Hops and Sanitization

[GrumpyOldGit]

I have a newbie question and I'm sorry if this has been covered elsewhere as I didn't find anything with a search...

Everything I've read on the forum and online (I read John Palmer about 3 times before I even bought a kit) has said that sanitising everything that will touch the wort is key to good and consistent brewing. So we sanitize everything big and small, fermentor to hydrometer...
...and then a few days later I chuck a handful of proto-compost in to dry hop.

So my question: After all the effort to keep even small amounts of bacteria, yeasts, molds, black plague, etc. away from the wort why do we then just toss a handful of hops - and whatever is growing on or in them - into the fermenter without a thought?

(Then there would be curious question of how one would sanitize hop flowers and keeping the oils intact. Somehow I can't see the purists accepting the use of gamma radiation from say cobalt-60 to sterilize the flowers even if they then had a 10 year shelf life and you could make Dr. Banner's Hulk ale...)

 

[m00ps]

hops were historically used a preservative. Unless the hops are covered in some sort of dirt, they wont have anythign harmful to beer growing on them. Far as I know, you cant really contaminate your beer with them. Its other stuff that may get in the fermentor while you are tossing in your dryu hops that will do that

 

[WrQth]

Hops have an antibacterial affect so as long as how they are handled prior to being added to the fermentor is sanitary then you shouldn't fear creating an infection from adding them.

 

[Sailingeric]

If you do fear an infection, send me several bottles of your beer to test. I want to keep you safe!

 

[GrumpyOldGit]

Thanks m00ps

hops were historically used a preservative

and WrQth

Hops have an antibacterial affect

- so the trick is to keep everything else up to snuff and the hops will take care of themselves.

If you do fear an infection, send me several bottles of your beer to test.

Sailingeric - thanks for your kind offer, but I think the USPS bans shipping biohazard so I'll just need to sit in the basement and test each bottle individually over the day (and hide the evidence) and then I'll have all the bottles free for the next brew...:cross: