The Perrider Experiment

[IdiotBrewing]

Last year I moved from a small tiny cramped house in the South of England to a sprawling money-pit in the Northest bit of North Lincolnshire, where amongst the acreage was a small orchard including apple and pear trees. The original plan was to split them and produce cider and perry, but as is typical of plans around here, it soon crashed and burned! Instead of cider and perry I ended up making a combination brew which I msuppose could be called Ciderry or Perrider! I prefer the latter as it sounds like Pariah, which would have been a good name for the drink had I not already opted for Magic Jesus Finger (don't ask; it's not a good reflection on my sanity)!

While the idea of having defined cider and perry might sound good in theory, it did mean that I’d have to split the fruits and manage two lots of pressing and fermentation. As I almost always behind schedule I deemed Perrider to be the experiment needed to retain the idiot approach to brewing.

I had apples and pears. I had fermentation vessels. I had yeast. All that was required was turning the fruits into must (that’s what proper people making cider and perry call juice; I’m ballsacked if I know why they don’t just call it juice, but they don’t).

Time is a fickle mistress, so I had time to either make a scratter or a press, but not both. I was aware that the freeze/thaw cycle tears the cellular structure of fruit so I opted not to scrat.

Instead I built a press. It’s simple in design. It’s a wooden frame held together with threaded rod, with a wide base unit which allows a collection vessel to be placed under the workings on the press. A sliding wooden piston sort of thing and a collection of spacing blocks (they’re really just off-cuts of wood) are used to apply pressure from a five tonne bottle jack.

The frame has a piece of cold steel plate attached to the top to spread the load from the jack. For pressure plates I used thick LDPE cutting boards and the must then falls into the collection vessel (an old stainless steel catering gastronorm with a hole cut into it) which in turn fills the fermenter.

I ended up with approximately 48 gallons of must, which was split into six batches.

I didn't add anything but yeast. I varied the yeasts for each fermenter; as it’s the first year of Perrider I wanted to try a few options. The following have been used: Generic Champagne yeast; Safale S-04; Safale S-04 plus Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois; Wyeast 4766 (Cider); Mango Jack M02; Mango Jack M02 plus Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois.

The base must had an OG of 1.055, and fermentation started in the middle of November.

Once the initial fermentation slowed I added some reserved must to bring up the levels. I also retained some for topping up after racking. Since then I've pretty much ignored them.

I was in the brewery yesterday, plumbing in two new sinks (golden rule of building a brew space - work out how much cleaning area you need, then triple it) and I ended up looking at the Perrider vessels. They called out to me: 'check me, taste me, rack me'. Honestly, that's what happened. Being a shamblingly disorganised wreck of a human, I only managed to do the first three fermenters.

With regard to final gravity, FVs 1 and 2 reached 1.009. I wasn't that surprised by this as pear juice has non-fermentable sugars (sorbitol). FV 3, which included Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois yeast, hit 1.010. This puts the Perriders at around 6% ABV, which is fine for me. I didn't add anything other than the juice because I wanted a true reflection of the fruit characteristics as it's the first batch from the orchard.

FV1 used generic champagne yeast. The Perrider is crystal clear despite no pectolayse, and very light in colour. It has a very acceptable level of dryness; it's not puckering but refreshing. The sharpness is pretty much spot-on, giving a pseudo-effervescence to the mouthfeel. Right now I'd say it's drinkable and would be perfectly fine as a still Perrider due to the mouthfeel making it feel a bit lively, like Tracey Cahill after a babycham or three. However, it will continue bulk-ageing until the trees blossom in Spring (I know; I'm a romantic fool).

FV2l used S-04 ale yeast. The Perrider has a very slight haze (the internal surface of the fermenter was covered in yeast slurry, but the liquid is clearer than I would have been expected. Despite this haze, it has no yeast taste. It's similar to FV1 in terms of dryness, but is a tad sharper with a little harshness more akin to a scrumpy than a perry or cider. It's perfectly drinkable, but a bit more 'oo-arr' than 'ooh-la-la', if you get my drift. I'm sure that the bulk ageing will round things out a bit. Carbonation might also lift it a bit.

