The Larkins Oast House was built in 1935 but bombed by a V2 rocket in 1945 and rebuilt in 1948. It comprises the kiln, drying room, cooling and pressing machinery for the traditional processing of hops from drying, preserving to storing - all integral to Larkins quality and flavour.
dry…
Freshly picked hops are put into hessian sacks called pokes and transported to the first floor where warm air rises from the kiln below to dry the cones. These are then transferred and raked out onto the cooling floor before being bagged up in 75kg sacks called hop pockets.
press…
A traditional hop press transfers the hops to a sack (hop pocket) in the floor below secured by a hoop. The lever is wound down to press the hops in and wound back up again to allow them to be filled some more using a wooden scuppet. The process is repeated until tightly pressed and filled ready for storage and the brewery next door.
