Perry is well established in the UK and is said to have come to England in the aftermath of the 1066 Norman conquest. So the ultimate origin of English Perry seems to be Normandy. Prior to the The Volstead Act of prohibition Americans were said to drink their fruit fermented rather than eating it fresh. Hard cider and jacked cider is well known. I am not sure if perry was also done and I do not know much about it for the USA.
Perry pears have a reputation of being very large
trees and have been know to live for centuries. I think parts of northwestern america are likely closer to English climatic conditions than is the case with other parts of the USA. Certainly better than my locale of NW Florida.
This is a link to UK Perry:
https://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/fruitarticles/pears/variety-perry.php
WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF PERRY PEAR TREES
In the UK there is a difference between Perry and pear cider. True Perry is made from very astringent (sharp and acidic) pears and it takes several months to mature it properly and involves blending several varieties (none of them eating pears) to make a dry, slightly sparkling drink. In its height of popularity during the 1600s and 1700s the art was perfected to such a degree that Perry was considered to be superior to the best wines. Pear cider on the other hand often uses the juice from both Perry eating and other types of pears and the process can be accomplished in a month or so. Both Perry and pear cider have been made for thousands of years.
The modern types of eating and cooking pears, alongside true Perry pears, are varieties of Pyrus communis. Perry pear trees however have come from crosses of the older and more traditional varieties which have evolved much more slowly over the centuries. They are in general varieties which have not changed greatly over the last 450 years.
It's important to stress that there is a lot of rubbish written about making Perry, the process is almost held up to be an impossible ideal for the amateur. The truth is, it is an impossible ideal for the amateur to produce a top class Perry at the current time. To do so, according to the available literature, would be akin to Jo Bloggs producing a top class champagne, it's never going to happen!
But don't let that put you off, if you use the juice from a good variety of Perry pear you can make a drink which is far more satisfying to taste than most of the canned, bottled or draught pear cider sold today. It's the same as it always was 500 years ago, local villagers with only limited experience, brewed using pear juice and it tasted excellent - they never attempted to brew Perry to champagne standards.
VARIETIES OF PERRY PEAR TREES
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