Perry Making with Asian Pears!

[Heather Ingersoll]

Hi! 

This is my first time making a perry or cider and I am so lost. I have Asian pears just picked. I have a press coming tonight. 

Any advice or steps for a total beginner?

From what I gather I will:

- Smoosh up the pears

- Press the juice

-Put the juice into my fermenting bucket

Now I am not sure about adding that tablet that stops the wild yeasts. I have read it affects the flavor quite a bit. Lost on this.

I have been told that the starting Ph should be 3.6 ish and to add apples to the juice until I hit that mark. 

I was also planning on adding some crab apples for tannins? Not sure if this is wise. 

I have also been told I want a slow ferment, do you have any idea which yeasts are best.. or should I let the wild yeasts do their thing?

Finally at what readings will I know when the Perry is finished? 

After fermenting what do I do? I move it to a glass carboy and wait? 

I'm so new I don't even know what questions to ask! 

I appreciate any and all help/opinion and advice. 

Cheers,

Heather

[Travis Storm]

I've juiced Asian pears before, the juice is basically water. Not a whole lot of flavor there, I have a feeling you'll end up with a pretty bland perry. But, I'm curious to hear the results!

I'll let the real experts chime in on your questions :)

[Andrew Lea]

Ideally you should have taken the time to study a good cidermaking book before you got started. There are no books that deal specifically with Perry. 

But since you are obviously in a hurry and need to get up to speed quickly, try this from my website  http://www.cider.org.uk/part3.htm as a quick fix. 

You will just have to 'wing it' on the differences between apples and Asian pears. But you won't go too far wrong for your first attempt if you just treat them as rather flavourless apples. As a beginner, it's probably best that you add a yeast. Get a good white wine yeast (preferably not a champagne type since they tend to ferment to a very neutral flavour). 

You also need Campden tablets, narrow range pH papers, carboy with airlock, and a hydrometer. The cider / perry shouldn't stay in an open fermenting bucket for more than a few days. The hydrometer reading will tell you how much sugar you have to start, and when the fermentation is all finished. 

Good luck. 

Andrew

Wittenham Hill Cider Portal
www.cider.org.uk

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[Heather Ingersoll]

Thanks for the help! I honestly was not sure what book to get! Do you have a recommendation?

All the supplies you mention I have so I'm good there :) Thank you!

[Heather Ingersoll]

Interesting! I only got the idea since I tasted 3 different asian pear perry last weekend. I know they also blend in apples to reduce the ph prior to fermenting. I'm pretty nervous to try this though! 

[Andrew Lea]

Tricky to recommend a book because two of us here have written them!

But, assuming you are on the left hand side of the pond .....

Claude's book is from a North American perspective and is very detailed 

https://www.amazon.com/New-Cider-Makers-Handbook-Comprehensive/dp/1603584730

Mine is from a UK perspective and is shorter and more of a primer
https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Cider-Making-Andrew-Lea/dp/1785000152

This recent book backed by the folks at Farnum Hill has had very little publicity but is also a very good practical introduction for North Americans I think
https://www.amazon.com/Apples-Cider-How-Make-Home/dp/1592539181

And Ben Watson's book has lots of fantastic background for North Americans too
https://www.amazon.com/Cider-Hard-Sweet-History-Traditions/dp/1581572077

Proulx and Nichols is still in print but looking rather long in the tooth now (first published 1980)
https://www.amazon.com/Cider-Making-Using-Enjoying-Sweet/dp/1580175201

Andrew


Wittenham Hill Cider Portal
www.cider.org.uk

[Heather Ingersoll]

Thank you Andrew. I got a little gun shy and I think I am going to go with pear apple sauce instead and donate the extra fruit to our local food bank. I don't want bland cider!! 

I will keep supporting our local producers until next fall and be studied up by then! 

[Travis Storm]

Heather - 

Having reads all of those books I think I'd recommend Andrew's book for your purposes. You can breeze through it in an afternoon and yet it's loaded with great information. It was my first cider book and it's still a regular reference.

Best of luck!

[darlenehayes]

I wouldn't worry quite so much about it all. Cider making isn't brain surgery, after all. Even if the result isn't quite to your taste, going through the making experience has it's own value. If you don't like the result, bottle it and let it sit. It might improve with some aging. Or turn it into vinegar. Or dump it out. Regardless, take good notes and next year try again. 

Incidentally, I have all of the books mentioned above. Each has it's own strengths. Of them Andrew and Claude's are the ones I go to the most often.

Darlene

On Friday, September 16, 2016 at 1:38:03 PM UTC-7, Heather Ingersoll wrote:

[Paul Ross]

I agree that you should start now and not miss out a years experience. The issue is the asian pears. in my opinion they are terrible dessert fruit and will make even worse perry.
I think the industrial pear ciders are made from chinese made pear concentrate ie asian pears - enough said!
Youd be better off sourcing some different fruit ( even dessert apples would give a better result) and gaining experience like that. I dont think you will enjoy the result of the asian pears and you wont learn much, because even if you do everything right they still wont taste good.

[Wes Cherry]

There are a few true craft perries made from Asian pears. The flavors are very delicate. I like them.

http://www.nashiorchards.com
And
https://untappd.com/b/virtue-cider-asian-pear-perry/760941

Are some examples

-'//es Cherry
Dragon's Head Cider
Vashon Island, Wa US
www.dragonsheadcider.com

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[Heather Ingersoll]

Yes I was at Nashi! That's why I wanted to give it a go. But I know they are really professional!

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[Tom Hanlon]

Heather, you should absolutely ferment something immediately. 

Strike while the interest is active. 

Plenty of time remains in this season to find a wide variety of  fruit or juice. It would be a shame to delay too long and have to wait a year. 

[jim gerlach]

Heather,

Glad to see lots of folks suggesting to give it a go. Based on your cooking knowledge I think you are more than capable of making something clean and drinkable. It's unfortunate that some people have discouraged you to avoid an entire species of tree fruit, which contains 100's if not 1000's of varieties based on their experience making it in a region where the quality and characteristics of the fruit are completely different. We stick to the winemaking mantra that the perry is made in the orchard (vineyard) and grow and post harvest handle our fruit very deliberately. Give it a go, stick to the basics (the Ciderworkshop is amazing resource) and enjoy the results. 

jim 

Nashi Orchards

[CiderSupply.com]

Heather, you can also try another very reliable process if you want to have some super tasty Asian Pear dessert wine. Nut it takes a large amount of fruit.

I have been making it for years. The process is this:

Allow the pears to naturally ripen as long as possible.

Then just before the pears become mealy and wont press-grind them and allow the pulp to macerate overnight.

The following day, press the pulp and attain your juice.

Freeze the juice solid. Then slowly thaw the juice allowing the juice to release only the thick Asian pear syrup.

At this point just follow any of the Ice Cider or Ice Perry processes making sure to bring your acid and brix to the same levels.

Claude has some good posts and instructions in his book to take you the rest of the way.

Just remember, you cant call it 'ICE PERRY'

Thats another topic :-)

Best regards
Chris Rylands

[Travis Storm]

In case you're referring to my first post, I was simply sharing my experience but still suggesting she give it a try, and asking to hear the results. I'm not sure how that was interpreted as discouragement - but it wasn't intended as that at all!