Beer Forum

Does anyone use the Gardenmaster dehydrator to dry hops? If so, at what temp. do you set it at and how long does it take to fully dry them for storage.

I set my Nesco dehydrator to the low side for temperature. I think it's more important to just move a lot of air thru the hops. I pack the hops in fairly loosely as well, about 2 oz per tray. (Wet weight)

I let it go overnight and check it after 8 hours. Sometimes it takes as long as 12 hours. Either way, I re-order the trays in the stack after 8 hours and stir the hops a bit. Some of the bigger hops will be a little sticky yet and the smaller ones will be over dried. I vacpac them and they all seem to even out in the freezer during storage.

Humidity in the air and elevation will affect drying time as well. You would be safe to go 8 hours and then check it regularly.

I initially used a food dehydrator but I eventually had to many hops to dry. Now I spread some window screen across a wooden frame and let them air dry while turning occasionally. I do this in my basement and it only takes a day or two to dry. Good luck!