Pear beer?

[SailorJerry]

Alright, so I used to brew with a buddy several years ago, and I'm just getting back into it after moving and finding someone to brew with. We just made our first batch this past Sunday, and our wives are clamoring for a peach ale.

We do extract brewing, which is also what I did before. I have a recipe for a blueberry ale, essentially a pale ale with blueberry extract. Is there something similar for pear? Or any advice? Thanks guys!

 

[rcreamer0713]

From what i have read. Peach is tough. Many use apricots. And a drop of extract(peach ir apricot) in each bottle.

 

[SailorJerry]

So I totally meant pear not peach. I'll edit the main post later

 

[Homercidal]

Title edited.

 

[SailorJerry]

Title edited.

Thank you!

 

[Steveruch]

Alright, so I used to brew with a buddy several years ago, and I'm just getting back into it after moving and finding someone to brew with. We just made our first batch this past Sunday, and our wives are clamoring for a peach ale.

We do extract brewing, which is also what I did before. I have a recipe for a blueberry ale, essentially a pale ale with blueberry extract. Is there something similar for pear? Or any advice? Thanks guys!

I'd go with an American wheat beer and add pear juice once primary fermentation was done.
Pear cider can be very good too.

 

[Homercidal]

I'm concerned pear juice might not leave much pear flavor. It's a delicate flavor to begin with, and I think owes a lot to the sweetness, which is likely to diminish greatly after fermentation.

 

[SailorJerry]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone, and I agree. I think pear is too light of a flavor to really mix in well with the beer. If we do this, do we just rack into the secondary on top whatever pear flavor profile we choose to use? Let it secondary for how long before bottling?

 

[Homercidal]

I think with pear you would do like any other fruit. I've done watermelon and just added the puree to the secondary at racking time. Give it some time to ferment out again and then bottle/keg as usual. With my watermelon wheat it was really good at first, then got drier as time went on. After a couple of weeks the watermelon flavor was nearly gone and it was light and crisp. Not sure what went on there, but it was good while it lasted.

 

[summerofgeorge]

Have you used Calypso hops? I made an apple pale ale and there were definitely very nice hints of apple and pear from the hops. Here's the simple 10 gallon recipe I used (at least based on the notes I could find - this was years ago):

12 LB Briess DME Golden Light
1.5 LB Crystal 60L (steeped)

2 oz Hallertau Mittelfruh (4.3%) 60 mins
2 oz Calypso (12.8%) 5 mins

Nottingham or US-05

I think I added a can or two of apple juice concentrate to the mix as well. Maybe one in the fermenter and one in the keg? Maybe you could replace the apple juice with pear or even try dry hopping with Calypso.

This was probably one of the best extract brews I've made. I really should make it again.

 

[andyplank]

Have you used Calypso hops? I made an apple pale ale and there were definitely very nice hints of apple and pear from the hops. Here's the simple 10 gallon recipe I used (at least based on the notes I could find - this was years ago):

12 LB Briess DME Golden Light
1.5 LB Crystal 60L (steeped)

2 oz Hallertau Mittelfruh (4.3%) 60 mins
2 oz Calypso (12.8%) 5 mins

Nottingham or US-05

I think I added a can or two of apple juice concentrate to the mix as well. Maybe one in the fermenter and one in the keg? Maybe you could replace the apple juice with pear or even try dry hopping with Calypso.

This was probably one of the best extract brews I've made. I really should make it again.

Ditto -- Calypso hops are great for this. I did a SMaSH with a bunch of Calypso, and it had a really nice pear flavor. If you did add a little pear concentrate, I'm sure it would really pop.

 

[SailorJerry]

Alright, so this recipe looks great, and I think we might give it a go. I cant locate the Hallertau hops, any other fruity hop varieties? I don't want it hoppy, as this is more for the wives, who arent hop fans. Will be doing a partial boil, extract batch, 5 gallons total.

 

[SailorJerry]

Pretty much copying George's recipe but cutting DME in half, left hops at 2oz of calypso, and trying to figure out another variety to use, which I asked for input on above. No idea what yeast to use either

This will be batch 3 for us.
If we use pear extract, should we rack on top of that in the secondary once the fermentation is completed in the primary? Or do it all in the same bucket?

