Starting the sour mash for the pear wine/cider. This was the last of this years pears. I should have started to get them about 2 weeks earlier than I did. There are still some left on the tree, but most had already fallen and were too far gone to do anything with. I got the first batch and made preserves with them. I then put off getting anymore until yesterday morning. So I only had about one 5 gallon bucket of pears to work with.
The mash is fairly simple, pick very ripe pears, preferably with no bugs in them. Core and slice into pieces, leaving skin on. I used about 10 grape leaves from vines that grow wild at the edge of our woods for the tannin. I added one box of white raisins(sulatanas) that I ran through the food processor along with a big chunk of ginger. The ginger is to add a little spiciness to the mix. The raisins are for an extra nutrient for the yeast.
6 cups of cane sugar
1 cup of brown sugar
6 quarts of water
1 package of wine yeast
Dissolbe sugar in 1/2 of the water, pour the other have over the pears, raisins and ginger. Mix well.
Boil the sugar water, then turn off, once the sugar water is lukewarm, add to the pear mixture.
Add the yeast and mix well.
Cover the mixture with an old t-shirt, pillow case or sack cloth. This is to keep bugs out, especially fruit flies. Sccure the shirt with a bungee cord or large rubber band.
Store in a warm room for 3 weeks, stirring daily to scraping sides to keep fruit in the mixture.
Next video of this will be of the starting of the second fermentation period that starts at the end of the first, go figure, huh.
