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.

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