Next time you reach for a cider, try a pear version just to shake things up. Instead, these tend to be smaller, brighter, sometimes too-bitter-to-eat heirloom varieties that make far better cider than anything else. These are not the sweet pears you’re used to eating fresh. Just like its apple-based cousin, pear cider revolves around a number of different varieties, selected for their varying flavors and tannic components. The juice is pressed, often with a traditional rack-and-cloth press, the liquid is fermented (often naturally), and the result is aged briefly. In terms of method, it’s almost exactly like apple cider. Like hard apple ciders, pear ciders will often incorporate seasonal ingredients like berries or certain herbs and spices. In terms of what’s in the bottle, it’s always mostly pear juice, with most countries allowing for up to 25% apple juice to be blended in. In France, it’s called poire while in Spain it goes by sidra de peras. It’s not always called pear cider, perry, or even pear Champagne. And the fruit thrives elsewhere, too, like parts of the Midwest and the Northeast, where a budding number of producers are trying their hands at the lesser-known cider. We’re seeing more research on methods from key institutions like Washington State University and Oregon State University, a pair of major agricultural schools set in the orchard-friendly Pacific Northwest. In the states, pear cider is growing in popularity, if only moderately. Quite simply, hooch had to be had and pears grew well in the temperate U.K. Future skirmishes with neighboring nations like France (with its seemingly endless pipeline of booze, namely wine) caused an uptick in domestic English perry production. It was first prepared in the fertile stretches of western England and by the time the country was in the midst of a civil war, pear cider became a go-to drink, especially among soldiers. While the Romans dabbled in pear winemaking way, way back it wasn’t until the late 16th century that pear cider as we know it took off. Today, there’s an entire culture built around European perry. Countries like Spain, England, and France take great pride in the stuff and have for generations. Across the pond in Europe where it was first fermented a couple of hundred years ago, pear cider is quite popular. As a relatively new American drink, bottles still have to be sniffed out stateside. Pear cider, affectionally called perry, is a refreshing sip of autumn.
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