CHAPTER XII 



KILNS FOR CURING HOPS 



N Germany, the growers 

 merely air-dry or sun-dry 

 their hops. This is partly 

 ijecause the average grower 

 has too small a hop yard to 

 warrant a kiln, and also be- 

 cause the German trade pre- 

 fers the present system. In 

 Germany, if a specially fitted 

 drying room has been set 

 apart for the purpose, the 

 large baskets or sacks are at once carried there and emp- 

 tied, but if no such room is available, the hops are 

 deposited upon screens exposed to the sun but shel- 

 tered from the wind, and in the evening, they are 

 removed to an airy barn and at once spread on the 

 floor. When hops are dried by this latter method, the 

 walls and roof should be thoroughly cleaned and dusted 

 beforehand, and the floor well scrubbed with soap and 

 water, so that all dirt, vermin and bad smells are 

 removed. Drying is done by aeration, and dust must 

 be carefully excluded. It cannot be urged too forcibly 

 that lofts or barns in which hops are dried must be 

 perfectly clean and sweet. In any case, the large 

 baskets, filled or not, must be emptied twice during the 

 day, for if the hops are left closely packed together for 

 more than six hours, fermentation sets in and the qual- 

 ity deteriorates. 



It is claimed that this "natural cure" preserves far 

 more of the essential oils and other brewing principles 



175 



