Melon Haze: Belma and Triple Perle Hazy Pale Ale Recipe

Every time I started writing this post I started complaining about how I dislike the limited range of flavors among hazy IPAs and trying to intellectualize it. There's no need to intellectualize it. I am just not a big fan of the citra/mosaic/simcoe flavor combination that seems to dominate the style. There are plenty of other hop flavors available if we're willing to explore beyond what is easiest for breweries to sell in limited batch runs of hazy IPA. This recipe seeks to take a different stab by chasing down melon flavors using two of the most melon-y hops out there. Could be good, could be awful.

There's not too much to say about the construction of this recipe. I've adopted the hazy pale ale recipe in full from the azacca hazy pale ale I brewed last year and swapped out the hops. My selection of Triple Perle and Belma stem in part from wanting to clear some of these hops out of the freezer and in part because they have compatible melon flavors. Belma adds some strawberry while Triple Perle adds some orange. The fruit flavors are all mellow and should make for a pleasant summer beer. If it's a little too mellow then it might get some glass blending with more punchy IPAs or DIPAs.

I found a local homebrew shop selling grain from Root Shoot Malting in Loveland, Colorado and picked up their Genie Pale for the base malt on this beer. They describe it as more flavorful than normal two row with bready and honey flavors. The honey flavor definitely leaps out of the mash tun after milling without even getting water in the tun. I get grainy more than bready but maybe a whole grain bread? 

Belma and Triple Perle Hazy Pale Ale Recipe

Details
Batch Size: 3.1 gallon
Est. ABV: 4.8%
Est. IBU: 35
Est. OG: 1.048
Est. FG: 1.012
Est. SRM: 4.8
Expected Efficiency: 72%
Grain Bill	Pounds		Ounces		SRM		Pct. Grist
Two row pale malt	4				2		69.40%
Unmalted red wheat			11		2		12.00%
Oats			11		1		12.00%
Crystal 20L			6		20		6.60%
Water Profile	ppm
NE pale ale water profile
PH: 5.52
Calcium	100
Magnesium	12
Sodium	29
Sulfate	67
Chloride	134
Bicarbonate	52
Water Additions					Mash		Sparge
Gypsum					0.3g		0.3g
Epsom Salt					1.0g	0	1.0g
Canning Salt					0.6g		0.6g
Baking Soda
Calcium Chloride					1.1g		1.1g
Chalk					0.8g
Pickling Lime
Lactic Acid					0.9ml
Mash Schedule	Step Temp.				Step Time
Single decoction mash with cereal mash
Mash volume: 8.64 qt
Sparge volume: 2.14 gal
Infuse 3 qt with wheat and boil 30 min	212				30
Add cereal mash to 5.64 qt mash water
Infuse mash with 8.64 qt total at 160F	152F				60
Boil Schedule	Volume		Unit		Time		IBU
60 minute boil
Belma [12.10%]	0.35		oz		FWH		31.2
Belma [12.10%]	0.25		oz		5		4
Belma [12.10%]	1		oz		Hopstand		0
Triple Perle [8.9%]	1		oz		Hopstand		0
Fermentation Schedule	# Days		Temp.
Yeast: WY1318
Pitch 1L starter
Pitch at 64F	12		64
Dry hop 1.5oz Triple Perle and 2oz Belma	3		72

Brewday and Fermentation Notes

Brewed 7.13.18

Preboil volume: 4 gallons

First runnings gravity: 1.067

Preboil gravity: 1.038

Mash efficiency: 70.8%

Did a lousy job keeping notes on this brewday and fermentation. Nothing particularly unusual happened here.

Tasting Notes and Thoughts

Notes from tasting approximately six days after putting keg on tap.

Appearance: Thick white head with a fairly typical pale ale-copper color. It's hazy but not that hollandaise thick appearance of a lot of NE IPAs. Carbonation looks good. Plenty of lacing left in the glass as I make my way through the beer.

Aroma: Orange marmalade, cantalope, honeydew melon, grapefruit, lemon. Like most of the hazy beers the aroma is overwhelmingly fruity with the grain character lost in the aroma. Definitely a sweet aroma. As the beer warms the aroma relaxes and gets less sweet. The orange marmalade aroma mellows and some of the caramel and bready notes squeak out.

Flavor: Hops definitely dominate with a strong juice medley of cantalope, honeydew, strawberry, orange and grapefruit. Some grassy hop notes appear in the finish. Like the aroma, as the beer warms the grain flavors are more noticeable. Multigrain bread, slight notes of honey. Overall flavor is sweet and juice-like as it should be for the style.

Mouthfeel: Appropriately moderate for the style. Beer feels heavy and juice-like. Carbonation is light and the foam is creamy which is likely due in part to trying to balance my kegerator and getting foamy pours. The pale ale feels a little heavy on the tongue in the finish as is normal for these beers.

Overall: This beer delivers everything it's supposed to and it's nice to see this hazy style with a different flavor combination. There's nothing that stands out about the beer which is how I feel about the hazy styles in general. It avoids the gritty or oily feel of a lot of these beers. It's pretty much everything it should be but I don't feel any excitement about it. That's probably my issue with the hazy style rather than any gripe about this beer.