How to dry home grown hops?

[Cobnut]

I have been offered a friend's allotment hop crop and I know they ought to be dried (as i'm not planning a green hop beer), but unsure as to how best to go about achieving this.

What can the JBK Hive Mind offer?

[mozza]

I left mine on a baking tray in the airing cupboard for a few days and that did the job

[Meatymc]

I made one of these with 4 racks:

https://beerandbrewing.com/diy-hops-dryer/

I pinch our large office fan and lay it on it's back on the floor with the racks stacked above on bricks. You have to keep swapping the racks around. I've also used a fan heater set to one side blowing towards the fan which then redirect this low-level heat through the cones and speeds things up but again, be careful of over-heating

I have used an oven in the past but getting it below 50C is difficult - anything above that can drive off oils - particularly as you have to allow air circulation (door open) otherwise they simply bake.

[Jim]

I seem to recall David Line described a method involving a hair dryer and a tea chest. Apparently it didn't work too well though.

[Blackaddler]

I use stackable "mushroom" trays, which I got from the local green grocer and farm shops, for free. Usually found out back, they're happy to get rid of them. I've accumulated about 50-60 over the years.

I lay a sheet of tabloid newspaper in the bottom of the tray, open it out, add a single layer of hops [about 100gms], and fold the newspaper over.

I stack them in the garage, where it's fairly dark, and leave them for about 10 days, depending on the weather.

[ingo]

food dryer at low settings. (Stockli Dehydrator, or Lidl, Aldi etc. have simmilar ones)

Indoor wash drying rack, news paper or thin cloth on it and the hops on that, maybe add a fan below.

Solar food drier:
https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/too ... 0z14jjzmar
https://makezine.com/projects/solar-food-dryer/

Ingo

[Robwalkeragain]

Hah oh god yeah those things! The back of our pub kitchen looks like a warehouse...other businesses who deliver routinely ask if they can nick our supply for themselves and it’s always a yes!

I use stackable "mushroom" trays, which I got from the local green grocer and farm shops, for free. Usually found out back, they're happy to get rid of them. I've accumulated about 50-60 over the years.

I lay a sheet of tabloid newspaper in the bottom of the tray, open it out, add a single layer of hops [about 100gms], and fold the newspaper over.

I stack them in the garage, where it's fairly dark, and leave them for about 10 days, depending on the weather.

[Meatymc]

Set up my trays with the fan underneath in the garage and had it running at full blast since Monday night - no heat source whatsoever. As of 7am this morning, down to 25% of original weight. Left it running although not really necessary and will pack tonight. Now have to 'train' my son-in-law on how to select, pick, dry and store the bulk of my crop as I'm off on jollies from tonight.

Anyone else noticed Cascade being a lot later than others? My Styrian Golding, First Gold, Fuggles, Northdown and Santiam are all ready now/over the next couple of days but the Cascade is at least a week behind if not more.

[Cobnut]

Thanks for all the replies.

I took delivery of about a kilo of green hops on Wednesday and initially laid them in single layers of hops between sheets of newspaper (which I hadn't read!!), but then decided I should try to dry them quicker. So I fashioned a "basket" which I rigged up with a couple of fans blowing cold air through and over the hops.

Laying them in newspaper certainly took some moisture out of them (the newspaper was slightly damp after only a few hours), but the fan rig seems to have worked; by 1030 last night they felt sufficiently dry and they have now been bagged up with as much air as possible excluded and they're in the freezer. Time will tell if this has been successful.

Planning to make an English style ale, but it will have to wait until I've completed the next few brews I have on the list.

Will report back in due course!

[Mjr6313]

I'm going to try using some muslin screens laid flat like cider cheese cloths with a fan blowing from underneith