Hops Drying Oast

Again we have reached the time of the year when the hops are ready to harvest. Truth be told, that time of year has passed for the Magnum hops that I am growing. Those have all dried to brown on the bine and are no longer of use for brewing. The Nugget hops, however, do have some good hop flowers on them.

In the spring I moved both hops, which in hind sight may not have been the best of plans. I had the hops planted on either side of an arbor in the yard. The Magnums did great there, and the Nuggets, which were first year then, did pretty well too. The main problem with the arbor what that there wasn't enough height and I keep having to trim the bines back to keep the two varieties distinct from one another. Having moved both, they are like first year hops again, so I will leave them for another year and see what comes of their new positions in the yard.

Hop Oast

Last year I had a good Magnum harvest, and a few Nugget hops as well. Drying them was an issue, so this year I have made an 'oast' for drying. Well, since it's not really a kiln, being made of wood, I suppose it's not technically an oast, but for the sake of having a name shorter than, 'the fan powered hop drying contraption', I will call it an oast. Besides it's a fun word to say.

I only made two levels this time as I only have a few hops to harvest. The beauty of this is that each level is it's own compartment, so I can expand it easy enough.

Each level is made of 4, 20" long boards that are 1" wide. I used a long 1x8 and ripped it lenghtwise to get two narrower boards, which is why I made two levels to start with.












The screen is vinyl window screening purchased as any hardware store. I made the screen a little larger than the frame and stapled it to the outside edges of the box. The outside parts are folded down to give it more strength.

On the very bottom I made a half height frame and put 3 quarter inch holes in each side so the air can get through. I'll be harvesting my Nugget hops tomorrow and the oast out for the first time.

Cheers!