Hop drying

[robbarwell]

Anyone tried a domestic tumble dryer to dry hops out after they have been harvested

[Wonkydonkey]

Well as I don't have one( tumble d) and it's not September the asnswer is no to both. But I can't see it working to well as the temp would get too high, and bash them silly, have you look how the hop growers do it.? I think there will be a few rules to try and follow, ie max temp of air flow.

[Hogarth]

I honestly think there's no need for artificial heat at all. Professionals do it because they have a shit load of hops to process. At home, the best thing to do is just spread them out thinly in a warm room or airing cupboard, and let them dry naturally. It only takes a few days, and it's a lot kinder to them than blasting them with hot air.

[BrannigansLove]

You could build a frame with insect mesh and dry them on that in a warm room/conservatory.

[Wonkydonkey]

You could build a frame with insect mesh and dry them on that in a warm room/conservatory.

That's what I do, but I have a fan blowing air across the top. And with a little turning of the hops each day, it takes about 3/4 days

[Gorebyss]

I don't think it is the best way to handle hops.

[normanh]

Tried it just the once on some wild hops using low heat with the hops in a pillowcase, seemed to work ok but left a strong odour in the dryer which didnt impress the wife.

Norman

[BigMouth]

Left mine on kitchen roll lined dinner trays at the top of the airing cupboard over the weekend.
Harvested and weighed on Thursday afternoon and on Sunday they weighed 20 % of their orginal weight so I popped them in zip food bags and flattened out as much air as I could then put them in the freezer.
Intend to use them this weekend. It was a first year so only enough for one brew ☺

[Fil]

it only takes a few days to dry them out if laid out less than 3" deep, turn daily and they should be crisp n dry within a week,

My crop wasnt huge this year but substantial enough with circa 600g from one bine and 400g from the 2nd. (dried mass)

and i managed to dry them all in a hanging mesh laundry dryer


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Double-La ... tLo3lZ4nVw

next year i may need a couple more fingers crossed and i will lay down a sheet to catch the spiders n debris as it falls

[brew like a dog]

on the plus side, your next lot of laundry (and maybe many more after) will have a fantastic aroma of hops

Personally, i would stay clear of using tumble driers, microwaves and dehydrating machines LoL a rack in a warm dry place possibly with a fan (but not too powerfully) is more ideal. Sorry for not having a quick fix to drying hops but it is worth waiting the 2 or 3 days they take to dry (in my humble opinion)

[alexlark]

Once you dry them do you then use less when brewing? Like shop bought hops?

[scuppeteer]

Once you dry them do you then use less when brewing? Like shop bought hops?

Seriously?

[brew like a dog]

Once you dry them do you then use less when brewing? Like shop bought hops?

Basically, you are removing the moisture content when you dry them. I would assume the moisture content of dried at home hops would depend on the moisture content of the hops before drying and how effective the home drying process was (including factors such as relative humidity, temperature and ventilation of the area your hops were dried in etc). However, that would be going into too much detail really.

The basic answer is yes, a lot less dried hops are used compared to fresh green ones. The figure i have seen on youtube videos and forums etc is approximately one fifth i.e. if you use fresh green hops increase the recipe quantity by five. For me, the fun in using home grown hops is not knowing all the variables

[chivelegs]

Weightwise you will be using less as the moisture lost in drying is a large percentage of the overall weight of the hops. Number wise,you use about the same number of hops wet-hopping or dry.