Apples make cider and pears make perry. This version is made easy by using bottled fruit juice from the market, but I dream of finding a fresh gallon (3.8-L) jug of real, unfiltered pear juice to use. Store-bought pear juice tends to be thick and pulpy, leaving you with an opaque brew.
1 gal (3.8 L) pear juice, divided
1 cup (200 g) packed brown sugar
1 cup (240 ml) strongly brewed black tea
1 tsp (2.5 g) Safale S-04 dry ale yeast
1. Gather your ingredients and sanitize your supplies. For this recipe, you’ll need a 1- or 2-gallon (3.8- or 7.5-L) stockpot, a long spoon, a funnel, a strainer, a gallon (3.8-L) carboy and a bung and airlock.
2. Warm ½ gallon (1.9 L) of the pear juice in the stockpot, but don’t let it boil or you run the risk of creating a pectin haze. Add the brown sugar and tea, and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Using a funnel and strainer, pour the warmed pear juice into the carboy and top it off with as much of the remaining ½ gallon (1.9 L) of bottled juice needed for the must to reach the neck of the jug. Pitch the yeast and give the must a few good shakes to aerate it and wake up the yeast.
4. Seal the carboy with the bung and airlock. Label the jug with the brew name and date. Bottle when fermentation is done. You will know the cider’s ready for bottling when it no longer bubbles, as you can’t check for completion by opacity for this cider.