Huell Melon

[jceg316]

At the LAB open a few weeks ago they were handing out free hops. I took a load of Huell Melon which online descriptions say has honeydew, strawberry and various other things depending what site you read.

I was wondering how true these descriptions are? Has anyone used Huell Melon before and can say the sort of aromas and flavours it produces? I just watched a video of a homebrewer trying it out for the first time, he seemed pretty disappointed as it was a bit subtle in his blonde ale, but I also think he didn't use enough.

My plan is to use it in quite large quantities with summit and cascade in a NEIPA.

 

[stz]

It is ... alright. I've used it in brews where I'd usually use something more traditional for a twist (wheat beer, pilsner, dry hopped lager) or in something traditional with a complimentary twist (fruit blonde, american wheat) and I've used to pad out hopping in pale ales and IPA's alongside more intense hops. It is quite cheap. Don't expect anything more substantial than you would get from say cascade and you won't be underwhelmed.

 

[samale]

I have 100 grams sitting in the freezer not sure what to do with it. Was thinking along the lines of an American wheat. What hops would you pair with it

 

[An Ankoù]

I used it once, just to see what it was like. Used the whole 100g at various hopping stages of a 6 gallon brew. Didn't get much melon or strawberry. Nothing unpleasant, but I shan't bother with it again.

 

[The Baron]

I've used it a few times it is very mild in flavour so you need to use a lot and on its own or with other mild hops as it will be overpowered by strong IPA hops. I did get a melon taste with mine and mainly use it it Kolsch/pseudo lagers with saaz etc to give a slightly different edge to the normal lager noble hop flavour

 

[samale]

I was going to try it with belma in a American style wheat beer.

 

[Gerryjo]

I was going to try it with belma in a American style wheat beer.

You should try doing some work rather than planning beers Might make one today saying that I'm off tonight or maybe I'll just drink one.

 

[samale]

You should try doing some work rather than planning beers Might make one today saying that I'm off tonight or maybe I'll just drink one.

Made another rye ipa last night.

 

[jceg316]

I have 100 grams sitting in the freezer not sure what to do with it. Was thinking along the lines of an American wheat. What hops would you pair with it

I was planning to pair it with Cascade and Summit but they are pretty full on hops, sounds like they would overpower it.

I used it once, just to see what it was like. Used the whole 100g at various hopping stages of a 6 gallon brew. Didn't get much melon or strawberry. Nothing unpleasant, but I shan't bother with it again.

What did you get from the hops?

 

[Drunkula]

I've got a packet of this, too, and will be testing three different wheat malts to see if they make any difference - bet they don't. If I'm using something else for bittering what's the best way to get milage out of the huell melon? As in late addition, dry hop, hop tea.... y'know.

 

[An Ankoù]

I was planning to pair it with Cascade and Summit but they are pretty full on hops, sounds like they would overpower it.


What did you get from the hops?

I've got a few bottles left which I haven't tried for a while. I'll tell you when I refreshed the parts.

 

[jceg316]

I've got a few bottles left which I haven't tried for a while. I'll tell you when I refreshed the parts.

Thanks, I'd be very interested to hear.

It sounds like it's a very subtle hop and best suited as a single hop to balance other subtle flavours or bring another dimension to a beer. I'm gonna add it in abundance to the NEIPA, maybe more than the other hops. At least it will contribute to haze

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

Did an amber ale with huell melon paired with a little simcoe for bittering. Came out great But i used like a 100g of it. I definitely got the melon and strawberry.

 

[Drunkula]

Came out great But i used like a 100g of it. I definitely got the melon and strawberry.

What was the schedule?

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

What was the schedule?

Sorry. Its been a while. Cant Really remember

 

[An Ankoù]

Thanks, I'd be very interested to hear.

It sounds like it's a very subtle hop and best suited as a single hop to balance other subtle flavours or bring another dimension to a beer. I'm gonna add it in abundance to the NEIPA, maybe more than the other hops. At least it will contribute to haze

It was a single malt- Red-X with Magnum bittering and a whole 100g of Melon added at various stages and dry-hopped with same. Bottled 7 months ago.
Beautiful colour and head. Light, crisp and satisfying malt profile. Slightly over-bitter, but not astringent. Any character from the Melon had fled some time ago leaving slightly grassy notes.
If I had opened this beer without knowing what I was trying to do with it, I would have been perfectly happy. In fact I was trying to find single hop to complement the unique character of Red-X and Melon isn't the one.
In retrospect, throw it in and drink it quick; it's quite fugitive as well as being a delicate little flower.

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

It was a single malt- Red-X with Magnum bittering and a whole 100g of Melon added at various stages and dry-hopped with same. Bottled 7 months ago.
Beautiful colour and head. Light, crisp and satisfying malt profile. Slightly over-bitter, but not astringent. Any character from the Melon had fled some time ago leaving slightly grassy notes.
If I had opened this beer without knowing what I was trying to do with it, I would have been perfectly happy. In fact I was trying to find single hop to complement the unique character of Red-X and Melon isn't the one.
In retrospect, throw it in and drink it quick; it's quite fugitive as well as being a delicate little flower.

