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["Kieran &/or Donna" <holycow@frontiernet.net>]

You could use European pears for pressing provided they were a bit 
underripe.  But once they go to full ripe (ie, have highest sugar content) 
they are going to just mush in your press and give you a whole lot of solids 
to settle out.  A lot of your brewing capacity will be wasted on slow to 
settle solids that will be hell to strain out.  I have made enough wine to 
know.  The crunchier Asian pears will work much better, still firm when 
their brix is high.  If you can grow Kieffer, you should have a pretty wide 
range of better vars to choose from.  Donna