Yeast in suspension affecting dry hopping

Forgive me, it's the last night of finals week and I am fried. However, my roommate and myself are in a beer argument:

First off, he does not like the taste of hops at all. Any bitter beer turns him off completely. Tonight he made a strawberry blond ale from an extract kit. The instructions say to add the strawberry flavoring and hops after primary fermentation. It suggests that primary fermentation lasts 3 to 5 days. He wants to add the hops in as early as possible because he believes the non-dormant yeast will destroy most of the bitterness from the hops.

I don't believe that the yeast will have a large effect on the added hop flavor but I know little about chemistry and have little experience dry hopping. I also believe that it is a good idea to leave the beer in the primary for at least a week.

If anybody has anything to say about this that would be great. Thanks

I'd say yeast do not effect bitterness(Take a look at hardcore IPA recipes, most of the hops are added within the brew kettle). Dry hopping adds a crispness to your beer, not a lot of flavor, aroma or definitely not bitterness. Bitterness is an aspect of hops that requires a prolonged boil to extract.

First off, dry hopping does not add any bittering to a beer.

I see no problem skipping the dry hopping completely in a Strawberry Blond. Save the hops for something else.

Thanks for clearing up the misconception guys.