Soaking hops?

Hello All,

This is my maiden post. Thank you, in advance, for your help.

My wife's parents called last night to let me know that they picked the hops they've been growing for me. They had a question: Should they dry the hops after they were done soaking them in water? I gulped and replied, "You're soaking them, huh?" Yes, they were, to cleanse them and flush out any bugs hiding in the hops.

Pretty obvious question here: Are these hops now wasted? It seems to me like soaking them in water would have a similar effect to adding them to your wort: the oils being pulled out out of the hops.

Thanks again.

Assuming it was tap temperature water, the bittering quality is likely intact, and perhaps even some of the more prominent flavor characters may remain. But I'd think the more volatile flavor and likely most if not all of the desirable aroma qualities could be lost.

So, maybe reserve those hops for early and perhaps mid-boil additions, and if the first batch doesn't turn up the flavor you're looking for, relegate them strictly to bittering...

Cheers!