 

[andyplank]

Put the extract in your secondary fermenter right before transferring your beer on top of it. Leave for about a week -- longer than that won't really do much for you.
Other hops with good pear flavor and aroma -- Glacier and El Dorado.
If you're looking for something for the 60 minute hop addition, aka the bittering hops, Centennial is a solid choice for this, as is Nugget.

Also, you can use this page for a lot of great hop descriptions -- link here.

 

[SailorJerry]

This is not going to be a hop forward beer. I don't have a beer recipe creator, but I think I'll want IBU's in Man, Northern Brewer didn't save my "cart" full of stuff. Was going to put my ingredient list here and see what people thought, but here is what I'm going to do. Maybe someone can throw it in a beer recipe calculator and tell me what it pumps out?

6# Briess Golden Light DME
1.5# Crystal, steeped.
2 oz Centennial - 60 min
2 oz Glacier hops at 5 min
Using Wyeast 1056 (open for input)

Racking onto pear extract in the secondary.
Thoughts?

 

[summerofgeorge]

That's going to be WAY too bitter (as in over 100 IBUs!)...I used 2 oz of 4.3 AA% hops in a 10 gallon batch. You're looking at 2 oz of around 10 AA% for a 5 gallon batch. If you go with Centennial, cut it back to 0.5 oz. I typically use tastybrew.com if I'm trying to dial in a recipe. It's probably not as accurate as some of the fancier software but it works for me.

Do you have any hops on hand? For bittering, you could use a wide variety (neutral, earthy, fruity). Did you decide to forego the Calypso hops? I was actually thinking a SMaSH recipe with Calypso for bittering as well might be good.

 

[SailorJerry]

No, no hops on hand, will be ordering everything for the recipe. Glad someone caught that, and while I'd like a bitter beer, the better half sure wouldn't be happy with it

 

[SailorJerry]

Well, here is what I came up with

6# Light DME, 60 minute boil
No steeping grains.
1oz Centennial Hop at 60 minutes
1oz Glacier hop at 15 minutes
1oz Denali hop at flame out (why, because I want to)
Wyeast 1056

Going to ferment in primary for two weeks, then rack onto to some pear puree in the secondary (it doesn't let me add this step to beersmith either)

Beersmith shows me
OG: 1.048
FG: 1.012
4.68% ABV
34 IBUs (not including the Denali hops as Beersmith doesn't show them)
6.6 SRM

Fits really well into the American Pale Ale category, fits everything actually, IBUs, color, and OG.

 

[summerofgeorge]

What are you entering into Beersmith for the hops? I used a few different calculators and they all show IBUs in the high 40's. Are you doing a bigger than 5 gallon batch?

 

[dmtaylor]

WLP400 also throws a good bit of pear. I use it in my apple ale to good effect. I had planne to use Calypso in my next batch for the pear, so I am happy to see that others are confirming that it does give off pear. Great thread.

 

[madscientist451]

Pear has a really delicate flavor that is quickly blown off during fermentation. I make a 100% Pear Cider (Perry) every year and the pear taste is very faint, barely there.
Any hop presence or yeast notes will quickly cover up any existing pear flavor.
I just read another thread where cherry juice was used instead of priming sugar for carbonation of a beer. An interesting experiment would be to split your beer batch and add the pear puree in secondary to one and add use the puree as priming sugar in the other. Will a closed fermentation (bottle or keg conditioning) retain more pear flavor and aroma? I'd say yes, it would, but will it be enough to make a taste difference?
Pears contain unfermentable sugars, such as sorbitol, so that makes using pear juice as a priming sugar a little complicated.

 

[SailorJerry]

What are you entering into Beersmith for the hops? I used a few different calculators and they all show IBUs in the high 40's. Are you doing a bigger than 5 gallon batch?

No, 5 gallon batch, 2.5 gallon boil, topping off with water after the wort cools. Maybe I entered the wrong "vessel" in BeerSmith. Am I wrong thinking Denali hops would add a nice fruit characteristic if used at flameout?

