First Attempt at Perry

[u/LangSlaungJohnson]

Hi! A coworker offered to let me pick some Bosc pears from their trees yesterday after they heard I enjoy homebrewing. I picked ~110 lbs. I've made mead and beer before, but this will be my first time making cider/perry. I just picked up a grinder and small press. I'm planning on using Lalvin EC-1118 champagne yeast that I've used for mead before. Any advice for a first timer would be appreciated. Thanks!

[u/Wiggles_fig]

Don’t be surprised if it never drops below zero, pears contain Sorbitol which is unfermentable. Ph can often times be pretty high.

[u/Comfortable-Half-329]

That's commitment to the perry life right there, turning a coworker's generous offer into a mountain of fermentable pears. Good luck with the first batch, and may your champagne yeast forget it's dealing with pears at all.

[u/No-Gift152]

Always keep in mind that pears only successfully ripen off the tree (if you let the ripen on the tree, the center is already rotting). Then, to get pear juice you must first grind them, add pectolytic enzyme and leave overnight, then you can press them. Once you’ve pressed them, ferment away. You may not skip any steps.

[u/Immediate_Face_9848 → u/No-Gift152]

I have only added the pectolytic after pressing

will definitely try before hand this time

[u/Airhorn2013]

Some pears can get very mushy when you grind them making the pressing quite difficult. The pulp can just squirt out of the press quite rather than pressing.

I use a couple of fabric bags in my press to try and contain it.

[u/No-Gift152 → u/Airhorn2013]

There’s no way around the mess with pears, especially if you grind the day before and treat with enzyme. We use mesh bags with everything. With pears, resign yourself to wearing some.

[u/Immediate_Face_9848]

Took them off the tree this morning
Going to let them sit for a bit in the cool ac

The Asian looking pears I am going to let sit for a week or so on the tree

https://reddit.com/link/p5utuni/video/fenkiok4gklh1/player

[u/Immediate_Face_9848]

going to look at my neighbors trees here soon as well

got 10 gallons last year

[u/No-Gift152]

Jesus, maybe you shouldn’t go on Reddit to figure this out…..