Harvest season is right around the corner and I have a question about drying hops. Last year was my first year growing/harvesting and I put them in a food dehumidifier and let them go until completely dry and brittle. I now know that that is no good. They can't be *completely* dry. But the question is, how much is enough? Is there some percentage weight loss that people go on? How do I know when they're just right?
Drying hops (how much to dry them?)
- Thread starter seanppp
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Refer to the "sticky" thread in this forum called "hop dry picture tutorial". Later along in the thread there is some good information about how much drying is a good target. The short answer is 10% moisture which, if one assumes a starting moisture content of 80%, equates to a reduction in the initial (fresh picked, also refered to as "wet") weight by 75 to 80%. I.e., the final weight of the hops is somewhere between 1/4 and 1/5 of the initial weight.
fwiw, if you over-dry hops they tend to fall apart and scatter the good stuff. I dry my cones to 20% of original weight, then vac-bag them and put them in the deep freeze...
Cheers!
Cheers!
I have over dried my hops using the same method. Just like when I've malted my own grain, the sweet spot seems to happen while I'm asleep or at work. It's better to not over dry, but doing so doesn't completely ruin them. They still smell great. They still bitter. Maybe I lost something, but I can always add a little more hops to the next batch.
Unless you're dehydrator is running at a temp. Mine is adjustable and I keep it at the lowest setting.
This year will be my first crop so I am not speaking from experience, but from what I have read in here you may want to just skip the dehydrator and put them on some screens over a fan in your garage or wherever. I'm thinking with this method it would be pretty hard to over dry them and you could just check them every day after work and pack them once they get in the range.
But like I said, I haven't done it yet. I also thought I knew everything there was to raising kids and then I had some
But like I said, I haven't done it yet. I also thought I knew everything there was to raising kids and then I had some
Using the fan method works well. What I do is tape a bunch of filters together with hops in between after weighing the hops. I then weight the hops + filters and dry. Each day I weigh the hops + filters and when the weight has dropped by 80% of the hop weight, into the sealed, air tight bags and then freezer they go. Just do this out of sunlight so you don't get off flavors and aromas. Light is okay, direct sunlight is bad.
Well, that doesn't mean they aren't good. You heated them at a higher temp, which I'm sure has some effect vs. the lower temp. I still wouldn't toss them out.
Do you think I should up the dosage then?
