Belma Session Blonde Ale

 

I recently found a new hop while I was ordering from Puterbaugh Farms …Belma Hops.  Belma Hops were breed onsite by the Puterbaugh staff.

Description - A very clean hop, with a very orange, slight grapefruit, tropical (but not mango/guava, more like pineapple), strawberry, and melon

I have been looking for a hop that would be good in a session ale that I will keep permanently on tap as my every day drinking beer.  Belma’s description sounded really good, and at $5.25 a pound I threw this one in with my order.  I have a suspicion that next year once the word spreads this hop won’t be $5.25 a pound.

I burst hopped this beer and will dry hop it so I get the most out of the Belma’s.  I have heard recently this is a good accent hop to other hops, but I want to see how this hop does on its own.  I may use it with Citra or some other tropical flavored hop.  Try as I might I have never really developed a taste for Cascade or other C based hops.  I am usually more of a English/European hop guy.

The last batch of Mild that I No Chilled turned out great.  I am going to try again on this beer.  I’ll see how a lighter colored beer does with this.  I know when I siphoned my last batch out of the Corny keg and into the fermenter their was a lot of break material and hops that had settled out just like they do when I use my chiller.

Malt Bill
Pounds	Type
6	2 Row
.5	Crystal 20
Hops
IBU	Type	Time
10.5	Belma	20
6.5	Belma	10
1 Oz	Belma	Dry Hop
Mash Schedule
Temp	Time
150F	60 minutes
170F	Batch Sparge
170F	Batch Sparge
Yeast	Safale US-05
Stats
5.5 gal	75% efficiency	IBU: 17