Perry
Pear cider; fermented from pears.
What is Perry? Perry is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally produced in western England, South Wales, and parts of northern France, where it goes by the name poire. Unlike apple cider, perry relies on small, bitter, astringent perry pears rather than the table fruit you would eat from a bowl. Standard fermented perry typically lands between 5 and 8 percent ABV, though it can also be distilled into a calvados-style spirit at 40 to 43 percent or fortified to around 17 percent. Its defining character comes from higher sorbitol content, an unfermentable sugar that lends gentle residual sweetness and a softer mouthfeel than most ciders deliver.
Origins and Regional Heritage
The earliest known reference to perry-making appears in Pliny the Elder in the 1st century AD, making it one of the older fermented fruit traditions still in commercial production. Its modern heartland is the English Three Counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire, with additional historic strongholds in South Wales and the French regions of Normandy and Anjou. Today, production has also taken root in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Perry rose to prominence in 17th and 18th century England, reaching peak consumption during periods of conflict that disrupted French wine imports and pushed drinkers toward domestic alternatives. That history is still visible in the named pear varieties that anchor each tradition, from English cultivars such as Barland, Brandy, Thorn, Yellow Huffcap, and Stinking Bishop to French varieties including Plant de Blanc, Antricotin, and Fausset.
How Perry Is Made
Production mirrors cider-making in its broad shape: fruit is picked, crushed, and pressed before fermentation. The crucial differences sit on either side of the press. Perry pears must be left to mature after picking, and the pomace needs to stand after initial crushing so that excess tannins can soften and drop out, sparing the finished drink from harsh astringency.
Higher sorbitol levels in perry pears mean that even fully fermented perry retains a subtle sweetness without added sugar, which is why traditional bottlings often taste rounder and less bracing than dry ciders. This is also why perry pears matter so much in their own right, since table or dessert pears simply cannot deliver the same balance of tannin, acid, and sorbitol.
Perry, Pear Cider, and Related Spirits
The term pear cider emerged around 1995, when Brothers Cider marketed its drink at Glastonbury Festival as like cider, but made from pears. Traditionalists draw a firm line between pear cider, which is often produced from concentrate or table pears, and true perry, which must come from genuine perry pear varieties. Large commercial examples such as Babycham, developed by Francis Showering, and Lambrini sit firmly on the concentrate side of that divide.
It is also worth distinguishing perry from Poire Williams, a clear eau-de-vie distilled from Williams pears. Despite the shared fruit family, Poire Williams is a fruit brandy in its own right rather than a fermented pear beverage, and it should not be confused with perry or its French counterpart poire.
