Warming up hops?

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granpooba19

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I'm about to dry hop with some leaf hops which have been in the fridge. I've heard that it is a good idea to let hops warm up to room temperature before you use them. I don't remember where I heard it, and I don't see why that would be necessary.

So is letting them warm to room temperature necessary? Thanks.
 
I heard a podcast where the guest brewer said to warm hops to room temp 24 hours before using. He claimed it gets rid of undesirable oils and improves aroma especially for dry hopping. I can't comment whether it helps or not. I just made a note of it so I could try it myself.

It was a guest on the Sunday Session, but I have no idea which episode.
 
I generally take mine out of the freezer the morning I'm going to use them. It doesn't really matter for pitching into your boil (other than lowering your temp for a moment). In the case of dry hopping... I want all those oils and aromas to come out in my beer!
 
Some good info on page 4 of this pdf, under Essential Oils.

http://www.basicbrewing.com/radio/pdf/TheBreeding_Varieties.pdf

Here's a description of myrcene from the wiki:

Myrcene yields flavors that were not traditionally considered desirable by European brewers, and noble hops are very low in myrcene. However, many American hop varieties are very high in myrcene; it makes up up to 60% of total oil in Cascade and up to 70% in Amarillo. Also found in some citrus fruits, myrcene lends American hops many of their distinctive flavors.
When added late in, or after, the boil, myrcene adds the intense, pungent aroma associated with American dry-hopped beers. When boiled for longer periods, it yields the characteristic citrus and pine aromas of American craft beer.

Looks like it comes down to personal preference. It sounds like a nice, low risk experiment when dry hopping split fermenters.
 
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