Brewing notes

2022

Kenan Perry

I harvested two Ortleib saddle bags full of pears from the tree behind the Kenan Center, using a homemade fruit picker that didn’t work well at all. Instead of plucking pears, I knocked them out of the tree. No matter, they were going to be juiced anyway.

I froze the pairs on the advice of the owner of Niagara Traditions, and when they thawed, they juiced very nicely and produced 3 gallons of juice.

• 2022-10-02: Pressed the juice and started the first ferment using Safcider AB-1. SG 1.050.
• 2022-10-22: Racked the juice into another bucket. SG 1.005 (5.8% ABV). Mean temperature for this ferment was 18C. We didn’t have a good way of removing oxygen, so I floated a candle on a bowl, lit it, and then put the lid on the bucket.
• 2022-11-17: Added Lalvin QA23 and 75g sugar (2.5 gallons of juice remained; 30g/gallon).

Pear pomace vinegar

• 2022-10-02: Mixed the pomace from pressing the Kenan Center pears with water and sugar, getting to SP 1.046 (6% ABV if fully fermented). Used a simultaneous ferment, storing the bucket on a heat mat in the furnace room covered by cheesecloth. Stirred daily. A crust of fruit formed each day.
• 2022-10-22: Strained the pomace into another bucket.
• 2022-11-01: (Date is an estimate) Bottled the vinegar. Very tasty.