# Pear - pulpy



## WI_Wino (Oct 21, 2013)

I got a bunch of pears from a co worker. I cut them and up froze for a couple of weeks. I pulled them out last Friday and let them thaw some. I mashed/crushed by hand best I could (no press/crusher). Layered in my pectin enzyme and k-meta, sugar to SG 1.090 from 1.055 (measured by refractometer) and wrapped it with a couple of heating belts. Stirring a couple times a day and it finally got up past 70 degrees last night. I really thought it would liquefy more but it's just a big goopy, pulpy mess. I have a 20 gallon brute filled to about the 15 gallon mark. Pitched a couple packets of 71B last night and have a vigorous ferment going when I got home tonight, must (if you can call it that) temp is up to 75.

So my question is, if I let this pulp ferment as is, should I expect it to actually get some liquid wine out of this? Or am I going to end up with alcoholic baby food? 

My other thought is to get a couple gallons of apple juice, sugar up to 1.090 and dump it in the next day or so. Not enough to really alter the pear flavor but enough to get some liquid in there.


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## jamesngalveston (Oct 22, 2013)

you could always get some large cans of pears and drain the juice into the fermenter......just enough to liguify your puree.


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## Runningwolf (Oct 22, 2013)

Thats the reason many of us use paint strainer bags to put the fruit in first. Near the end of fermentation we either press the bags or squeeze them dry.


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## WI_Wino (Oct 22, 2013)

I seriously underestimated how many bags it would take to hold all these pears. I had two 5 gallons strainer bags but since the pears weren't completely thawed those filled up mighty quick. I am planning on pressing the "pulp" but even so, it seems like there is little actual juice. 

Time is also my enemy, I don't know if I'll have enough time in a single night after work to press the whole thing. Can I press some each night? Say pull of the cap, press that in a strainer bag, and discard the pulp?

Sorry for the newb questions, the wife was bugging me to free up freezer space and I did not think this all the way through...


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## salcoco (Oct 22, 2013)

as fermentation progresses the pulp will rise to the top and liquid will be available below. rack off this free run once fermentation is compete. Press off over two night s will not affect anything keep must covered.

As for adding the apple juice do it slowly. a large influx of sugar at one time will shock the yeast. I would add two to three cups each day,. fermentation will continue during this time.


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## WI_Wino (Oct 22, 2013)

Got home from work and there was a nice, thick cap on the pears. Punched my spoon through it and it was liquid underneath. Not nearly as thick and goopy as before. So hopefully it continues to thin out. Thinking of adding some bentonite tomorrow, SG down to 1.062 today.


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## WI_Wino (Oct 23, 2013)

Ok, so planning on adding bentonite tonight. Question - with the big, thick cap I have, should I push the cap down and mix it up, then add the bentonite to that and stir in?

Or do I want to try to remove teh cap before adding bentonite?


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## iVivid (Oct 23, 2013)

I'll be interested in an answer to this also; I think I've only used Bentonite in the kits; so not very familiar with using it.


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## michjen (Oct 23, 2013)

I just added mine in.... Give it a real good stir and keep stirring as you pour in the bentonite. I heat up some water and mix the bentonite in the hot water, let the bentonite water come to room temp before adding to the must.


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## WI_Wino (Oct 24, 2013)

Mixed in the bentonite last night. Mixed up per directions, 4 teaspoons to 1 1/3 cups water (for 5 gallons of wine). Doubled that and slowly stirred into the must.

SG down to 1.041. Ferment temp is 70-72. Looking to press this weekend I think.


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## michjen (Oct 24, 2013)

Sounds good! Just watch it now.... My pear took 2 weeks for the fermentation to slow down enough for me to rack into a carboy.... Don't rush  




This is my pear on first rack added glass marbles to bring the juice to the top of the carboy the other carboys are grapes


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## salcoco (Oct 24, 2013)

you should be pushing down the cap twice a day. it keeps the must wet preventing bacteria build up and also increase flavor into the wine. cap will reform after each punch down.


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## WI_Wino (Oct 24, 2013)

sal said:


> you should be pushing down the cap twice a day. it keeps the must wet preventing bacteria build up and also increase flavor into the wine. cap will reform after each punch down.



Yep, punching 3 times a day actually. Also monitoring temp and flipping heating belts on/off as needed.


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## wood1954 (Oct 24, 2013)

once you're ready to strain the must you can scoop out the cap with a spoon and put it into a strainer bag and squeeze it out and then when you get most of the floaters out you can pour the rest through a bag and it's a lot less messy. i do that with all my fruit wines now.


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## WI_Wino (Oct 24, 2013)

Since threads are worthless w/o pictures. Here's one while the pears were thawing. Note the condensation on the outside, they were COLD.


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## WI_Wino (Oct 27, 2013)

SG down to 1.010 tonight, pressing tomorrow.


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## WI_Wino (Oct 27, 2013)

Pressed this afternoon, what a massive pita. So much pulp and skins it took forever to press and rack to carboys. I told my wife to hit me upside of the head if I ever throw a bunch of fruit into a trash can without bagging it first again. 

Looks to be about 10 gallons but still very thick.


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## WVMountaineerJack (Oct 27, 2013)

Cidersupply.com sells a pectinase specific for pears, it also degrades the arabinose that is missed by most standard pectinases, we are using it on our pear mead and pear cider.

I never put the fruit in strainer bags anymore, PIA. We put the strainer bag over another bucket and just dip out the cap and let it drain and strain the rest of the must through the bag, lift out the bag, give it a gentle squeeze and toss it out, nothing to clean up bag wise.

