Experimental hop 'HBC 342' Pale Ale

Last Sunday we brewed 15 gallons of an American Pale Ale. This beer included a number of firsts for this brewer.

Let's start with the hops. We flavored this beer with a hop that I have never brewed with, or even tasted as far as I know. The hop comes from Hopunions Hop Breeding Company. It is only known by the number 342 at this time. Hop breeding cycles tend to take around 10 years from birth to any substantial acreage. My guess is that this hop is near the end of that cycle as there seems to be enough of this stuff around that there are some commercial examples out there.

I have heard some call this the watermelon jolly rancher of hops. Well, I highly doubt that, but I do hope to get some melon flavors from it. Here is the offical description:

HBC 342 is a high alpha aroma variety selected for its pleasant aroma. It's aroma can be described as mild, pleasant, citrusy, and tropical, with some melon notes as well. Most are using this hop in Pale Ales and IPAs, but it would go well in stouts and browns also.

The other firsts for this brew day is that we did both a hop addition in the mash and a first wort hop addition.

We went with all 342 in the mash and boil. From what I have read, the hop seems to be a little weak in the aroma dept, so I decided to dry hop with Ahtanum since it has got an amazing aroma. Even though I will not be using 342 as a dry hop, I still feel like I will get a good idea on what this hop is all about.

Revival HBC 342 Pale Ale

Brewer: Tim & Michael
Batch Size: 16.00 gal	Style: American Pale Ale (10A)
Boil Size: 17.14 gal	Style Guide: BJCP 2008
Color: 5.7 SRM	Equipment: 26 gallon brewtroller
Bitterness: 37.7 IBUs	Boil Time: 60 min
Est OG: 1.058 (14.1° P)	Mash Profile: Temperature Mash, 153
Est FG: 1.012 SG (3.1° P)
ABV est: 6.0%

Ingredients

Amount	Name	Type	#
26 lbs	Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)	Grain	1
6 lbs	Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)	Grain	2
2 lbs	Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM)	Grain	3
1.0 oz	HBC 342 [11.4%] - Mash Hop	Hops	4
1.0 oz	HBC 342 [11.4%] - First Wort	Hops	5
2.0 oz	HBC 342 [11.4%] - Boil 15 min	Hops	6
3.0 oz	HBC 342 [11.4%] - Boil 5 min	Hops	7
3.0 oz	HBC 342 [11.4%] - Boil 0 min	Hops	8
3 pkgs	Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)	Yeast	9
3.0 oz	Ahtanum [6.0%] - Dry Hop 0 days	Hops	10