 

[SailorJerry]

Pear has a really delicate flavor that is quickly blown off during fermentation. I make a 100% Pear Cider (Perry) every year and the pear taste is very faint, barely there.
Any hop presence or yeast notes will quickly cover up any existing pear flavor.
I just read another thread where cherry juice was used instead of priming sugar for carbonation of a beer. An interesting experiment would be to split your beer batch and add the pear puree in secondary to one and add use the puree as priming sugar in the other. Will a closed fermentation (bottle or keg conditioning) retain more pear flavor and aroma? I'd say yes, it would, but will it be enough to make a taste difference?
Pears contain unfermentable sugars, such as sorbitol, so that makes using pear juice as a priming sugar a little complicated.

I'm also concerned that we won't get much actual pear flavor into the beer, but if the wife is going to give me time to brew while she chases kids, and she requests me to try to brew a beer that she likes, we'll give it a whirl!

I'm hoping that the hops we chose for the 45 minute addition and flameout addition might at least help bring some fruity notes to the beer. I don't want it cidery, just something like and very drinkable for the wives. Because, let's be honest, she isn't much of a craft beer person. She'll try a few things with me, but she wants domestic beers most often (which is perfectly fine, I don't care what she drinks).

 

[SailorJerry]

WLP400 also throws a good bit of pear. I use it in my apple ale to good effect. I had planne to use Calypso in my next batch for the pear, so I am happy to see that others are confirming that it does give off pear. Great thread.

Interesting, thanks for the input. This will be batch 3 for us, and the first recipe beer that we do instead of a kit that we order. We've done Block Party Amber, which was delicious, we have Dead Ringer IPA fermenting, and then we'll be brewing again in a week or two.

Which reminds me, I'm going to need more bottles.....or kegs. Hmm....kegs....

 

[dirtybear7]

Wyeast 1388 and White Labs WLP570 both can produce some pear characteristics. I think either could enhance a pear infused beer. A pear Belgian Strong Golden style sounds nice.

 

[SailorJerry]

Wyeast 1388 and White Labs WLP570 both can produce some pear characteristics. I think either could enhance a pear infused beer. A pear Belgian Strong Golden style sounds nice.

Admittedly, I don't know crap about yeast strains. Are those yeasts that need to be hydrated before pitching? Need to make a starter for them (I have no clue about this, just read about it on here)?

 

[dirtybear7]

Both of those yeast are in liquid form. You don't have to rehydrated them. You can make a starter (I almost always do), but depending on the gravity of your beer and how may yeast packages you use, you may not have to. If you are making a low to normal gravity beer, 1 package, pitched directly in the wort will get you beer.

 

[SailorJerry]

Both of those yeast are in liquid form. You don't have to rehydrated them. You can make a starter (I almost always do), but depending on the gravity of your beer and how may yeast packages you use, you may not have to. If you are making a low to normal gravity beer, 1 package, pitched directly in the wort will get you beer.

Good to know. This won't be a very high ABV beer, so I think I wouldn't need a starter, but we're pretty new to all of this. Hopefully we can make this resemble something of a beer, probably brew it next weekend, figuring 2 weeks fermenting, 2 weeks to secondary on the pears, then 2 weeks in the bottle to carb up. That should put us right into spring!

 

[madscientist451]

I don't want it cidery, just something like and very drinkable for the wives. Because, let's be honest, she isn't much of a craft beer person. She'll try a few things with me, but she wants domestic beers most often (which is perfectly fine, I don't care what she drinks).

Well you've narrowed it down. The Mrs is not a "craft beer" person.
In that case, you want to cut way back on the hops and use a very clean neutral yeast.
What kind of domestic beer does she like?
I've been accused of being a sarcastic wise @ss, but seriously, perhaps a Bud Light clone recipe with the pear added in secondary and as a substitution for priming sugar? Basically a light brew with not much malt or hops character with a slight pear flavor? If you search for Bud Light extract clone recipe, you'll find something to start with.
Or how about a Red's Apple Ale but with pear instead of apple?

 

[SailorJerry]

Well you've narrowed it down. The Mrs is not a "craft beer" person.
In that case, you want to cut way back on the hops and use a very clean neutral yeast.
What kind of domestic beer does she like?
I've been accused of being a sarcastic wise @ss, but seriously, perhaps a Bud Light clone recipe with the pear added in secondary and as a substitution for priming sugar? Basically a light brew with not much malt or hops character with a slight pear flavor? If you search for Bud Light extract clone recipe, you'll find something to start with.
Or how about a Red's Apple Ale but with pear instead of apple?

