Made Cider, may now make Perry

[SgtMustache]

Hello all from the Other Side Of The Pond!
Made my first two batches of cider last winter, first from a cider kit I was given for Xmas, the second because I remembered I had a five gallon beer kit I had nearly abandoned.
Both came out OK, the gallon batch was from un-preserved bottled juice, the second from frozen juice.
I'll need to use cider yeast next time instead of white wine yeast (came with the kit) and ale yeast (all I had to hand at that time making the five gallon batch).
Both came out a bit tart.....the ale yeast in particular, but both at 5.4 and 7 % respectively.

The pear tree we planted 7 years ago is finally producing a substantial amount of fruit, last year had about 10-odd pears, this year we should have well over 120 from what I've seen. MUCH MUCH more than that, I'm hoping.....and a neighbor has their pear which they whine about as leaving a mess all over their lawn...I've offered to help with that problem :)

I'll wait until ripe, freeze to reduce efforts grinding/scratting, and then press.

Any suggestions on yeast, process etc.?

 

[freester]

In absence of anyone else replying...

The tricky bit with pears is getting them at the ripest. Too soon, there won't be enough sugar to ferment and you may end up with something less than 5% which may spoil. Too late you won't end up with juice you'll end up with a wet mush. So in your case freezing (or pressing) at the right time is the key part of the process.

Personally I'd follow the same method as for making cider... The foolproof method is to treat juice with campdens. 24 hours later pitch yeast (cider or champagne), nutrient and let it get on with fermentation. Rack off once the fermentation is complete. Don't forget to take OG readings before and after. There is some unfermentable sugars in Pears so it should turn out a tad sweeter than cider - which will always ferment to dry.

I made some perry from proper Perry pears last autumn . We picked them a bit early and it was hit and miss whether the fermented product would be strong enough (very hard to estimate with just the before OG reading as you don't know what the final OG will be - with cider you know it will be 1.000 or thereabouts). So I added some sugar and ended up with a nice 5.5% perry which if I do say so myself is very nice!

Let us know how you get get on.

 

[IainM]

I did perry the last couple of years, from two different trees, and got ~6% and 5.5% without having to add sugar. Freester is on the money, pears contain sorbitol which is sweet and doesn't ferment. The only thing I'd add is that adding a handful of apples into the mix can help give a more rounded flavour and a bit of bite, though you could equally add some acid, and I'd suggest using a bit of pectolase. Best of luck with it, my second batch developed a pellicle and had some mixed fermentation going on despite treatment with campden, which made for some interesting funkiness, while the first batch fermented very clean and ended up with a lovely delicate floral fruitiness.

 

[freester]

Oooh the other thing I forgot to mention (apart from Pectolase) is the 2nd batch I made I scratted the pears and left them for 24 hours before pressing. There is some method to this but right now I can't find exactly why this is recommended. I don't think it's imperative though and if you are pressing straight from frozen you won't have this option.

 

[private4587]

I have a freezer full of frozen pears that the wife has boiled and the froze i think maybe to make a crumble in the future. My question is could i use these to make a perry?

 

[SgtMustache]

Thanks for the advice, will be paid attention to.

I like the idea of adding a few apples for additional flavor, and if timing is right I'll be buying some cider apple juice this fall....there's a lovely hard cider festival in western Massachusetts that I've been going to for some 20+ years now, and they have lots of things for sale. Including but not limited to ciders and perry from O'l Blighty and France.
Not to mention that after the juried ciders have been tasted, the jugs come out of car trunks....one fellow usually has three or four pressurized vessels of cider in the back of his wagon....walking sometimes becomes a focused chore.

One farm of heirloom trees brings 20-30 different examples of apples, including one DECIO, a cultivar that's been around since circa 190 A.C.E. Nice to get my stomach around an ancient apple! No good for cider, though.

Two things...no, THREE things:
1) The tree now has tons of fruit on it, looking to be far more than thought originally. May be as many as 250 fruit at present count. PLUS, at least two other trees may be available for my picking, seems the owners have no use for the fruit? EGAD! Talk about waste and excess...
2) Have been given a two-gallon press, needs a follow board (the top board) but I can get one together from white oak, actually from my firewood pile suitably milled up.
3) Just a coincidence that the local brew pub (we now have four, AND a distillery nearby) also stocks brewing supplies etc.....barleywine is now on tap, along with a Berliner Weisse and some lovely black beers.
FOURTH item....a local-ish cidery may be moving here....when it rains, it pours...

 

[SgtMustache]

A Few additions:
1) The press has the follow board, tucked away inside. SUCCESS! Also picked up a fine mesh bag to press with.
2) SO FAR we have picked 15 (fifteen!) gallons of pears off the tree, with what looks like AT LEAST another 10 gallons to go. Wow. Looks to be around 400 pears on the tree....many small, and the usual pain to get to the top ones, but desire drives innovation!
3) Well, looks like the cidery will NOT be moving into town, too hard to get a place here as most suitable commercial spaces are already taken up. HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL....
4) The brew pub I go to will be starting a peach Saison soon, they get large donations from local trees that are massively laden with fruit this year. Looks to be at least 50+ pounds of fruit for them...they call it FUZZY SAISON due to the peaches.....it's quite good, I had some of last year's batch.

The predictions for fruit this year were bad what with a late and very hard frost, BUT....apple, peach and other fruit trees are producing at a massive rate in this area...and they are ripening very early due to the heat waves we've been experiencing.
Farmers are starting to have problems with harvest this early, and the politics of migrant workers etc. not being available.

I'm sorting the pears to process the ripe ones first. Those will be chopped up in a food processor, and additional batches as they come ripe. All will be frozen to further break down any cell walls for juice.
Don't have access to a scratter, nor the $$ for same. This should work just as well.
The variety of pear is Red Bartlett, had a few and they were VERY juicy and tasteful. Looks like addition of tannins via tea, and some apple juice, are on order.

THE QUEST CONTINUES....

 

[MattH1973]

good thread and keep is informed.

fwiw, i would do at least one batch without tannin - start as simple as you can and see if you like the results..... my cider always turns out great without it - a sort of delicate apple flavoured champagne [which i realise i say a lot on here]