Pear Melomel Recipe?
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I think you're right about the acid, the 6gal batch I'm making was so flat i added 4 tblsp of acid blend to get it up to .70% TA. I think it is really going to taste good when finished, good luck with yours.
fatbloke
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Just read the thread, and a few ideas came to mind so.......
Right, to start, the pears.
Pears, like apples, are already acidic. Not quite so much, but if you test some pure juice you'll know what I'm on about.
Now as pears, like apples (or even kiwi fruit for.that matter), should be considered "white" fruit. Which means that you should not heat process in any way. Because any heat treatment will cause it too have a "cooked" flavour which removes a lot of the "fresh" taste (I understand it reduces the acid). Hence its often best to just freeze the fruit and thaw it, then press it to get the best quality juice.
Oh and of course, heat issue can also trigger pectin clearing/haze problems.
The seemingly stuck ferment could be lack of nutrient, high ability/low pH, yeast having reached its tolerance, too low a temperature, etc etc. One of the current thinkings, is that no acids should be added during the ferment, as it can swing a marginal level to the too low area that causes a stuck process. Plus, acid blend has a mix that doesn't always suit the ferment i.e. the best mix I've found for traditionals is from Ashton & Duncans book (out of print) "Making Mead", which is 2 parts malic to 1 part tartaric. I'd guess it would also suit Apple and pear based brew......
Just my tuppence worth of course.........
Right, to start, the pears.
Pears, like apples, are already acidic. Not quite so much, but if you test some pure juice you'll know what I'm on about.
Now as pears, like apples (or even kiwi fruit for.that matter), should be considered "white" fruit. Which means that you should not heat process in any way. Because any heat treatment will cause it too have a "cooked" flavour which removes a lot of the "fresh" taste (I understand it reduces the acid). Hence its often best to just freeze the fruit and thaw it, then press it to get the best quality juice.
Oh and of course, heat issue can also trigger pectin clearing/haze problems.
The seemingly stuck ferment could be lack of nutrient, high ability/low pH, yeast having reached its tolerance, too low a temperature, etc etc. One of the current thinkings, is that no acids should be added during the ferment, as it can swing a marginal level to the too low area that causes a stuck process. Plus, acid blend has a mix that doesn't always suit the ferment i.e. the best mix I've found for traditionals is from Ashton & Duncans book (out of print) "Making Mead", which is 2 parts malic to 1 part tartaric. I'd guess it would also suit Apple and pear based brew......
Just my tuppence worth of course.........
I pulled my 20# of pears from the freezer yesterday. The thawing has begun. Wow, as I stir and smash, it is just turning into mush.... PERFECT!! I found a soda can size pear nectar in my cupboard and added that too. It will take a day or too to get to room temp. Pectic enzyme will be added... double dose. I'm excited for the Pear Melomel to begin. I think the honey will add a nice background to it. This is my first batch... first time I had enough free pears given to me to bother with. I'm hoping for a couple gallons of finished Melomel!
Debbie
Debbie
A steam juicer is like a triple-boiler with a catch pan & drain hose. Fruit is steamed to extract juice and the juice drains into another container.
Check out this thread:
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f71/steam-juice-extracti-n-19975/
There are a number of different steam juicers. I bought mine on Amazon.
Check out this thread:
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f71/steam-juice-extracti-n-19975/
There are a number of different steam juicers. I bought mine on Amazon.
fatbloke
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Steam juicers are good, but only for "red" fruit (some of it's almost black as well) - but that's relative, "red" fruit is fruit that can be exposed to heat without ending up displaying a "cooked" taste. Think apples, kiwi fruit etc.
Hence steam juicers are good for black currants, elderberries, raspberries, etc, whereas apples, kiwi, strawberries and the like loose a lot of flavour, or at least suffer a change in flavour when exposed to heat. So it's normal that "red" (or black) fruit can be steam extracted, whereas white/green fruit would normally be just pressed, or possibly frozen, thawed and then pressed/strained (rhubarb is a good example, the best juice is from freeze/thaw/strain, pressing it tends to produce a cloudy juice that goes "gloopy"/gelatinous - dunno if it's a pectin issue or what).
Dunno if that makes it any clearer or not.....
A quick "after action report" on the pear melomel. It's become the wine of choice for my friends, despite it being so young.
Of the five gallons I made, I have about a case left. I'm going to put a case in long-term storage.
I think this recipe could go a number of different ways depending on the flavor of the honey you choose.
Of the five gallons I made, I have about a case left. I'm going to put a case in long-term storage.
I think this recipe could go a number of different ways depending on the flavor of the honey you choose.
It's darker than I would have expected a pear to be, yes. Not as dark as JOAM, though.
I think your choice in honey will really have an effect on this wine. The honey I used last year was from the cotton harvest last summer. Very light, very sweet. If I had used a pungent wildflower honey (like this spring), or goldenrod (last fall) the end result would have been dramatically different.
I think your choice in honey will really have an effect on this wine. The honey I used last year was from the cotton harvest last summer. Very light, very sweet. If I had used a pungent wildflower honey (like this spring), or goldenrod (last fall) the end result would have been dramatically different.
This fall,I will base a pear melomel off of this thread.It looks like I have a bumper pear crop this year.I will use some wildflower honey on hand.I've used D-47 on the last couple batches of pear wine,but will use something different on this melomel.
saramc
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I like to split my batch and add a vanilla bean (1 6" Madagascar vanilla bean per gallon) as it is aging, typically taste at around 10 days and decide when to remove the bean based on taste. I also use a variety of pears. One of my favorites.
I just got some beans.I'm going to add them to,at least a portion of 6 gal.that has been bulk aging for 2 years.I've always just used my own single variety,but I think I will have a couple other varieties available this year,as well..I especially enjoy pear outside,on a cold,snowy day.I look forward to trying some four year old pear this winter.
I recently started a pear melomel using wildflower honey. I ended up using D-47. Started @ 1.085, and transferred to secondary @1.000. I stuck fairly close to the recipe mentioned in this thread.It seems to be progressing nicely.
It's been a while since I updated this thread.
I've been rather miserly with this wine, but I can say it's the only one that has ALWAYS elicited a positive response from folks.
I started a new batch today. The only thing I'm changing is not steam juicing the fruit. We'll see how it goes.
I've been rather miserly with this wine, but I can say it's the only one that has ALWAYS elicited a positive response from folks.
I started a new batch today. The only thing I'm changing is not steam juicing the fruit. We'll see how it goes.