WVMJ


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## mainecr (Nov 4, 2013)

Shoulder surgery this year, so my neighbor helped me crush and ferment 1200 pounds of pears into wine and cider on pulp in 55 gallon drums. 
Stir for 3 days, skim every day, and rack. We always strain the last 10 gallons through a straining bag....although it is good for 25 gallons of wine or cider for the effort!


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## michjen (Nov 5, 2013)

WOW!!!! That's a lot of pears!!! Good luck with your surgery


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## Polarhug (Nov 5, 2013)

I did a pear recently. At the beginning it was like a puree, but at the end the pectic enzyme all but obliterated the pulpy mass. 

I was sure I was going to need to use a cider press to get ANY juice out but only ended up with about two softball sized masses in my paint strainer bags after squeezing them. This was from over 20lbs of fruit. You will be racking off thick lees every few months but it will all settle.


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## WI_Wino (Nov 5, 2013)

Your results appear to have been better than mine. It's been sitting in secondary for a week now and the pulp has separated from the juice. Issue is the pulp is about 75% of the volume. So if I rack off, i'm looking at about 3 gallons of wine. Pictures to come later tonight.


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## WI_Wino (Nov 5, 2013)

Here's a picture of the massive amount of lees.


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## michjen (Nov 6, 2013)

Wow!!!! I didn't have that much with my pear!


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## wineforfun (Nov 6, 2013)

WI Wino,
What are you planning on doing when all is done. Just backsweetening with sugar? other flavors? etc.?

I have some pear (made from canned pears in pear juice, not syrup) aging right now and am trying to figure out what to do to get some more flavor in there or other things to add to it, ie: cinammon, clove, apricot, etc.


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## WI_Wino (Nov 6, 2013)

Don't know yet. My plan was to let it age until next summer, then taste and see if it needs sugar or other flavors.


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## wineforfun (Nov 6, 2013)

WI_Wino said:


> Don't know yet. My plan was to let it age until next summer, then taste and see if it needs sugar or other flavors.



Sounds good, I will be keeping an eye on this.


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## weaverschmitz (Nov 10, 2013)

Thanks for sharing your Pear wine experience. I made a Pear Mead last year and also had a massive amount of lees. I racked every 3 months for a year and it was still cloudy. Last week I back sweetened and added 1/2 teaspoon of pectin enzyme, 1/8 teaspoon metabisulfite, and 1/2 teaspoon of sorbate. It is finally clear. Keep us posted.


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## mainecr (Nov 12, 2013)

I like running pear in large barrels using the pulp method. I pull the cap off after 3 days and run through a fine strainer (Amazon) that fits on a 5 gallon bucket. I usually get about 50 percent yield, about 12 pounds per gallon....pure juice! About 75 percent of the racked wine is pretty clear. I strain the last 25 percent, and set on the basement floor to clear. This was a good year for pears, and my friend asked me if I wanted more after three trips and 1300 pounds. No more secondary storage....it's been a busy year!


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## WI_Wino (Nov 12, 2013)

So I racked off the gross lees tonight. This is what I ended up with 






That's a five gallon carboy so figure about 3 gallons I think. Chalk this up as a learning experience, need a press or juicer for the next time.


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## Hokapsig (Nov 15, 2013)

I went to Dougs and pressed off my pears, but I STILL have a good inch or so that has settled out on the bottom of the carboy. And my pear looks dark...


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## Jerry1 (Nov 16, 2013)

*steam juicer*

I've read this with a great deal of interest. I have been steam juicing ALL of the fruit I have been using for the past year. That way I have the juice , but do not have to worry with any pulp or cap. I too have a batch of pear wine finishing up. I used steamed juice and followed my "borrowed" recipe to the T. I now have wine that will not clear. I added sparkalloid ten days ago with no improvement in the clearing. But that's another story. If your not really into caps and dealing with pulp I highly recommend using a steam juicer. Sure has made my hobby a whole lot more interesting.


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## vacuumpumpman (Nov 17, 2013)

I just learned about Amylase Enzyme

Starch Haze: Starch hazes form when starchy materials used to make wine are misused, usually by boiling them too long or squeezing their pulp too severely to extract additional flavor. Starch haze is tested by adding 5 drops of iodine to 8 ounces of wine. If starch haze is present the wine will turn indigo blue. Treat with Amylase or Amylozyme 100. Amylase is used just like pectic enzyme is used to treat pectin haze. For each gallon of wine draw off one cup of wine and stir into it teaspoon of Amylase . Set the treated sample in a warm place (70-80° F.) and stir hourly for four hours. Strain the sample through sterilized muslin cloth and add to the bulk of the wine. Leave the wine at 70° F. for 4-5 days. The haze should clear. If it does not, strain the wine through sterilized muslin cloth and then through a vacuum-pumped filter. Amylozyme 100 is used differently. Treat with 1/2 ounce Amylozyme 100 (one tablespoon) per gallon of wine and bring into a warm room (70-75° F.) for a week. The wine should clear



http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/problems.asp


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## Jerry1 (Nov 17, 2013)

Vacuumpumpman, thanks for that bit of info. I'll see what I have to do about getting my paws on some come Monday. Jerry1


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## jamesngalveston (Nov 17, 2013)

I used the Amylozyme 100 in my fig wine...why
because I mashed and mashed and smashed and squeezed over and over again when in primay...
Now i am more gentle with any of my fruit .


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## WI_Wino (Dec 23, 2014)

One year later and it's looking pretty clear. Will rack then back sweeten to taste and bottle hopefully soon.


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