Hop drying in the oven

[Danmet]

Has anyone dried out their hops in a warm oven? I've just picked a load of hops from a hedgerow & am trying to find a quick way to dry them, as I'm working away for a week or two & want to get them dried & stored as quickly as possible. I've heard about drying herbs in the oven - but is this just a recipe for disaster for hops?

Cheers

[Chiltern Brewer]

I've never tried it myself for fear of burning the hops and because the large amounts I pick wouldn't make it practical anyway. My budget solution is newspaper hop (drying) pockets. You can leave these for a day or two in the airing/boiler cupboard and if the hops haven't completely dried out by the time you go off on business they won't harm much if you just move then somewhere dark and cool. When you are back finish off the drying, then compress and pack them for storage.

[Danmet]

Cheers, that sounds like the best solution - I'm grazing the hedgerows so have to harvest them when I see them (if I leave them until I get back, they'll probably be gone!). The hedges are on the side of a public right of way. I've got the farmers permission but others will just take them if I don't, and the hedges are getting cut at the moment anyway. I've got a few cuttings growing on for next year, so mebbe then I'll be a bit more organised

I've now got some hop pockets made up & loosely filled, so many thanks for the tip

[hotmog]

I'm drying my crop of Hallertau that I picked from the garden this morning in the oven at this very moment. I got over a bucket and a half, weighing nearly 1.25 Kg.

I've heaped them spread out on 3 foil-covered trays and put the oven on fan-assisted at the minimum heat setting (about 50 C). Once they're dry I'll vacuum-pack them and keep them in the freezer.

[floydmeddler]

I've never tried it myself for fear of burning the hops and because the large amounts I pick wouldn't make it practical anyway. My budget solution is newspaper hop (drying) pockets. You can leave these for a day or two in the airing/boiler cupboard and if the hops haven't completely dried out by the time you go off on business they won't harm much if you just move then somewhere dark and cool. When you are back finish off the drying, then compress and pack them for storage.

That looks amazing. Can't wait to move into a bigger place with a garden! Is that the first year's harvest? Read in a few places that the first flowers aren't worth harvesting as the plant needs to mature. Could be wrong though!

[Chiltern Brewer]

No my established bines are over 10 years old, I've just got more serious about how I go about drying the harvest over the last few seasons. I was struggling to cope and lost hops because they weren't dried properly, so in 2007 I introduced the "drying frame". This year I've added a second tier, I'll post some pictures of it in the Hop Growing 2009 thread at some point.

That said this year I have planted two new varieties (for me) and I was pleased to get some cones from the Prima Donna. Typically though it's the second to third year before you start getting a decent crop.

[floydmeddler]

Cool. I can't wait to do this kinda thing... Just have to get out of this tiny flat.