Yesterday, I brewed a Saison, to which I plan to add some pear. It’s a three gallon batch, and I’m not sure of the best way to get the pear flavor. I also don’t know how much to add, and when. I’d like to avoid doing a secondary, but it’s not totally out of the question. Any advice? Thanks!
I have added pureed pears directly to the fermenter after activity slows. The flavor didn’t carry through much to the end of the beer but it did give it a cidery (perry) type character. I think for a 5 gallon batch I used three 16 oz cans of pears in juice.
So you pureed the pears yourself before adding them? Three 16 oz cans is more than I expected.
Yes pureed them myself in a blender then added the contents directly to the fermenter. 3 cans in 5 gallons is just what I used as a reference point however it was not a saison. I don’t think pear is a very assertive flavor and to me it gave it move of a cider type character. When using fruit I shoot for it as a subtle flavor component without creating what I consider to be a ‘fruit beer’.
Plan on using 1-1.5 lb/gal of pears.
I’ve never been a big fan of canned fruit in beer. I would use fresh and cut off the core. You would need to buy a lot more than the weight you need in the beer to account for the weight of the cores.
I agree that fresh, very ripe fruit, and lots of it is the way to go, especially with something as subtle as pear.
A while back I was planning on brewing a Belgian Golden Strong Ale with half the batch getting some pears on it.
I was going to attempt to use good organic pear juice for this. May be something to consider.
(never did get around to this one unfortunately)
Running pears through a good juicer is another option.
Last night I had a beer that supposedly contained pears. I couldn’t taste them at all. Now I’m thinking peaches. I would assume the same preparation would apply?
Yes, peaches are subtle too but not as subtle as pears. They benefit from a bit of acidity that seems to bring out their flavor IMO. If your saison is already a bit tart that might be enough.
You may want to consider apricots, rather than peaches. I have tasted some beers with apricots and they tended to be pretty “peachy”. Just a thought - Cheers.
OK folks, it’s time to add my pears. This is my latest thinking. I’m going to soak the pears in some cheap French wine with a Campden tablet, and add the liquid on Sunday. I have cut up a pound of fresh pears for a 3 gallon batch. I hope this works.