Ive got 6kg of redx that im not sure what to do with. Any working recipes would be appreciated

 

[An Ankoù]

Ive got 6kg of redx that im not sure what to do with. Any working recipes would be appreciated

Red-X is a great malt, but, IMNSVH opinion, not very versatile. It should be used according to Bestmalz' recommendations of not mixing it with any other malt and to an OG of about 1050. The trick, then, is to find the right hop or hops. I would say either make a malt-forward beer, delicately hopped with one of the noble varieties or with EKG or similar, but beware of grassiness from late hopping. This malt tends to bring it out if you overdo it. I knocked some up with Alsatian hops (barbe-rouge and aramis) and wished I hadn't dry hopped. Or make a hop-bomb like Stone Brewing's Pataskala Red-X IPA. 7.3%, 75 IBUs. Here's my recipe, and it's delicious. Whether it's anything like the oiginal, I've no idea, never tasted it.
Target OG 1060 final gravity 1006 using Safale US-05 (if your yeast doesn't attenuate that much it doesn't matter 7.3% is too strong for glugging anyway).
Your 6 Kg is spot on for a 5 (imp) gallon batch.
½ tsp CaCl2 and 2 tsp of CaSO4 in my very soft (or RO) water.
Flavour hops last 15 mins of boil: 1 ounce (28.35g) each of Amarillo, Cascade and Mosaic. Calculate the bitterness contributed to the beer using Brewer's Friend and make up the difference with Magnum hops- full boil for 75 minutes. (For me that was 41.5 BUs from the 15 minute hops and 34.5 BUs from the 75 minute hops so I needed 24g of Magnum)
Copper finings.
Hop steep at 75-78C for 15 mins : One ounce each of Amarillo, Cascade, Mosaic.
Dry hop 4 days: 2oz each of Amarillo, Cascade, Mosaic. Don't overdo the dry-hopping period. 3 days would be sufficient, but I couldn't bottle on that day.
All hops are leaf. Because of the quantity of hops, I made a 2½ gallon batch to try it out first. That would use up only half of your Red-X.

Lovely Jubbly innit!

I also put some in a wheat beer, a red wit!!! but it's not ready yet. Bottling today.

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

Red-X is a great malt, but, IMNSVH opinion, not very versatile. It should be used according to Bestmalz' recommendations of not mixing it with any other malt and to an OG of about 1050. The trick, then, is to find the right hop or hops. I would say either make a malt-forward beer, delicately hopped with one of the noble varieties or with EKG or similar, but beware of grassiness from late hopping. This malt tends to bring it out if you overdo it. I knocked some up with Alsatian hops (barbe-rouge and aramis) and wished I hadn't dry hopped. Or make a hop-bomb like Stone Brewing's Pataskala Red-X IPA. 7.3%, 75 IBUs. Here's my recipe, and it's delicious. Whether it's anything like the oiginal, I've no idea, never tasted it.
Target OG 1060 final gravity 1006 using Safale US-05 (if your yeast doesn't attenuate that much it doesn't matter 7.3% is too strong for glugging anyway).
Your 6 Kg is spot on for a 5 (imp) gallon batch.
½ tsp CaCl2 and 2 tsp of CaSO4 in my very soft (or RO) water.
Flavour hops last 15 mins of boil: 1 ounce (28.35g) each of Amarillo, Cascade and Mosaic. Calculate the bitterness contributed to the beer using Brewer's Friend and make up the difference with Magnum hops- full boil for 75 minutes. (For me that was 41.5 BUs from the 15 minute hops and 34.5 BUs from the 75 minute hops so I needed 24g of Magnum)
Copper finings.
Hop steep at 75-78C for 15 mins : One ounce each of Amarillo, Cascade, Mosaic.
Dry hop 4 days: 2oz each of Amarillo, Cascade, Mosaic. Don't overdo the dry-hopping period. 3 days would be sufficient, but I couldn't bottle on that day.
All hops are leaf. Because of the quantity of hops, I made a 2½ gallon batch to try it out first. That would use up only half of your Red-X.

Lovely Jubbly innit!

I also put some in a wheat beer, a red wit!!! but it's not ready yet. Bottling today.

Sounds great! Thanks!

 

[jceg316]

It was a single malt- Red-X with Magnum bittering and a whole 100g of Melon added at various stages and dry-hopped with same. Bottled 7 months ago.
Beautiful colour and head. Light, crisp and satisfying malt profile. Slightly over-bitter, but not astringent. Any character from the Melon had fled some time ago leaving slightly grassy notes.
If I had opened this beer without knowing what I was trying to do with it, I would have been perfectly happy. In fact I was trying to find single hop to complement the unique character of Red-X and Melon isn't the one.
In retrospect, throw it in and drink it quick; it's quite fugitive as well as being a delicate little flower.

Sounds like a good beer!