Not another Hop growing Thread

[bpgreen]

Well I went for it today. I picked all I could before having to head into work for afternoons. I will try to get some more picked tomorrow and there is also some that need more time on the bines. What I did pick seemed like they were ready, I'm still getting a feel for that. But between look, feel and smell I think they were ready. This was about 1/2 a 5 gal bucket and weighed out to over 1.75 lbs. I'll need to make another screen. I have these sitting in my hot garage with a fan blowing on them. It's the best I can do. I guess we will see how they do.

How long will these need to dry out?

Nice, Great pictures...
I know for sure I won't get anywhere near that amount this year and didn't really expect to get much of anything, but looks like I will have some and that makes me happy

One additional hint I've learned is that if you use a dehydrator to dry your hops, don't go cheap. Go with something that has adjustable temperatures and dry at low heat. if you dry at a higher heat, you lose AA.

I have a good one (dehydrator) that is fully adjustable, it hold up to ten lbs of meat when I make jerky. When I get close to the drying point I will ask what to look for there and how dry........You guys are great on helping.
Drying pumpkin seeds last year.

I've been drying mine at 95 with the fan on full. 8 hours or so seems to do the trick for me.

[bpgreen]

I think that they should be about 1/5 of the wet weight. I just air dry mine with no fan but the breeze. I think I dried them a week last year.

Mine usually end up about 1/4 to 1/3.

[bpgreen]

That's a thing of beauty.
Wish I could grow hood here.

I'm going to guess that autocorrect kicked in and you're not really wishing you could grow hood.

[BigPapaG]

That's a thing of beauty.
Wish I could grow hood here.

I'm going to guess that autocorrect kicked in and you're not really wishing you could grow hood.

I think he was trying to type 'wood'

[MadBrewer]

So I started out with about 1.75 lbs (28 oz) of wet hops and they dried down to just over 6 oz...does that sound about right? They had a over 3 days to dry in a hot garage laid out on a screen. I fluffed them around every day. They seemed quite dry, without being totally crispy. The broke apart easily but didn't crumble like dead leaves.

Is there more harm in not drying them enough or leaving them out too long to dry?

[bpgreen]

So I started out with about 1.75 lbs (28 oz) of wet hops and they dried down to just over 6 oz...does that sound about right? They had a over 3 days to dry in a hot garage laid out on a screen. I fluffed them around every day. They seemed quite dry, without being totally crispy. The broke apart easily but didn't crumble like dead leaves.

Is there more harm in not drying them enough or leaving them out too long to dry?

That seems pretty reasonable to me. I generally end up with about 25% or a little less. I think it can also vary by variety and maybe growing conditions.

[HerbMeowing]

So I started out with about 1.75 lbs (28 oz) of wet hops and they dried down to just over 6 oz...does that sound about right? [...]

Is there more harm in not drying them enough or leaving them out too long to dry?

I'd be afraid by going too long ... the essential oils would dry out.

6 Zs from 28 is about right (close to 5:1).

[LouieMacGoo]

Won't be long now.

[bpgreen]

Perle in the dehydrator now. The twine broke and it spent too much time on the ground. It's also on the north side of the house, so it gets started later. I'm guessing I'll get 2-3 oz dried.

I also picked some centennial. Most of what I picked was on bines that should have been trimmed, so they were all low to the ground. Maybe 2-3 oz. I'll get the rest tomorrow.

I've still got a third harvest of hallertauer, a second of cascade, and first of nugget.

[Kealia]

That's pretty, Leigh.

And quite the haul, Brian. Maybe one day I'll set up some bines at home myself.

[gwcr]

Got my "harvest" of centennials done this weekend. 2nd year in containers. They got about 15' tall this year.

Pics from about a month ago. My youngest son is 6' tall for perspective.




And here's the haul from yesterday. 10.5oz that are currently drying in the garage.




Hopefully they will end up around 2oz or so. Enough to actually be able to use them in an APA this year. First time using not only my own hops, but whole hops so I'm interested to see how it turns out.

[Beer-lord]

That's pretty cool. I can smell them from here.

[Ibasterd]

I'm… jealous!!! If you saw my picture of my one and only cascade, then you know where I'm coming from.

[gwcr]

Garage smelled great while they were drying. Got them down to 2.7oz and bagged in ziplock freezer bags, anxiously waiting in the freezer for the next brew day. "Vacuum" sealed them with lung power...

[berryman]

I think I have some ready to harvest. They have a crunchy sound when fondled and some have just a little brown on the tips...Does this sound like they're ready?