I JUST pitched my yeast on a 2.5 gallon batch last night. Believe it or not, the pumpkin held almost 2.75 gallons, so it was perfect! Also picked up a nice 3-gallon glass carboy for secondary while I was at the store too. I'm planning on having this ready for Christmas 2013 at the earliest, with a few bottles headed to my dad's wine cellar over the next few years. I have pics of the process so far, and I plan to keep them for future's sake when opening the bottles each year.
Interesting development though. They were out of Sweat Mead yeast, and so I explained to the guy that I was shooting for a dry mead with about 12% ABV based on my starting OG of 1.092. He said that a simple Ale yeast was taken up to 17% by a local brewer who did a barleywine, and would be good for bringing out the honey and spice flavors while cutting down the sweetness. I was sold, so I pitched the Ale yeast last night. I will let you know how it tastes when I rack it in a week or so.
Questions: I pitched it last night and left for work. I didn't agitate it this morning after stirring it up last night. However, it was definitely starting to gather on the top in colonies even though there wasn't any foam. Should I go home at lunch to stir? Or can I wait until the end of the day and make sure to stir then? I didn't realize how you needed to agitate mead for the first 24-36 hours.
Also, I didn't add ANY yeast nutrient. I didn't totally scrape the pumpkin clean and left a bit of guts attached to the sides, but took all the seeds out. I assume there should be enough nutrient in the pumpkin to get it going, but it still worries me of course. It's my first batch, so I need advice. Should I add something else to get it going, or am I okay with nutrients because its in a damn pumpkin.