Are my ingredients stale/too old?

[tlazaroff]

I haven't been able to brew as much as I'd like the past year. I have bunches of grain and hops that I think may have gone bad.

My grain has been kept in a 68 degree basement in grain / ziplock bags until i put it into an airtight container about 6 months ago. My hops have been kept in a 36 degree fridge in ziplock bags for over a year. Some are still in their original vacuum-sealed bags, while others have been opened.

The grain, from what I can tell, still LOOKS good. The hops (all pellets) are still green and smell fine.

Is there a way to tell if these are still good? I was thinking of just getting rid of them all and replacing with fresh stuff. What should I do?

 

[BigHefty]

Even if they aren't all that good what's the worst that could happen?? Bad beer? Heck, give it a shot since you've already paid for it. If it's a bad batch you only lose your time and a yeast packet.

 

[rockfish42]

Make a test batch? As long as the hops were kept cold they should be fine, maybe adjust their AA for age, the grain has a shelf life of several years (assuming it's unmilled) if kept out of a humid environment.