Post on 16-Jan-2017
Hindsight is 20/20
Nicholas Schaut
Harvest
Wet
Brewer Direct
Dry/Condition
Sort/Grade
Test/Analysis
Bale
Cold Storage
Pelletize
Package
Market Cold
Storage
Whole Leaf
Package
Market Cold
Storage
Custom Bale
Picker/Sort
Lot #
In Ontario, mid August thru mid September
Determined by moisture (approx. 80%) and ripeness of lupulin
Colour, texture/sound, viscosity, varietal (early, mid, late maturing)
http://www.uvm.edu/extension/agriculture/engineering/?Page=hopscalc.html
Harvest Methods
Hand Cutting – laborious, heavy work requiring 3-4 people in the field – scalable
Side arm puller with wagon (German) $15,000 ++ used
Sophisticated hydraulic requirements
One operator followed by ground sweeper
Requires barbed wire grow lines
Top Cutter – expensive piece of equipment $16,000US Requires 90hp tractor for stability
Second tractor or truck with wagon
Hand Picked – limited to very small scale operations or part of an event associated with harvest.
Mobile Harvester – there are a number of designs currently available, most are suitable for less then five acres.
Stationary – typically Wolf harvester ten plus acres.
Field Harvester – units remove side arms and clusters for sorting off-field
Small Scale Harvesters
$10,000 - $25,000
Requires a separate power source i.e. spare tractor 30+hp, three-phase electricity or generator
Some units are hydraulically powered – potential contamination due to hose break
Generally can strip less then 100 bines/hour with extra cleaning required.
Starter unit for under 5 acres
Can be shared
Resale value - unknown
Typically a German Wolf WHE 140, 170, 220, 280 and up Cost with shipping before retrofit $32,000 + for older systems New generation Wolf harvester $310,000 (comes with a leather
jacket) Three phase or standard electrics (best to convert to North American)
Stationary - best situated in a clean food-grade ready building Can be mounted on a trailer to share (not recommended) Efficient and adjustable can be modified Older models of quality are becoming difficult to source Resale value – up to 15% above installation value Scale - 140 up to 12 acres
170 up to 16 acres 220 up to 24 acres
Must be timed with the peak harvest period of the cultivar chosen and brewing process.
Shipped immediately after picking.
Best shipped in a breathable bin in refrigerated vehicle.
Highest value for the grower – least amount of processing.
Typical ratio range for brewing 4-6(wet) :1 (dry) sometimes as high as 10:1
Shelf dryer one acre or less – under $1,000 Small quantity - hobby
Bulk container dryer - $5,000 - $8,000 600 – 800 lbs. capacity 10-12 hour dry time
Tobacco Kiln - $3,000++ used
Three floor Wolf dryer $20,000++ used, approx. 20 acres 1,000 – 2,000 lbs. depending on floor size
8 hour dry time
Small footprint
Bulk bin dryer - $20,000++ scalable Generally one heater per bin
Hops must be raked during drying
8 – 10 hours dry time
Some form of mechanical floor required to move the hops
Hop kilning or drying is part science/part art.
Hops are dried to 8–10% and must be conditioned to stabilize and balance the moisture level around 10-11%
Conditioning control is critical in our very humid harvest period.
Drying temperature Commercial bulk dryers 62°-82°C (143°-179°F) @
36”depth Air velocity is critical with high heat, moisture
evaporation from the hops cools the bed MAT (modified airflow and temperature)
Start 82°C (179°F) @ 0.3m/s (60 ft./min.) for 2+ hours Finish 70°C (158°F) @ 0.1m/s (20 ft./min.) Temperature can be adjusted to scale or volume of system.
Part Science/Part Art
Before hops can be baled or transformed into pellets, they must be moisture stabilized at between 10-11%
In the northeast hop cooling requires a controlled environment.
By blending or racking the particular lot, you can ensure a more stable and consistent moisture.
Two bale electric $8,000+ used.
120 – 200 pound capacity.
Relatively easy to have built.
Preserves the hops by reducing exposure to oxygen.
Wrapped in burlap or woven polypropylene bags.
Same considerations for small bale though Mylar bags are used.
Care must be taken to not over press the hops.
Wide range of pressure depending on next stage of processing requirements 85 kg/m3 – 145 kg/m3 or 5.3 lbs./ft3 – 9 lbs./ft3
Testing should be done on all finished hops
Growers should randomly select and test pre and post-pelleting to ensure quality through transformation.
Do not underestimate the appearance of the dry whole leaf or pelleted hop.
Extraneous materials (leaf, bine etc.) should be kept at a minimum.
Testing costs start at $40 sample
Brewers require at least the following:
AAU (α), Beta (β), and H.S.I. (hop storage index)
Requests for total oils may be required.
