Well, I got the itch to brew pretty badly, and have tried for th epast 2 nights, but my friend was unavailable, and he and I both wanted him to be there, so I was sort of last minute (You'd think I'd have 2 days of preparation, but the day before I finished my CF Chiller, and the day before that we worked on his brakes).
Yes, I should have written the names on the package, but I didn't realize there woudl be a problem until I pulled them out to use them, and there were no names. Live and learn.
As far as the hops, I really just want to use them up. They've been int he fridge far longer than I care to mention. In hindsight, I could have saved some for the next batch, but they were old, and I do like hoppy beer. There wasn't near as much aroma from them as I expected. I don't know if this will turn out to be like a brown ale or not. Doesn't really matter, because I like all kinds of beer. Who knows, I may be on to something tasty! (crosses fingers).
At least my yeast starter turned out great. I pitched about 11:00 last night, and at 6:00 this morning, the blowoff tube was gurgling like crazy! Still didnt' get to use the CFC, though. My hose was frozen outside from when I dug the electrical trench in Jan, and I had to pump the water out after a thaw. I'm def going to clean it up and have it ready for the next batch. The sink full of ice water isn't very fast.