Pear wine, first time. Freaking out lol

[algo]

I have read different recipes for pear wine but figured I would rather just put my pears through my juicer than take the time to chop and crush alll those pears like all the recipes I have found on line say to do. Now, the problem is that I didn't think about how it was going to throw the measurment off by doing this. I measured the pear juice with some pulp and have 3 gallons and 2 cups. Put that in my 6.5 gallon fermenter. I have a 5 gallon carboy as my secondary fermenter so figured I would make this a 5 gallon recipe with a little more water to allow for evaporation.
Anyone ever done anything like this befor or have any idea how it might turn out. Also, since I have more fruit than I think I should have, any suggestions as to how much sugar to use?
Had the juice in the fridge past few days while I was trying to figure out what to do and also waiting for my fermemter to get here in the mail so will not pitch yeast till tomorrow to give the juice time to warm up.
I used Keiffer pears btw.

 

[LJPelletier]

Do you have a hydrometer? If you added 2 gallons of water, I reckon you'll need to add at least 4 pounds of sugar. If you have a hydrometer, which you really should invest in if you don't, add enough sugar to get the SG up to 1.090 or so and you will likely be happy with the result.

 

[Arne]

This being your first batch, be forwarned, if you get the level of the must (liquid and pulp} too high in your primary, it will grow when it starts fermenting. If the level is too high, you get a mess when it comes over the top. I usually split the batch into two primaries. When the ferment slows down you can combine them. Another little trick is to take a big garbage bag and set your primary in it. Kinda spread it around the bottom and make a little dam out of the edges. Don't pull it all the way up the carboy, just make something to catch any overflow. Learned all this the hard way, lol, Arne.

 

[algo]

Arne LOVE the garbage bag idea! Thanks for sharing.

I guess what I am really trying to find out is, is it going to be too much pear juice if i use all of it (over 3 gallons) in my 5 gallon recipe. The recipe I was given was for only one gallon pear to 4 gallons water but I tried wine with that recipe and it just tasted like rum with no real flavor. My pear juice is from the same tree that the other wine was made from.
Also I am trying to figure out how much sugar to use with this much pear juice.

I wonder if it would ruin it if I added spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger...if not then should I add it befor or after I rack it for the first time?

Sorry so many questions but I am not having any luck finding the answers in my wine making books.

 

[Deezil]

Arne LOVE the garbage bag idea! Thanks for sharing.

I guess what I am really trying to find out is, is it going to be too much pear juice if i use all of it (over 3 gallons) in my 5 gallon recipe. The recipe I was given was for only one gallon pear to 4 gallons water but I tried wine with that recipe and it just tasted like rum with no real flavor. My pear juice is from the same tree that the other wine was made from.
Also I am trying to figure out how much sugar to use with this much pear juice.

I wonder if it would ruin it if I added spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger...if not then should I add it befor or after I rack it for the first time?

Sorry so many questions but I am not having any luck finding the answers in my wine making books.

It's hard to have "too much pear juice". It's a light flavored fruit like apple & peach. The flavor will get lost if too much water is added, so ideally you'd hope for 5 gallons of pear juice but 3 gallons will be better than a more-watered-down blend.

To accurately figure out how much sugar to add, you'll need to have & use a hydrometer to determine the current sugar level of the pear juice + water. Calculators can be used to determine the appropriate level of sugar to add for your desired results. With a pear wine, i wouldn't recommend anything very strong; 1.085 - 1.090 SG is probably just right.

In order to not ruin the whole batch (to your own taste buds), i would wait to add things like cinnamon until the wine is basically bulk aging. At that time, split off a gallon and play with it to see if it gives you positive results before adjusting the whole batch.

 

[LJPelletier]

I agree with Deezil, ideally you would want to use all juice and no water if you can get 5 Gal of pear juice from your fruit. Adding water is a good way to cut acidity, but not likely a problem with pears.

As for the sugar, you really need to get a hydrometer, like everyone else suggests regularly. Maybe even 2. lol I usually leave it in the primary once it's started. An estimate of sugar is likely going to be around 2 lbs per gallon... maybe a bit more or less. A hydrometer is the only accurate way. Get it close to 1.090 and you should have some nice pear wine.

As for the cinnamon, cloves, ginger, it is obviously a good idea to split your batch into smaller carboys/jugs before adding those, and experimentation is the only thing you can really do to know what it will work like for you. Cinnamon sounds like it could be really good with pears. Personally, I'm not a fan of cloves, but to each their own. Just remember cloves are very strong. Ever tried eating one? Nasty stuff. lol

 

[jdrum]

if you havent allready added the water i would sugest adding 2 gal of apple, or white grape juice instead. this will give you more body.
do you have more pears, if you do freeze 5 to 8 lbs and save them to make an fpack to add after fermentation to boost the flavor.
do you have a hydrometer? get one and add sugar to reach 1.85 to 1.090 sg
then pitch your yeast,
if you have to wait for a hydrometer frezze your juice untill get all your stuff together,

jim

 

[Deezil]

if you havent allready added the water i would sugest adding 2 gal of apple, or white grape juice instead

I'd do that over water in almost any wine if possible

 

[Arne]

If you have already added the water all is not lost. Pear is a pretty light juice on its own. Go ahead and ferment it out. Ferment to dry and get it stabalized. Now you will be able to taste it. It will probably be weak. You will probably have to add a little sugar to your sample as that will help bring out the flavor. Rmember this is very young at this stage and after aging it will taste somewhat different. If it is too weak, if you have pears left, you can make a concentrated juice out of them and add to your wine. You can also add a concentrated juice of other flavors. You can either concentrate your own or buy concentrates at the grocery. Get it fermenting and come on back and ask any questions you mite have. We will try and help. Arne.

 

[algo]

new question. I have a few white mold spots on top of the must. Is this normal? If not, will it be ok if I scoop all the mold off the top?

 

[LJPelletier]

Mold?? Yikes... that's definitely not normal.

I don't know if you could remove the mold and add potassium bisulphite to kill anything off? I don't think I would ever drink moldy juice, unless maybe I was stranded in the desert... as for making wine with it, same thoughts of not wanting to personally use it.

Do you have more pears? I think if you have more, you may want to make new juice, and not wait so long to ferment.

 

[algo]

No more pears. Juice was in the fridge for a few days befor I took it out and let it warm up then added the yeast.

 

[LJPelletier]

No more pears. Juice was in the fridge for a few days befor I took it out and let it warm up then added the yeast.

Are you sure it is/was mold? I really don't know how to comment on that. As I said, personally I would not want to drink mold. I wouldn't say throw it out unless I was totally sure it was mold, and totally sure that it isn't something that could be fixed.

If you have already added yeast, then I'm really curious what's going on with the ferment too. Does it look like it's fermenting? If so, how long was it fermenting before you saw the mold?

Anyone else have any ideas about this mold issue?

 

[jdrum]

skim it off and give it a few days to see if more starts to grow. mold generaly grows on the surface and i believe is a fungus which produces spores. if you remove the mold and it dosn't return for 5 or 6 days you shuld have enough alcahol to kill whatever is there. remember good cheese gets moldy and you just cut it off and enjoy the cheese.
i better go and put my fire suit on now cause i know what is coming. this may hurt any creditabilty i'm trying to build, but i do think there is to much alarmist attitude today.
give the must a couple days and see what happens. if it is still growing mold in seven days, then i say pitch it out!

jim