Belma was released by Yakima Chief Ranches in the early 2010s, and it built its reputation on a note that's genuinely rare among hops: a real strawberry character, distinct from the more common citrus, tropical fruit, pine or berry-adjacent black currant notes that dominate most modern American varieties. That specificity has made it a favorite for brewers looking to differentiate a recipe with a flavor most other hops simply don't offer.
At 9.5-12.5% alpha acid, Belma is a genuine aroma-focused hop, with strawberry, citrus and broader tropical fruit forming a combination that reads sweeter and more dessert-adjacent than most of its American peers. Its alpha acid is high enough for occasional bittering use, but the strawberry character is distinctive enough that most recipes reserve it almost entirely for late-boil, whirlpool and dry-hop additions. The IBU calculator handles the arithmetic for any bittering-adjacent use of Belma.
El Dorado is the closer substitute for a comparably fruit-forward, non-citrus-dominant profile, though it lacks Belma's specific strawberry note in favor of pear and watermelon. Amarillo offers a substitute for the citrus side of Belma's character without the fruit-forward sweetness. Hazy IPA and American pale ale both use Belma, typically as a supporting note within a blended dry hop rather than the sole variety, since a heavy single-hop Belma charge can read as unusually candy-sweet on its own.