# Pear Cider Recipe Please?



## psytramp (8/12/11)

Hi,

I want to make a pear cider from my wife this summer. I know it is quite easy to make cider, however, I was after some specific instructions and details on making a good one.

Can anyone help with a pear cider they have done before and rate it highly.

Thanks!!


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## Xarb (8/12/11)

My main experience is with apple+pear cider. 

I was finding that my 100% apple cider was fermenting a bit too dry for my tastes so started substituting apple+pear juice in as well. As pear juice contains unfermentable sugar it retains a little sweetness. 

My latest cider conditioning at the moment is just 100% Apple+pear juice with a champagne yeast. Early tastings makes this one look promising!

Note that this is the mixed apple+pear juice bought from the supermarket. I once tried to add in some pear juice from the tins/cans for a little more sweetness but got an infection. Im not sure if it is because they don't pasturise pure pear juice or I was lazy/unlucky with my cleaning. 

As a test I recently fermented 2 cans (~1.5L?) of pure pear juice along side my main batch of cider it to see what happens. I didn't get an infection this time so was able to bottle them and will have a test in a few weeks.


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## jbowers (8/12/11)

psytramp said:


> I want to make a pear cider from my wife this summer.



Ummmm.....


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (8/12/11)

More importantly, where does one buy pear juice as cheaply as apple juice?

Goomba


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## taztiger (8/12/11)

I've just bottled the "Steve's Strongbow Cider" from this website http://www.thbs.intas.net/cider.htm as a medium sweet. Tasted pretty good with the pear schnapps essence as i was bottling.


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## cdbrown (8/12/11)

I've got a apple pear cider on the go now. 5x 2.4L Berri Apple, 4x 2.4L Berri Apple Pear, 250g LDME, yeast nutrient and wyeast 4766 cider. Has an extra bottle of Apple Pear over the last batch. Was well received by they cider drinkers in that there was some sweetness but was still relatively dry and refreshing. Just far too simple to make.


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## psytramp (8/12/11)

cdbrown said:


> I've got a apple pear cider on the go now. 5x 2.4L Berri Apple, 4x 2.4L Berri Apple Pear, 250g LDME, yeast nutrient and wyeast 4766 cider. Has an extra bottle of Apple Pear over the last batch. Was well received by they cider drinkers in that there was some sweetness but was still relatively dry and refreshing. Just far too simple to make.


Sounds good. Wife just wants pear though, I might be able to convince her though of this one.


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## cdbrown (8/12/11)

just do 9x 2.4L Berri Apple Pear, malt, nutrient and yeast. Good thing about them is it's so quick to make, no mash, boiling etc, just the cost of the ingredients.


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## psytramp (8/12/11)

cdbrown said:


> just do 9x 2.4L Berri Apple Pear, malt, nutrient and yeast. Good thing about them is it's so quick to make, no mash, boiling etc, just the cost of the ingredients.


Thanks again...


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## bigandhairy (8/12/11)

Sorry for the OT, but could I use a saison yeast to do a cider for my wife? The reason I ask is my ferment fridge is always tied up, and the saison yeast could ferment at ambient temps. Just a thought I guess.

bah


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## waggastew (8/12/11)

My Dad makes alot of cider using Champagne yeast. He has mainly fermented around 20degC but my sister did a small batch last summer on the kitchen bench. Temp was probably somewhere in the range of 25-30degC. Turned out brilliant. A bit more fruity but still nice and dry.


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## sim (8/12/11)

bigandhairy said:


> Sorry for the OT, but could I use a saison yeast to do a cider for my wife? The reason I ask is my ferment fridge is always tied up, and the saison yeast could ferment at ambient temps. Just a thought I guess.
> 
> bah



cant see why not. I think it would pair nicely, go for it.


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## bigandhairy (8/12/11)

sim said:


> cant see why not. I think it would pair nicely, go for it.


yeah thats what I thought too. I decided to ask cos usually when I think something is right it is usually quite the opposite :lol: 

bah


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## sponge (8/12/11)

Maybe it would.... pear..... nicely.....



ey ey?


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## bigandhairy (8/12/11)

sponge said:


> Maybe it would.... pear..... nicely.....
> 
> 
> 
> ey ey?


I dont get it






h34r: 


bah


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## psytramp (8/12/11)

bigandhairy said:


> I dont get it
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I still don't get it???


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## cdbrown (8/12/11)

lol

pear/pair


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## psytramp (8/12/11)

cdbrown said:


> lol
> 
> pear/pair


Huh?

Compare the pear...


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## the_new_darren (8/12/11)

Stupid question, How hard is it to crush pears? Can you use a grape crusher?

tnd


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## Greg.L (8/12/11)

If you let pears get soft they are easy to crush but hard to press. I shred and press pears while they are still firm, works well for me.
I only use pears if I have no choice, they don't add much flavour.


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## manticle (8/12/11)

I have a grape crusher and have used it to crush apples but the apples were cut up a bit first. I'd guess pears would be similar, depending on ripeness.

Traditional cidermaking 'scrats' the apples before crushing.


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## alfadog (8/12/11)

psytramp said:


> Sounds good. Wife just wants pear though, I might be able to convince her though of this one.



Just tell her it is pear cider


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## the_new_darren (8/12/11)

How much liquid do you get from an average pear?

tnd


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## manticle (8/12/11)

Again I can only really answer in terms of apples. I have used pears as part of my process but maybe in a ratio of 10:1 appleear?

