Oasts come in many shapes and sizes, but the basic principle is the same: the hops are first placed on a slotted floor over a heat source in the drying kiln. In many cases, this takes the form of the familiar "roundel". Kilns are topped by a protective wooden cowl, ingeniously designed to automatically turn the flue away from the wind. When dry, the hops are laid out on the adjoining upper barn floor to cool and finally scooped up and packed into sacks - hop pockets - suspended below this floor. The lower floor of the barn acts as convenient storage for the full pockets. Thus, no oast is complete without both hop kiln and barn.
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