Perry: A Drinker's Guide
by Adam WellsPerry: A Drinker’s Guide
For the first time ever the full international story of perry — the drinks world’s best kept secret — is told in CAMRA’s groundbreaking book, Perry: A Drinker’s Guide.
The book will help drinkers navigate the styles, flavours, varieties, countries, regions and producers behind this ancient and fascinating drink. Whether long-standing perry fans or those discovering perry for the very first time, the book offers a treasure trove of information.
Although the biggest industrial brands are on the wane, around the world consumers and producers are waking up to the brilliance, potential and variety to be found in perry and making better, more exciting full-juice perries than have ever been available before.
Photo credit: Bill Bradshaw
James Crowden
Perry is magic. It just needs a magician to make it and a conjuror to write about it. Adam Wells has done us proud. Comprehensive, wide ranging and eminently readable.
Author Adam Wells, charts the drink’s remarkable history, walks you through the orchards and the trees that make this drink — some of them over three-hundred years old — and guides you through perry’s three great heartlands, in the UK, Normandy and Austria’s Mostviertel, as well as casting an eye on the makers pioneering this drink elsewhere around the world.
Perry has always deserved more of a spotlight, and a perry renaissance is beginning to see it recognised as a distinct and marvellous drink in its own right.
Now CAMRA is giving readers the chance to be part of the journey, with the launch of a Kickstarter campaign, complete with exclusive offers, news, tastings and events. By supporting our Kickstarter campaign and pre-ordering copies, you can play a huge part in bringing this world-first celebration of great international perry to life.
Click the links below.
Anthony Gladman
Anthony believes the key to everyday happiness lies in drinking better, not more, and he helps readers pursue this through a focus on flavour deepened by an understanding of the liquid in your glass. – https://anthonygladman.com/
This is a book that should have been written before now. Perry is one of the drink world’s most overlooked treasures, one that for all its deliciousness seems always to be on the cusp of disappearing forever.
Wells writes vividly on the subject with deep knowledge and affection. It’s no easy task to make a passage on pear varieties and their flavours engaging, but he not only manages this but makes it look easy.
There’s lots more besides, on the drink’s history and producers, where to find perry and how best to enjoy it. The book covers everything you need for a thorough grounding in the subject and will leave readers with more than enough knowledge to explore this wonderful drink with confidence.
I am convinced more people would love perry if only they knew about it. This wonderful book will go a long way towards making that happen.
Perry by numbers. There are over-
varieties of perry pear identified in the UK
UK perry producers
years since the first record of perry production
Adam Wells at the CAMRA Discovery Bar at the Great British Beer Festival.
Photo credit: Helen Ann Smith
Meet the author
As the founder-editor and primary contributor on Cider Review, the UK’s leading source of long-form articles on cider and perry, Adam Wells has been at the forefront of covering the worldwide cider and perry revolution.
Described by Gabe Cook as ‘the key cider writer in the UK’, Adam has written for Pellicle, JancisRobinson.com, Burum Collective and Full Juice Magazine amongst others and makes regular presentations on cider and perry as well as co-hosting the Cider Voice podcast. A regular judge at major cider competitions, he is the incoming Chair of the International Cider Challenge.
A firm believer in celebrating the links between different drinks made with craft and care, Adam holds the prestigious WSET Wine & Spirits Diploma and works by day in the whisky and rum industry.
See more of Adam’s work here, or listen to him speak with the Pubs. Pints. People. podcast team at the Great British Beer Festival below.
Barry Masterson, Kertelreiter Cider & Perry
Adam Wells has given perry the spotlight it deserves, no longer just a side note to cider. Adam’s wonderful way with words and attention to detail brings us on a complete journey from perry’s origins, past the mighty pear trees that once shaped entire landscapes, right up to the modern scene. As the first book ever dedicated to this wonderful drink, Perry: A Drinker’s Guide is so much more than just a guide, it is essential reading for any fan of perry and cider
CAMRA’s campaigning
CAMRA’s championing of cider and perry over the last 50 years has been credited with playing a significant role in keeping perry alive, and this October the Campaign is going a step further with it’s first ever ‘Perry Month’ celebration.
October is a busy time in the cider and perry makers calendar, when fruit is harvested, milled, pressed and stored for fermentation and production is in full flow, and marks one of two annual seasonal celebrations held by CAMRA.
Click below to find everything Perry Month has to offer, or find perry makers near you with our comprehensive map of real cider and perry makers.