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I am not big into brewing just the bit here and there ... no trouble drinking though

I have been given permission to pick some old verity pears... well it more of a request as the guy wants to see them used ...Tettenhall Dick..
later in the year ... I fancy making perry with them. I have read that I can make it without adding yeast, just relying on wild yeasts .. this I would prefer as I have yeast allergy if it an added one. Can some of you master brewers advise me

Yes, you can depend on the yeatsies on the skin of the pears to start your fermentation. But it could be a low-alc tolerance yeast strain, or one that produces off-flavours. Also maybe the yeast is not strong enough to compete with other micro organisms on the pears and the entire batch may be lost. Still, many people have succesfully used wild yeast and produced fine perry or cider.

I would personally always add a yeast strain suitable for perry or cider. Wine yeasts are no worse than wild yeast and you will not drink any of the yeast anyway. If you do, something has gone wrong in your procedure. Bottling only takes place when your wine is clear as a bell, so there's no yeast in it anymore. If there were, you'd also run the risk of exploding bottles as you could have a restart of fermentation in the bottle.
I know from experience: http://plot101.wordpress.com/2008/01/14 ... -accident/

Also for about 35 euro's you can purchase a 'sterile' filter which wil remove any stray yeast cells before bottling. So no need to ingest any yeast at all.

Hope this helps.

Jandra

Thanks for the info ... I will stick with the yeast added then don't fancy a lot of work with the chance of it going to pot ... now all I need is a good crop of pears

I have made Perry. It is more difficult than cider, as the higher tannin levels in pears effects the yeast

THis is quite a good site which I followed:

http://www.ciderandperry.co.uk/

You need to leave the mashed pears over night to help precipitate out some of the tannin. Also the acidity of the pears can not be enough to ensure good fermentation and storage. You may need to adjust this it depends on your pear type.