How can I dry my own hops for beer making. I make my own beer and a friend gave me a large bag of hops?

Answer 1

You need to dry them as quickly as possible after they are picked to preserve the oils in them.

Air dry:
Put them in a paper bag and leave them in a warm, dry place with good circulation...like an attic in late summer. Only put a small amount in each bag or they won't dry. Should take a few days to a week.

Dehydrator:
Food dehydrators work really well if you have access to one. If you put it on the lowest setting (around 95F), it will not damage the hops. Downfall of this is that you're going to make your house smell pretty strongly of hops. I'm lucky in that my wife loves the smell of hops. Score.

DO NOT put them in an oven, ever.
While it sounds like a good idea, it isn't. You will totally destroy the oils in the hop and they'll be worthless.

Cheers.

Answer 2

I assume you mean you were given fresh-picked hops. If so, here's the procedure used by most people I know who grow their own "hobby" hops.

Find a room that is not in direct sunlight, and stays at about normal room temperature. Ideally, you would spread the hops out on a piece of screening material, or any loosely woven cloth. Try to spread them out as much as possible, so the maximum amount of air can circulate between and among the hop cones.

Try to "fluff" them at least daily, so they don't always sit on the same side. That will prevent mold and mildew from forming.

They will take anywhere from one to two weeks to dry in this manner (commercial hop farmers use warm air blowers to speed up the process, but if you try to simulate that with a handheld hair blower you may find you're cooking them and spoiling the flavor).

Try not to do too much mechanical damage (squeezing, pressing, etc.) to the hops, as that will cause the loss of the lupulin, which is the main thing you want to avoid losing. If you see a lot of tiny yellow globs on whatever material the hops are on, then you know you're handling them too much.

Fully dried hops will weigh only about ten percent of the weight of the freshly picked hops.

Answer 3

I'm no expert, but how about just spreading them out on a sheet and letting them dry in the sun?

Answer 4

better yet make a wethop beer just add those suckers in there.

morebeer.com

has a forum there is a recent reciepe in there under grow your own

Answer 5

my guess would be, either food dehydrator, or even in the oven on a very low temp with the door propped open so the dont "roast"