Immediate cold storage after baling and pelleting.
-4°C - 0°C (24°F – 32°F) Relative humidity 70-80%
Reduces the degradation of alpha acids and hop oils which in turn maintains a lower HSI (hop storage index)
Monitoring is still required especially if humidity is not controlled.
On farm bale storage allows the grower to hold the hops till pellet processing is available.
Walk in cooler/freezer $3,000+ used
Uniform particle size so as to not clog brewing equipment.
Allows for efficient isomerization of hop oils.
More accurate recipe development
Stability and longer storage.
Less space required.
Ease of use.
Blending
T-90
Industry standard
10% loss of original material
Equivalent to whole cone on analysis
Homogenous
Stabilizes the hop properties
Requires advanced screening equipment.
Up to 55% removal of original material
Concentrates α and β acids
Standardizes α acid percentages
Not required in most of the brewing market
T-45
Bale Breaker
Hammer Mill
Silo or blending silo
Pellet Mill Flat Die - roller on top or Ring Die - roller within the
ring
Cooling Chamber
Conveyor to packaging line
Pellet and hammer mills can generate high temperatures
Most are converted bio mass systems with hop specific flat or ring dies.
Better homogenous particulate when hammer milled
Whole leaf can be pelleted without grinding but is variety specific
More turn key systems available each year
Several companies developing and evolving systems
You get what you pay for.
Small Mills (less then 10hp generally flat die)
$10,000 - $25,000
Low through-put
May be applicable for a small group with less then 10 acres combined
Temperature at the mill will be a concern
Generally un-pressed whole leaf only or small bale 10lbs
Simple electrical requirements
High labour requirements
Medium Mills (10hp-40hp flat and ring die)
$85,000 - $200,000
Greater through-put based on hp. of the two mills
Can be used for a large acreage group of farms
Flexibility to add other components i.e.. blending silos, gear box cooling
Output from 100lbs. 1000+lbs./hour based on variety and heat
Whole leaf to commercial size bales
Requires commercial grade electrical support (3 phase or large generator)
Low labour requirements based on through-put
Large Mills
Millions and billions and world hop domination
Should be installed in a food grade building
Small Scale (approx. $4,000)
Scale (finely calibrated)
Vacuum Packer with nitrogen or Co2 flush capabilities adjustable for soft or hard packing
Foil bags (Mylar type)
4 – 5.5 mils in thickness
Oxygen and UV barrier
5, 10 kg. commercial or smaller for home brewers
Medium Scale (approx.$25,000)
Hopper scale dispenser with conveyors
Multi nozzle inert gas flushing vacuum packer adjustable for hard or soft packing
Foil bags (Mylar type) 4 – 5.5 mils in thickness
Oxygen and UV barrier
5, 10, and 20 kg. commercial smaller for home brewers
Labels should provide the following details: Farm name Variety Harvest year AAU %, Beta%, H.S.I. as a minimum Lot #
Example CAS-02-15-P-O (cascade-harvest 2-year-pellet-organic)
Lot # should refer to your field records, input/spray and pelleting records
If hops are purchased off farm, an additional marker should be placed and referenced in your recording system
Weight
Quality Control
Every stage of transformation is monitored and recorded whether by analysis, record keeping, visual observations, and sensorial activities
Facilities are appropriate for the activity where intermingling of foreign materials are controlled
Maintenance/cleaning records including staffing are kept
Detailed and efficient, specific to your operations
Intake protocol for off-site hops
Quality Assurance
Availability of records for review
Analysis certificates
Evolving transformation activities with QC in mind
Lot# assignment to monitor hops movement
Harvest
Wet
Brewer Direct
Dry/Condition
Sort/Grade
Test/Analysis
Bale
Cold Storage
Pelletize
Package
Market Cold
Storage
Whole Leaf
Package
Market Cold
Storage
Custom Bale
Picker/Sort
Lot #
Small Scale
Equipment $36,000 - $60,000
Lower depending on your ability to build/fabricate etc.
Hand harvest only.
Up to a maximum of 5 acres before harvester upgrade
Equipment$195,000-$300,000 Ingenuity can reduce some of these
costs
Hand harvest to mechanical
Bottlenecks in the flow create the potential for increased negative impacts on quality
10 acres and up
Medium Scale
If a grower produces 1lb.dry hops/plant with 900 plants/acre @15.00/lb. $13,500/acre
At 5 acres $67,500 gross sales. Many assumptions.
5 acres
Operational Costs
Field Equipment
costs
Hop Yard Installation & $75,000
Harvest/Processing $36,000 - $60,000
“Sales” $67,500
Shared Processing/Storage
Facility
Farm 1 acre
Farm 2 acres
Farm 5 acres
Regional Processing Facilities or shared on farm processing
for your time and interest.