Topic: Perry under way, more to follow?

[weedin project]

A colleague of mine gave me 3 carrier bags of pears last week, which are now bubbling away in a couple of demijohns. 

All I did was pulp them in a black bucket using a length of 3x4 like a piledriver, then I squished the mush through my apple press (the "cake" was pretty dry, but the compost bin I put it in stinks like a brewery now :)).  It came out at an OG of 1053, to which I added a general purpose wine yeast.  I am optimistic that it will finish as about 5 - 6% abv.

Question is this - my colleague has loads more pears ripening on the tree, so am I likely to get more sugar and therefore potentially more alcohol out of another 3 bags if she brings me riper pears in a couple of weeks' time?  My dad visited a cider makers in Somerset recently and was told that apples and pears will produce a maximum of 6% abv as natural juice.

update 9/9/05 - pear-juice alcohol came out at 4.8%.  Cider getting under way tonight :D

[Mrs Ava]

WP, how are you making yor cider?  I ask because we have an ABUNDANCE of apples and I have been juicing them and freezing the juice, as well as cooking and concocting with them, and am now at a loss what to do with them all....so...naturally decided on cider.  Have googled and found that there are several methods including just sticking the juice in a demijohn and leaving to ferment, or into a barrel without a cork and leaving that to ferment... or adding yeast and making like you would wine.  I have never made wine so am at a loss......HELP!

[weedin project]

EJ
sorry about delay - been away on hols.

I have done both cider and perry the same way - juiced them (I did that by freezing them in our spare freezer in the garage then pounding them in small quantities in a bucket using a length of 3x4 before putting them through a cider press).  Added a teaspoon of wine yeast dissolved with a teaspoon of sugar in 300ml tepid water shared across the whole lot.
The apple juice filled 3 demi-johns (with air-locks), which were stirred/shaken/swirled (whatever) daily for 4 days.
Back from hols now and cider has stopped bubbling, so I'll get it racked off and see how well it settles. 
Once it has pretty well cleared I'll bottle it :D.