Depends a lot on the ripeness etc of the fruit and the process you use to juice it. If pressing, you can expect more than if using a benchtop juicer. I have got ~15L from 30 kg of apples and 10 kg of pears using a bench top with the fruit scratted and crushed first.

I would expect another 5-10 L if I had pressed them properly instead.


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## the_new_darren (8/12/11)

Do you filter the juice?

tnd


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## manticle (8/12/11)

No.

If using fresh fruit rather than store bought juice, I let the juice sit for 24-48 hours until it forms a crust. I then rack from under the crust and then pitch an active starter (starter using store bought preservative free juice) into the soft cider.

Helps clarification - based on both my reading and experience. I believe the french cidermaking term for the crust is 'chapeau brun' or brown cap.


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## Greg.L (9/12/11)

Normal yield for apples or pears is 50% - 70%. (L/kg). You can build a simple rack and cloth press quite cheaply, there are lots of plans on the internet. Milling (scratting) is the problem, I use a garden mulcher which does the job well.

If you mill then press you don't have to filter and you won't get a crust. Chapeau brun is a term used in keeving which is only possible at low temperatures, you won't normally see it in Australia. The crust you are seeing must be just due to your processing if you see it before you pitch yeast. Chapeau brun would take around a week (or more) to form, at 10C or lower.

There are special pear varieties called perry pears used for fermenting, they produce a drink with tannins but there aren't many perry trees in Australia.


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## manticle (9/12/11)

Hi greg,

I have used a grape crusher to scrat before followed by a bench top juicer (very inefficient way of getting juice out) I have also just cut apples up into smaller portions before juicing. I have never pressed.

After leaving the juice for about 48 hours at temperatures that vary between 4 degrees and 14 degrees (I usually do cider during autumn and winter) I have a pronounced formation on top of the juice that very closely resembles the image on this page: 

chapeau brun

To be honest, I make cider more often from store bought juice because the bench top is a massive pain and inefficient. I have a small fruit press I am yet to use - next autumn I'll have a crack.


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## Greg.L (9/12/11)

"Since the temperature is low, no significant yeast fermentation takes place in the first few days, but the natural pectin esterase enzymes in the apple juice slowly change the pectin to pectic acid. This forms a gel as it cross-links with the natural calcium in the juice and a 'brown cap' (the 'chapeau brun') rises slowly to the surface, as it picks up gas bubbles from the early stages of a very slow fermentation conducted by yeasts trapped in the gel."

" incipient fermentation is required to start within a few days since the cap must be buoyed up by trapped gas bubbles. In practice I have found that by applying sulphite at half the recommended level for the pH (see table), sufficient wild yeast growth occurs to raise the cap in a reasonable time (about a week)."

-Andrew Lea

A very slow process. Andrew's side-on captures the process well


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## manticle (9/12/11)

A slow process that might be hastened by slightly warmer temps and no sulphites?

Otherwise what is the brown crust I get? (which is, as I said, identical to the image from that page when viewed from the top - I don't do my cider in glass so I can't compare the other image).


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## Greg.L (9/12/11)

Warmer temperatures mean it doesn't happen at all. The brown cap that always forms is just the co2 from yeast carrying impurities to the top. It happens whenever you use fresh pressed juice because it hasn't been clarified. The French call this "chapeau blanc" which is a bit confusing. The essential difference is that the chapeau blanc is frothy while the chapeau brun is gelatinous. You need an sg of at least 1.053 for the juice to be dense enough to form chapeau brun.


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## manticle (9/12/11)

Interesting.

Cheers.

Jean-Yves Jacob suggests 8-14 degrees (with proper clarification needing around 5- 8 days).


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## _HOME_BREW_WALLACE_ (9/12/11)

Lord Raja Goomba I said:


> More importantly, where does one buy pear juice as cheaply as apple juice?
> 
> Goomba




Golden Circle Outlet store in capalaba sells it, in 2L cans (the type you have to open with a can opener). Dunno what the price is, but it must be cheap. Swmbo brought home 4 tins of the stuff!


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## psytramp (9/12/11)

Great info, cheers!!


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## jameson (14/12/11)

Hi all looking to maybe have a crack at the Apple pear berri cider. Thinking this doesn't take long to mature? I was talking to a mate at brew club and he was saying he does the odd bottle with us05 slurry would this give it a clean clear result or better to go with cider yeast? Looking to do this as a emergency keg filler if beer stock gets low which is probly inevitable as I seem to be getting my thirst on in the run up to Christmas.
Thanks Jameson


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## TartanSpecial (15/2/12)

cdbrown said:


> I've got a apple pear cider on the go now. 5x 2.4L Berri Apple, 4x 2.4L Berri Apple Pear, 250g LDME, yeast nutrient and wyeast 4766 cider. Has an extra bottle of Apple Pear over the last batch. Was well received by they cider drinkers in that there was some sweetness but was still relatively dry and refreshing. Just far too simple to make.




Hi, new to the site and keen to try this recipe. 
Just wanted to ask how long the fermentation will take and what the expected alcohol level will be for this recipe?
Can you use a starter yeast or dry yeast and add it straight into a room temperatured apple juice as i am struggling to find the Wyeast you mentioned?
Thanks


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