just for a baseline, I made a 1 gallon batch as follows.
1 - 1 gallon size Lipton tea bag, steeped in 1.5 qt 195 degree water for 10 min (just as i would for iced tea)
3 cups sugar boiled in 1 qt water
cooled all to 70 degrees, pitched 1/2 pack nottingham yeast i had
very slow...