She'll drink lighter pale ales, wheat beers, and isn't against amber ales. She actually liked the one we just brewed, she just doesn't like hop forward beers. We made a blueberry beer ages ago, like 7-8 years when I watched a neighbor brew, that she loved.

Can I get away with no 60 minute hops? I mean, from what I've read, those are the bittering hops, right? I'm sure that'd substantially drop my IBU's down, and still allow me to use the aromatic hops at 45 min and flameout. Is there a light DME that I can use? Any recommendations? I haven't ordered the ingredients yet, just creating the recipe still.

 

[madscientist451]

My 2 cents is: If you haven't really brewed that much, stay with established, proven recipes that have already been fine-tuned many times. There are thousands and thousands of proven recipes out there, find one that looks like it will work, brew it and then see what changes you would make to suit your taste. I tried some of my own recipes early on and they kind of sucked, while recipes I found on line or in books always came out pretty good or even great. Once you get more experience, and figure out what you and the Mrs like/don't like, you'll have plenty of time to experiment and come up with your own creations.

 

[summerofgeorge]

Can I get away with no 60 minute hops? I mean, from what I've read, those are the bittering hops, right? I'm sure that'd substantially drop my IBU's down, and still allow me to use the aromatic hops at 45 min and flameout. Is there a light DME that I can use? Any recommendations? I haven't ordered the ingredients yet, just creating the recipe still.

You could go with no 60 minute hops but you'll need a lot more for a shorter time. See this recipe for an example: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=210253

I would just go with less bittering hops (1 oz of Centennial will be too much).

You said the Mrs will drink lighter pale ales. What specifically does she like? I would go for a clone of that but with some tweaks to get the pear flavor.

 

[SailorJerry]

So, brewing this tomorrow - would there be any difference in adding all 6# of LME for 60 minutes, versus doing 3# for 60 minutes, and 3# later in the brew session, like 15 min left? Does it keep the beer a lighter color?

 

[dmtaylor]

So, brewing this tomorrow - would there be any difference in adding all 6# of LME for 60 minutes, versus doing 3# for 60 minutes, and 3# later in the brew session, like 15 min left? Does it keep the beer a lighter color?

It's a color thing. For a lighter beer, save some LME for end of boil. If you were making a dark beer, it wouldn't matter as much.

 

[Brownalemikie]

So, brewing this tomorrow - would there be any difference in adding all 6# of LME for 60 minutes, versus doing 3# for 60 minutes, and 3# later in the brew session, like 15 min left? Does it keep the beer a lighter color?

Maybe OT, but I just bought some Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum. Gotta say....I like it much better than Captain Morgan.

 

[SailorJerry]

Maybe OT, but I just bought some Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum. Gotta say....I like it much better than Captain Morgan.

Way better than Captain. I haven't drank it in probably 5 years, which is from when I made this name.

 

[SailorJerry]

Alright, we got this brewed this weekend!
3# Extra Light LME at 60 min boil
1/2 oz Centennial hop at 60 min
1 oz Glacier at 15 min
Whirfloc tab at 15 min
3# Extra light LME at 15 min
1 oz Denali hop at 5 min
5 oz corn sugar at flame out

Hydrometer reading 1.067....much higher than I thought it'd be. Hopefully it turns out. The color in the hydrometer looked pretty awesome.

Oh, and we bottled our Dead Ringer clone, so that's carbonating. Tried it after taking FG reading, and it was already delicious.

 

[SailorJerry]

Also, I think we are going to buy that pear halves that are canned in pear concentrate, hoping the concentrate will add some more flavor to the beer. Do I need to do anything to these before I dump them into the secondary and rack the beer on top of them?

 

[SailorJerry]

So, we officially tried the beer this weekend, and it's good, has a fruity nose, but no real pear flavor. We are also getting a bitterness or harshness on the back end that we are trying to figure out. With half oz of centennial @ 60 min, I didn't think we'd really get much hop bitterness at all. I know when we tried the beer, before bottling, it has some alcohol harshness to it. I'm wondering if it's still pulling through the beer?

I don't remember the FG, but one of the ABV calculators that I used showed 7.35% (we shouldn't have done that 5 oz of corn sugar, didn't mean for it to be that high of alcohol content).