Fresh pear perry/cider attempt; thoughts on plan?

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tpwyo80

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Hey everybody, I have a pear tree that's donated a full double sacked paper grocery bag of pears and would like to attempt a pear cider or perry.

From the research I've gathered and recipes I've seen I'd like to propose my recipe/method and see what the more experienced can contribute.

I see the process proceeding as follows...

Juice the pears with a heavy duty juicer
Add campden tablets (1/gal of juice)
Allow to sit 24 hours and take OG.
Add RO water and honey to make 6.5 gallons.
Pitch champagne yeast.
Age respectfully.

Other random thought tangents.
Would rinsing the pears in star-san before juicing have any negative side effect?
Is it worth bothering with pectic enzyme to clear?

The picture is 100% juice separated from the froth. OG was 1.06

Look forward to any responses.

photo.jpg
 
I wouldn't bother with the starsan, most people just give a quick rinse in water. You won't get any nasty infections from the fruit.
You might want to add some tartaric acid, maybe a tablespoon or two, and also som sort of tannin would help.
 
search around the forum for perry discussions, most people have a hard time with regular sweet pears since almost all the flavor tends to ferment out, and true perry varieties are pretty much unheard of outside england's perry country (herefordshire, worcestershire). i would avoid adding any water, the last thing you want is to dilute out the flavor any further, and taste when it's about done fermenting. you might find that it lacks any acid (hence the suggestions above), pears don't pack the malic punch that apples do. i have only made one perry, from slightly bitter cooking pears, so i am by no means an expert, just pears + champ yeast, and mine was so bad that i had to really struggle to keep myself from tossing it down the drain, after 10+ months it has come around a little bit but is by no means delicious. (made an ok vinegar though). if it comes out like mine then maybe an apple/pear blend is in order
also bear in mind that pears usually have some unfermentable sugars so will finish a bit higher than apples. for me pectic wasn't necessary, i don't think they are nearly as pectin rich as apples but not 100% sure. leave out the star-san- what's the point?
 
Perry pears are to Perry what the town of champagne is to champagne - anything else is a cheap knock off. It's down to variety, climate, everything. Im lucky enough to live in worcestershire so bottled Perry is very available here!
Like dinnerstick says apple and pear may be your best bet. 2 tins of pears to a gallon of apple juice gives noticable aroma. Pears will also yield less juice than apples so its a lot of work. But hey - nothings stopping you so go for it!
 
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