Beer Forum

Partial yield from second year Cascade plant. Don't know if this represents a good harvest or not. In the dehydrator now. I've never done this before. How long should I expect to dry them?

looks great.

Looks good. I always harvest when the cones start to get that papery sound to them. I still have a ways to go here in CT. I've never used a dehydrator, so can't really help ya there. Just get them very dry and vacuum seal if you can. In the freezer unless your using them right away. (Which I always try and do at least one harvest batch)

from Freshops.com

"Drying can be done in a good dehydrator, custom made hop dryer, well vented oven, or they can be air dried. If you use heat, the temperature should not exceed 140 degrees F. Cooler temperatures take longer but a higher quality hop is obtained. Under dry weather conditions, I suggest taking a screen off of your house and setting it up in a wind protected area, elevated on each end. Spread the hops as shallow as possible and fluff daily so moist inner cones are brought to the outside of the pile. If weather is dry and the pile is not too thick they will dry in about three days.

A high moisture content in the cones will adversely affect storability and recipe formulation. The hops are dry when the inner stem of the cone (strig) is brittle and breaks rather than bends. The strig takes much longer to dry than the bracts, so be patient. Pack the hops in an air tight container and store in a freezer until used.

Cheers!

Can hops be sun dried or does that adversely affect them?

Can they be overly dried?

filmlabrat wrote:Can hops be sun dried or does that adversely affect them?

Can they be overly dried?

If you are worried about light struck character, IIRC, that requires isomerized hop acids. I would be more worried that it won't get them dry in time, or that reactions may continue within cells or chloroplasts that may be less desirable. If they get dried/heated to the point that desirable aromas and flavors are driven off or degraded, that would be overly dried...

I just dried my Centennial hops in 4 days.....ended up with 2 lbs and I broke them into 3 oz. bags.
I dont use heat. My setup is a 48" square frame 2 x 4 with 1/8 mesh. I yanked the mattress out of my absentee Grandson's crib. Place the frame over the rails and place a 20" fan on LOW speed under the crib blowing up thru the 3.5 inch depth of hops. Air does move easily through the hop bed. They were dry in 2 days but I went 2 more. I purge the bags with CO2 and use the Food Saver vacumn sealer from Walmart. Works great!!Smells even better!!

Keep it simple ... just about anything will work
My williamette will be next, then crystal, and sterling last.
It has been wicked hot here and I did get some heat damage, even watering daily.

This seems like a goot post to ask a few Hop related questions. My GF wants to start hops in our garden. Our garden is small, aboud 10x14 (feet). We have a well for irrigation and neighbors close by. We live in the Willamette Valley in Oregon and I know north of us is large hop fields.

Here is my questions....

What Hops would best develope in this climate?
Are there ways to keep the plants "contained" and "small"?(I see them being 20+ feet tall)
When should we plant?

Thanks