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THE COLD STORAGE OF HOPS, 



BY LAWRENCE BRIANT, F.C.S., F.R.M.S. 



*"PHE alterable character of hops needs no proof. From the time 

 of picking from the bine until they reach the copper or cask 

 they, under normal conditions, undergo continuous alteration, which 

 is for the most part deterioration also. When picked, the moisture pre- 

 sent in hops varies according to the weather, and ranges between 50 

 and 80 per cent. In such a condition they change with much rapidity. 

 On the English system of drying, however, the hops are taken direct 

 from the poles to the kiln. With Continental hops this does not occur. 

 They are allowed to air-dry, and the curing is in some cases post- 

 poned for some time, in which case very rapid alteration takes place 

 with considerable and sometimes most serious loss in soft resins, for 

 it is recognised that the sooner hops are cured after they are picked 

 the better the quality, and the expression " Season Cured," as applied 

 to foreign hops, indicates the early withdrawal of moisture by 

 kilning. 



In drying in the oast house the moisture is generally reduced to a 

 percentage varying from 3 to 6, but by subsequent exposure on the 

 packing floor the moisture quickly rises to 7 to 12 per cent., varying 

 according to the humidity of the air at the time, the length of exposure, 

 and other conditions. When placed in the pocket the normal per- 

 centage of moisture will lie between 8 and 1 1 per cent. A sample of 

 hops which contains any notably smaller proportion than the lower 

 limit will be brittle and liable to powder when handled, and there is 

 risk of loss of condition. If containing above the limit named the 

 hops are slack and do not keep well. 



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