Williams Pear Brandy

Williams Pear Brandy by Piekfeine Brände from Franconian meadow orchards

Williams Pear Brandy by Piekfeine Brände is a clear fruit brandy made from fully ripe Williams Christ pears from Franconian meadow orchards, distilled twice in small copper stills. 11 kg of fruit go into a single liter, and nothing is sweetened or flavored.

Williams Pear Brandy is the clear fruit brandy from Piekfeine Brände in Bremen, distilled by Birgitta Schulze van Loon from Williams Christ pears. The fruit grows in meadow orchards in Franconia and goes into the mash fully ripe; at 40% ABV, the brandy is then available in 350 ml and 500 ml.

Ripe pear, cut grass, and a fine sharpness

The Williams Christ is considered the queen of pears, and the fragrance it brings is found here undiluted.

Above the full, ripe pear lies something green that recalls freshly cut grass, along with a trace of lemon and mint. The brandy is juicy, grassy, and edgy, and a fine sharpness keeps the sweetness of the fruit suspended instead of letting it sag. Nothing about it has been smoothed over.

That it tastes so clearly of pear comes down to the variety itself. The Williams Christ carries more aroma than any cooking pear, but it only keeps for a few days after harvest – one reason why it so often ends up in the still and so rarely lies in the fruit bowl for long.

A Williams pear brandy lives on the variety being recognizable. You can smell this one before the glass is even raised – and that is exactly why the detour via fully ripe fruit instead of concentrate is worth it.

Chilled in the glass, after dinner

The pear brandy opens up most at 18 degrees Celsius, so put it briefly in the fridge, not in the freezer.

After a heavy meal it is the obvious counterpart, with game, with roast goose, with a strong cheese at the end of the evening. Cake likes it too: drizzled over warm apple strudel or set next to a piece of pear tart. In the kitchen, a spoonful replaces any baking flavoring, because it brings real fruit instead of mere sweetness. It also goes well over fresh strawberries or into a bowl of whipped cream.

It also makes a good gift, because the elegant bottle looks impressive on any table. If you like clear brandies, you'll find the more austere sibling in the Quince Brandy.

Eleven kilos of pears for a single liter

The fruit is harvested fully ripe, crushed with a screw pump, and distilled as fermentation subsides, while the mash is still fresh.

After that, it goes twice through small copper stills. From sorting the fruit through controlled fermentation to distillation, everything is done by hand, says Birgitta Schulze van Loon about the work in her manufactory.

In the second run, she separates the heads and tails and keeps only the heart, the middle part of the run where the fine fruit aromas sit. The more precisely this cut is made, the milder the brandy becomes – and the less is left at the end.

It is filtered in the classic way through activated charcoal and diluted only with soft Bremen water. The distiller deliberately does without flavor enhancers and any sweetening, which is why 11 kg of pears are needed to fill 1 liter. You can find out more about the glass manufactory at the harbor at Piekfeine Brände, and if you like it nutty, reach for the Hazelnut Spirit.