Oast House

A building designed for drying hops before they are compressed, baled, or pelletized, packaged, and sold to brewers.

Traditional oast houses were tall, round buildings with a white cone on top. The cone had a cowl and weather vane at its peak. The purpose of the cones was to create a good draft for the wood fires used to dry the hops. The cowl and vane enabled the roof to turn into the wind to get the best air flow.

Hops were placed on a latticed floor of wood and wire that allowed the hot air from the fire below to circulate through them.