I'm assuming you are "burning off the beds" for the same reason we mow our asparagus bed before the new shoots sprout in the spring, to clear the bed of last year's debris for the new growing season.

I don't know if hops could take a burning or not. Personally, I would use loppers or pruners and trim the dead vines close to the ground and just remove the dead aerial portions. It's much like clipping a clematis in the spring and it's short work unless you have acres of hops.

FataMorgana

heard back from my hops purveyor (freshops dot com rules) and burning off is fine. yeehaw!

does a much better job of killing annual weed seed in my experience than simply mowing and mulching...

i don't have acres of hops but i have several hundred row feet and acres of other things to deal with.