A small batch of JAO

[frostedbutts]

This will be my second batch of mead (as the first one was pretty improvised and didn't turn out well) which I will start this or next week.
Since my country is using the metric system, and I don't have any 1 gallon/5 liter demijohns laying around, I decided to make a 2 liter batch of JAOM and stick as close as I could to the original recipe.

So since it's a smaller batch than the original recipe (2 liter), and converted to the metric system aswell I tried to recalculate the ingredients amounts and came up with this :
-Approx 830 grams of wildflower honey (couldn't find any clover)
-Half a cinnamon stick
-1 clove
-Approx half an orange which I will cut to four quarters
-11 raisins
-Local brand of bread yeast as I don't have any Fleischmanns

So my questions are the following :
-Will a 2 liter plastic bottle and an airlock/improvised airlock be good enough for this? (Good enough as of not blowing up or leaving awful aftertaste)
-Will the rescaled amounts I came up with do fine?
-How much yeast should I use? I've read that one teaspoon is needed for one gallon and over, but since this is less than a gallon, should I use just half a teaspoon?

Thanks in advance.

[fatbloke]

You don't list a location on your profile.

Plus, the recipe is actually for 1 US gallon, which is close enough to 4 litres to mix the liquid part in a bucket then split the liquid into 2 x 2 ltr and then add the fruit etc split in half.....

[Chevette Girl]

Originally Posted by frostedbutts

So my questions are the following :
-Will a 2 liter plastic bottle and an airlock/improvised airlock be good enough for this? (Good enough as of not blowing up or leaving awful aftertaste)
-Will the rescaled amounts I came up with do fine?
-How much yeast should I use? I've read that one teaspoon is needed for one gallon and over, but since this is less than a gallon, should I use just half a teaspoon?

I sometimes use plastic 4-l water jugs for JAO and plastic wrap with an elastic band if I don't have the right sized stopper for it.

3.5 lb in half is 1.75 lb, converted to grams is 794 grams but I think anything around 800 grams should be OK, I think the difference is a couple of tablespoons.

The yeast question... 1 tsp won't hurt anything, neither will half. We often pitch the same amount of yeast in a 1-gal batch as we would in a 5-gal batch.

And welcome to the forum!!

[frostedbutts]

Thanks for the replies!
I may try what fatbloke suggested and mix everything in a bucket or a pot, and then split it to two 2 liter bottles adding half an orange and the spices to each.
I imagine I would be pitching the yeast directly to the bottles after splitting the liquids, right?

Last question goes to Chevette Girl (just in case I'll have to improvise an airlock) - How many holes do you poke in the plastic wrap? Isn't it unsterile?

[Chevette Girl]

No holes required, even with a fairly tight rubber band, it's not a tight enough seal to prevent the release of excess carbon dioxide but it does keep out most of the oxygen (and fruit flies and bunny hair and anything else you may have floating around in the air). I double-layer it to be safe, and if you're concerned about sanitizing it, dip the part that's going over the mouth of the bottle into sanitizing solution, shake the excess off, and apply to the bottle. It's not precisely sterile when it comes off the roll, but it is clean enough for us to wrap food we're going to eat without washing it first, so I usually don't even bother with that, I just try to keep my unsanitized fingers off the centre where it might contact the must.

And you could mix everything including the yeast in your pot or bucket (except the orange and spices, although I'd probably squeeze the orange's juice in, makes it easier to poke it into a small opening if you're using PET pop or water bottles), put half the orange and spices and raisins (half a cinnamon stick and a clove) into each bottle and then pour the honey/water/yeast mixture in afterwards, make sure you leave at least 3-5 cm at the top or else things might get messy. If you have extra must, refrigerate it and use it to top up the bottles after two weeks or so when things have died down, just use water if there's no leftover must.

[frostedbutts]

Sounds good, thank's a lot for the advice!