Today in 1961, US Patent 2988820 A was issued, an invention of Albert Edward Brookes, for his “Apparatus For Treating Hops and the Like.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:

The object of this invention is to provide in a convenient form apparatus for treating hops or the like.

Apparatus according to the invention comprises in combination a chamber, a perforated endless conveyor extending across the upper part of the chamber, means for supplying hot air under pressure to the chamber, adjustable means for determining the proportion of the conveyor through which the hot air can escape from the chamber, and means responsive to the temperature of the air above the conveyor for determining the setting of said adjustable means.