Perry and Pear Cider

Perry is a type of cider that is made exclusively out of pears. Like apples, only certain kinds of pears make for the best perry. However, these perry pears are very hard to find, and I think it might be due to perry being difficult to make and the perry pears difficult to handle. Pears have a tendency to ripen from the inside out, so it is harder to tell when they are ready for processing and if they have started to rot, and perry pears turn quickly. Pears also have a smaller yield than apples, producing about 1 gallon of juice per bushel compared to 2-3 gallons per bushel. It is easier to make apple cider and add unfermented pear juice when finished, which is actually pear cider. Check the label to verify the ingredients.

The best perry pears are higher in tannin and acid than normal eating pears, which making them inedible. Ben Watson describes an incident where squirrels and chewed on perry pears, ate the seeds, but spit out the flesh. He ends the story, “That, to me, is the definition of inedible – when event the squirrels won’t eat it.” Also, perry pears are easier to press than eating pears. If one attemps to make perry from eating pears, the pears will grind into an apple sauce type consistency very easily, but this will squish though the press cloth, making it difficult or impossible to separate the juice from the solids and clogging up the grinder and press cloth. Perry pear juice is also less sensitive to oxidization than regular eating pear juice.

My cider making class talked a little bit about making perry. One thing I found out in the class is that the sugars in pears are not 100% fermentable as they contain Sorbitol, so it is impossible to have a completely dry perry as there is some natural residual sugar left. However, they are also difficult to create a clear perry out of due to the complex tannins they have, require more yeast nutrients to make up for their lower nitrogen levels. Also, pears have citric acid in them instead of malic acid like apples do. At high amounts, the acid can turn to ethyl acetate by lactic acid bacteria, requiring higher amounts of sulfites to be used as prevention.

Watson spends a decent amount of time talking about pears and perry in his book Cider: Hard and Sweet. In it he suggests that with the rise of cider will come the rise of perry, and lists various nurseries and cideries working on doing that.

Perries I’ve found, which are usually packaged in wine bottles:

• Eaglemount Wine and Cider
• I’ve also seen it at Sea Cider and Red Barn Cider, but their websites do not confirm this. Maybe they are out.

Pear ciders I’ve found, usually packaged in 22 oz or 12 oz beer bottles by a “six pack cider” company.

• Fox Barrel Cider
• Original Sin Hard Cider
• Spire Mountain Cider
• Wandering Aengus Ciderworks (limited release Anthem craft cider – draft only)
• Woodchuck
• Wyder’s Cider (not dry like they claim)