FV3 used S-04 and Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois. The fact that the current gravity is a point higher than the pure S-04 might indicate that the BBT is still munching away. The Perrider has a hint of farmyard funk which sits really nicely with the overall taste, and it rounds out the slightly harsh taste of the S-04 only version. Currently I don't know whether this would be better as a still or carbonated pint, and will wait until time to package to decide.

Of the first three, I'd say that FV3 has it, followed closely by FV1. Mind you, there's a rather nice smell emitting from the other fermenters so I'm wary of calling it at present.

So that's three down, three to go.

 

[FantasticMisterFox]

Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed the read!

As someone that has also brewed my share of "oo-arr", I know exactly what you mean and laughed at your description.

Please keep us posted.

 

[IdiotBrewing]

I finally managed to find a few hours to test, taste and rack the remaining Perrider (perry/cider hybrid) fermenters. Similar to the first three, the final three checked in at 1.009 which, given the unfermentable sorbitol in the pear element of the cider/perry mix, was pretty much what I expected (with the hindsight of having tested the first three batches).

Vessel 4 used Wyeast 4766. The Perrider is crystal clear and light, and despite the FG figure it has a good level of dryness without having that cheek-sucking thing going on. Like the contents of Vessel 1, it has a pseudo-effervesence due to the sharpness, but at no point is it astringent or puckering. Comparing Vessels 1 and 4, I would say the number 1 has the edge; it's slightly crisper and cleaner. It'll be interesting to see how it ages out.

Vessel 5 was originally intended to be a mixture of Wyeast 4766 and Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois. I had two smack-packs of 4766, both well in date and delivered quickly from a reputable supplier. When smacked like a ginger step-child, neither swelled, which sort of set off an alarm bell. I held back on the Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois in Vessel 5 until I was sure what was going on. Vessel 4 did kick in after a few days, but the yeast in Vessel 5 was dead. I waited a good while before pronouncing death.

As a result, Vessel 5 ended up with Mango Jack's M-02. The Perrider was slightly too tart and had a bit of puckering dryness in the background. It was also hazy and tasted raw compared to the other batches. If I had to rate all six batches in order of preference, this would have fallen to the bottom in position six. I might have even been happy to lose it ... more about this in a second.

Vessel 6 used Mango Jack M-02 and Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois. It had the same harshness and puckering astringency in the background as Vessel 5, but this was rounded off a bit by the Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois. Interestingly it had the same effect as it did in Vessel 3 (S-04 plus Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois) when compared with Vessel 2 (straight S-04). Sadly, with Vessel 6 the M-02 comes through and it's not a yeast that I would use again.

In order of preference I would say 3 (S-04 plus Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois) takes the lead from Vessel 1 (generic champagne yeast) and Vessel 2 (S-04) tied for second place. Then it would be Vessel 4 (Wyeast 4766) although I'd think twice next autumn with the 50 per cent mortality rate of this yeast. In fifth place is Vessel 6 (Jack M-02 and Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois); despite the good work of the Trois the M-02 isn't balanced enough. It last place comes Vessel 5 (M-02).

Obviously, the bulk ageing might change things a bit. I'll be waiting patiently to see what happens.

Vessel 5, the least favourite, won't be bulk ageing. Here's a funny thing. As I was racking I decided to test a bit of plumbing. It's called multi-tasking. I was starting the syphoning off when I thought I heard something at the other end of the brewery like water running. I quickly stuck the hose into the clean FV and wandered off to have a look. It was nothing, but I started to wipe down a grain bin and generally tidy up a bit. Lost in my thoughts I glanced back to see the FV wasn't filling up. I had a 'WTF' moment and then I saw the puddle. The hose had fallen out of the clean FV and Vessel 5 was emptying itself onto the floor!

I grabbed it in time and shoved it back in, but by that point I'd lost 3 gallons. Okay, it wasn't the best Perrider. It was my least favourite, but still, it was 3 gallons of the stuff. My real issue (aside from clearing up) was what to do with it. The lost volume meant head space, which might impact on the quality when bulk ageing.

Should I simply leave the 5 gallons to age with a load of head space, risking a vinegar transformation?

Should I keg it, gas it up and let it age in a corny?

I went for option three and dry-hopped with Moteuka; it will be kegged next week before being aged in the keg.

Who says men can't multi-task?

 

[Harambe]

i love this thread. you're living my dream.