Mystery old hops... Good for lambic?

Just found out that a cousin who runs an herbal shop has several pounds of 3+ year old 'Red German hops'. That's the best description I have. They could be brewers hops or ornamental hops, but they are definitely well aged.

Any thoughts on using these in pLambic? I know that it's not totally necessary unless I want to do open fermentation and see what house bugs I get. Just curious more than anything.

-chuck

 

How do they smell? How do they taste?

 

Doesn't seem worth the risk on a beer that will take a couple years before you are drinking it. If they started out at a high AA% they might still be too bitter.

 

Those were my thoughts too. Like I said, was just more out of curiosity than anything.

@Apache, I don't have them in hand. She just mentioned that she had several pounds in her stock room that she would give me since they were so old. I could probably get a sample and make a tea out of them to determine bitterness/aroma/flavor, but again not worth the risk for such a long-term investment.

 

My guess would be that they are some kind of tea or herbal remedy hop, so they may not have a flavor well suited for beer.