Time to make a second batch.

Okay, so I already have this thread where I presumably fixed the problems I'd addressed, but now I have another problem:

I checked on my mead today, noticed that the label said 16 servings, and went "SAY WHAT? THIS IS ONLY HALF A GALLON." Then it hit me that I'd gotten a full gallon of water by mistake, because the Arrowhead gallon jug happens to be shaped like most other brands' half-gallon jugs.

It's probably not too late to buy another pound and a half of honey, add another ten raisins, and cut up another half of an orange so I can turn this batch into a full Joe's Ancient Orange, but I'm just annoyed that I'll have to buy MORE honey and water so I can make the half-gallon recipe as well.

On the plus side, I'm REALLY glad I started this up well ahead of time, instead of waiting exactly three weeks before my birthday.

Time to head to the store after class and read the labels VERY closely. Have other people have made this kind of mistake? I'm just glad that I caught it while it was still fixable.

I added a pound and a half of Busy Bee clover honey, another half-orange, and then 10 raisins. Then I topped it all off with a cup or so of warm water to get the yeast going again.

Currently it's fizzing as usual. Relieved, but still annoyed that I need to go and buy an actual half-gallon for a new batch again.

Just for record-keeping, I made my second batch of short mead last night (February 12, 2014). Ingredients are half an orange, half a teaspoon of yeast, and two pounds of Rita Miller Wildflower Honey. I also used warm/lukewarm water so the yeast would do better. As of this morning it's fizzing pretty well, though not quite as avidly as the full-gallon batch of JOA.

Of course, the teaspoon and a half of yeast in my JOA may mean it ends up drier than I expected, but I'll just check the taste after a month and see how it's going.

Oh, yay! I think someone mentioned it in my first batch's thread, but I was busy troubleshooting and I forgot about it. Thanks for the explanation!

Ha, I know! I was just thinking about making a gallon's worth of a cyser, but I've already spent about twenty or thirty dollars on supplies for my first two batches.

I'll also see if I can buy some honey from the farmer's market for my next batches. Meadowfoam honey has REALLY great potential as a mead--it's got a warm and toasted-marshmallow flavor.