Hop Dry picture tutorial

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Very nice and clever methods of drying homegrown hops. Thanks.

When I dried my first batch of homegrown Nugget hops I used a stainless mesh screen with an elevated fan underneath. I now see I can build layers if needed.
Where did you score the ss screen? I am setting my oast up for commercial scale and want food grade materials. What kind of mesh/holes per sq inch or whatever they go by did you go with and do you like it?
 
Where did you score the ss screen? I am setting my oast up for commercial scale and want food grade materials. What kind of mesh/holes per sq inch or whatever they go by did you go with and do you like it?

Was a Home Depot purchase. Sorry, but I didn't save the label. Believe was window screen, fine mesh.
 
why dry them?

I just picked a huge pile of hops from a friends vine and had planned to just shove them into the freezer.

Then simply add them to my BK when brewing. Is this not a good idea?


great write up and pics though.

I will definitely be trying this method for drying hops next year. But in reply to your comment. I had a small batch that I grew for the first time this year that I threw in to the freezer as well. Then I was told that I needed to dry them. After a few weeks weeks of freezing, I took them out and let them dry on their own. I did add them to an IPA that turned out amazing. I'm kinda new to all this, so I'll keep an eye out for comments. Cheers!!
 
I put mine on a window screen set upon a pair of unfolded step ladders in my garage. I hooked up an old dehumidifier and had it blow on them for 3 days. They dried out nicely. I did flip them a few times to promote even drying.
 
Thought I'd share my diy setup for drying hops. Falls solidly into the venn diagram of "it ain't funny if it works" and "if it works, don't fix it."
Basic components are an old box fan from the basement, a set of cheapo 20x20 furnace filters, scrap cardboard from amazon boxes, and some scrap wood blocks to lift the fan off the floor.
I had started out planning for a much more elaborate setup and decided I'd over-engineered things. In a pinch for time, this was born. Each year, I hit that moment of "oh right, I was going to redo those." But, its been going on packing tape and duct tape for about 4 years now, so I've never bothered. Found that the weight of the hops required some support beyond what a furnace filter can hold, so a tic tac toe pattern of shipping tape runs along the bottom. Not ideal, but it works. If I redo these, I'd consider egg crate or something similar to support and/or replace the furnace filter. I think screen material would restrict airflow more than I want. This year's tweak was to glue cardboard triangles to the corners to assist stacking and I think it'll be good for another couple years.
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