Green Gage Plum Mead

I was able to get about 6.25 lbs of pitted green gage plums in the freezer as well as 2.5 lbs pitted red plums and thought I would try the following:

9 lbs alfalfa honey
yeast nutrient
yeast energizer
pectin enzyme
water to 3 gal in 4 gal carboy
10 gm Lalvin 71B yeast
2.5 lbs red pitted plums

Ferment in primary with 2.5 lbs red pitted plums until activity slows to nothing.

Rack into secondary for approximately 10 days or until major sediments fall.

Rack into tertiary onto 6.25 lbs green gage plums and let sit for 2 -3 weeks or so.

Rack to the fourth add campden and wait.

I have already started the primary in this experiment.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
GTG

Think months, not weeks; mead takes time. You'll only need one 5g packet of 71B, it's enough to handle 5 gallons. I'd hit the fruit with campden tabs before yeast pitch & again when you rack onto fruit in tertiary. I found out the hard way (with plums) that freezing doesn't kill everything. I'd leave it on the fruit in tertiary for a month or 2. Regards, GF.

Yep, my plan is to wait months for whatever I need to. My thoughts were that it might be bad to leave on the fruit for more than a few weeks with the plums being so mushy and such. I'll probably use campden on the next fruit introduction now that you've said that. Oh yeah, this is a no cook batch.

GTG

I left my plum melomel on the fruit in tertiary for 6 months; turned out to be a great batch. BTW, quartering the fruit for tertiary before freezing makes it much easier to get it into the carbouy. I bulk aged it (off the fruit of course) for about 2 years & it was soooooo smooth & tasty! Hope you have as good (or better) luck with yours. Regards, GF.

All the fruit has been sliced into quarters and smaller, pitted, treated with Fruit Fresh (vitamin c) and frozen except for the first dose of 2 lbs which was not frozen. I may start treating with campden at fruit processing from now on.