101 Cider House Sour Perry

101 Cider House Sour Perry

Pear Cider – traditionally known as perry in the UK, is a long-established sibling of apple cider, though volumes are smaller. It is known as poiré in Normandy.

Many cider producers in the USA and elsewhere also produce a pear cider. Confusingly, many of these combine apples and pears. Wine-Searcher categorizes ciders with both pear and apple in their product name under our Cider category.

The UK consumer organization The Campaign for Real Ale differentiate perry as the traditional style, reserving “pear cider” for more high-volume industrial products made from pear concentrate. However, the UK’s National Association of Cider Makers insists the two terms are interchangeable.

The term “pear cider” is a recent one; said to have first appeared in the UK in 1995, applied to an example made from concentrate. Brothers and Bulmers are among the big brands made from concentrate. 

Flavored pear cider

As with its apple counterpart, flavored pear ciders are also produced. The variants may involve other fruit flavorings such as raspberry or cherry, caramel or spices. Such products tend to be more common among craft producers outside France and England, and in the portfolio of larger-scale brands. There is even at least one combination of pear cider and Prosecco.

History in UK and France

Perry making in the UK originated sometime after the Norman Conquest, and has been well established in the west of England since the 1500s. However, earlier in the medieval period pears were more likely to be imported from France. Perry has probably been made in Normandy and northern France since the end of the Roman Empire.

Fruit characteristics

Cider pear varieties are thought to be descended from wild hybrids of the cultivated pear Pyrus communis communis, and the now-rare wild pear Pyrus communis pyraster. By the 1800s many regional varieties and been established.