compared to a bmc fan lol

 

[Hawaiibboy]

Go another direction & try belma again:
8 lbs pilsner
1 lb honey malt
1 oz belma @60 min
2 oz belma @15 min
4 oz belma @0 min
*this will help put belma on the hop stage & shine through with slightly sweet malt bill but still balanced.

Just my $.02

I have to agree, from talking with the LHBS and some other people they were suggesting a BU:GU ratio of .5-.8for a Belma SMaSH. It would allow the malt and Belma to shine.

Here is the recipe for my Belma/Motueka Pale which is rather tasty and definetly has the Belma character shining through. Motueka plays well with the melon/fruitiness of Belma and gives the beer an almost fruit infused type of taste while still having a nice bit of malt backbone. BU:GU ratio is about .79.

Belma Motueka

Style: American Pale Ale
Type: All Grain Calories: 155.47
Rating: 0.0 Boil Size: 3.50 Gals
IBU's: 38.54 Batch Size: 3.50 Gals
Color: 5.1 SRM Boil Time: 60 minutes
Preboil OG: 1.048
Estimated Actual
Brew Date: - 04/14/2013
OG: 1.048 1.048
FG: 1.012 1.007
ABV: 4.68 % 5.37 %
Efficiency: 68.00 % 68.59 %

Grains & Adjuncts
Amount Percentage Name Time Gravity
84.00 ozs 77.06 % Pale Malt (2 Row) US 90 mins 1.036
20.00 ozs 18.35 % Briess Vienna Malt 90 mins 1.036
5.00 ozs 4.59 % Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L 90 mins 1.035

Hops
Amount IBU's Name Time AA %
0.40 ozs 15.14 Motueka 60 mins 7.50
0.10 ozs 4.38 Belma 30 mins 11.30
0.20 ozs 5.82 Motueka 30 mins 7.50
0.10 ozs 2.83 Belma 15 mins 11.30
0.20 ozs 3.76 Motueka 15 mins 7.50
0.50 ozs 3.77 Motueka 5 mins 7.50
0.25 ozs 2.84 Belma 5 mins 11.30
0.10 ozs 0.00 Belma 4 days 11.30
0.20 ozs 0.00 Motueka 4 days 7.50

Yeasts
Amount Name Laboratory / ID
1 dry pkgs Safale US-05 Fermentis US-05

 

[strambo]

Thanks for the feedback, I was going for a quasi-English style. It worked really well with the Legacy hops. Next time I'll use a simple grain bill and mo Belmas!

 

[jessup]

Kane Brewing Co is &#8220;A Wolf Among the Seas&#8221; is our exploration and celebration of hops. To date, we have brewed *9* different single hop IPAs utilizing both old favorites and some new varietals we&#8217;ve found interesting.
We&#8217;ve made single-hop IPAs with:
Citra®, Simcoe®, Amarillo®, Legacy, Columbus, New Zealand Nelson Sauvin, Bravo, Mosaic&#8482;, New Zealand Pacific Hallertau.

I get there and ask the first random people I see in the parking lot what the "must have" is. they reply BELMA!!!! i spoke with others inside and they sung the same song. i thought that was pretty damn funny since it wasn't advertised for the event. love it or hate it I suppose fyi Kane Brewing is the bombdiggy! if you're ever in NJ it's def the must visit brewery.

 

[Hawaiibboy]

Kane Brewing Co is &ldquo;A Wolf Among the Seas&rdquo; is our exploration and celebration of hops. To date, we have brewed *9* different single hop IPAs utilizing both old favorites and some new varietals we&rsquo;ve found interesting.
We&rsquo;ve made single-hop IPAs with:
Citra®, Simcoe®, Amarillo®, Legacy, Columbus, New Zealand Nelson Sauvin, Bravo, Mosaic&trade;, New Zealand Pacific Hallertau.

I get there and ask the first random people I see in the parking lot what the "must have" is. they reply BELMA!!!! i spoke with others inside and they sung the same song. i thought that was pretty damn funny since it wasn't advertised for the event. love it or hate it I suppose fyi Kane Brewing is the bombdiggy! if you're ever in NJ it's def the must visit brewery.

How was the Belma IPA? I have been thinking of doing a series of single hop IPAs myself and have read some great things about belma versions.

 

[jessup]

It was all gone before I could try it. Must have been good if the folks I spoke with said it was better than the rest & kicked before many other more highly regarded hops.

 

[Brewitt]

I'm noticing that the IPAs I dry hopped with Belma don't seem to have as good a shelf-life as other IPAs. They taste fine but the hop aroma decays pretty quickly. I like them a lot when they are fresh, after a couple of months, not so much.

 

[chiteface]

I only did one, but I really felt like it got better with age.

 

[Hawaiibboy]

I only did one, but I really felt like it got better with age.

In noticing in my Belma/Motueka pale ale that the Belma is only just starting to really rear it's head up and show it self prominently. It was bottled 5/04/13.

It's really starting to shift from strawberry to Mellon now.

 

[lumpher]

belma hops

 

[justkev52]

How was the Belma IPA? I have been thinking of doing a series of single hop IPAs myself and have read some great things about belma versions.

Crappy. They are ok for aroma hops. Not good for bittering or flavor

 

[bleme]

Crappy. They are ok for aroma hops. Not good for bittering or flavor

You went to the Kane Brewing event also?

 

[Clonefan94]

Just kegged another Belma test. This time I only bittered with them. I used US-05, wich is my standard yeast. They definitely leave a fruity Off flavor in the beer. This one isn't terrible by any stretch, but it's definitely got a fruity twang that shouldn't be there. Fermentation was controlled quite well at 65 degrees, so the only other flavor I would imagine this coming from would be the yeast. But, in the two beers I've done Belma with, it's had this exact same flavor and they were the only beers I've had this flavor. Kind of fruity, might be banana/strawberry. For reference, this was fermented alongside an IPA I did and both were tasted at final gravity (before the dry hop on the IPA) and the IPA did not have this flavor at all, but was fermented with US-05 as well. I've come to the conclusion that this was $5 and lesson learned. No more Belma for me. Although they might be good in a darker ale, where you might be looking for a little of that fruity flavor. Doubt I'll use it again though.

 

[DrunkleJon]

I made a second Belma Pale Ale (added belma with the normal hop additions in a Cascade PA) I am still not impressed. Unless I can find another pound for $5 I really do not see it as a hop that I want to keep around for normal hop prices. It does seem to have a head retention enhancing effect though.

 

[masonsjax]

The Belma pale I made turned out alright. There is an indistinct fruity note and I do notice a subtle creamy or slick texture. The biggest disappointment is the lack of aroma. I did 30 min hop stands at 160 and 140 and dry hopped with 2oz and there's not even a slight trace of hop aroma in that beer! I'll use it alongside other hops for bittering additions I guess, but probably won't buy it again.

 

[Effingbeer]

I used Belma in an American IPA today. Works great for bittering and mid-boil. I also used some leaf in my hop rocket mainly to filter out all the Citra and Amarillo pellets and cold break. Maybe they will sell it for $5 again. If they do, I will definitely get a couple pounds.