Cider Vinegar

[Garry35]

Hi All,

Here's a random question - is it possible to convert an experimental cider I've made into a passable cider vinegar?

I experimented with the apples from my garden last autumn, and the result isn't particularly drinkable - lesson learned there!

However I'm loathe to throw away the 4 litres I've got hidden away, without seeing if there's anything that I can do with it.

Any ideas?

Cheers

Garry

 

[Crastney]

yes it is possible to turn it into cider vinegar.

if it hasn't already turned, I'd leave it 6 months and try it again, it might have improved.

if you do decide to turn it into cider vinegar, make sure that you keep it well away from any other wine or cider brewing, as cross contamination is incredibly easy. and you can't use the vessels for cider making afterwards, as they'll most likely still have vinegar in them.
I can't think off the top of my head how to do it, but there are recipes available online, I think you need to let air to it, and if you have a plastic bottle, lay on it's side, with a large hole cut out, you increase the surface area exposed to air, and then you need cloth to stop flies, etc landing in it. I think you leave it about 2 months. very easy to do infact.

hope this helsp - sorry, I had a pint of Thatchers Gold at lunchtime, spelling might be a bit off, and I'm rambling...

 

[Shug]

I think my mother used to just chuck some shop bought cider vinegar in and leave it in demijohn a while. Came out pretty good (tho I'm no vinegar connoisseur !)

 

[Crastney]

The French make something called a 'vinegar mother' which they keep from one batch to the next.

plenty of advice out there if you search on your favourite search engine.

 

[graysalchemy]

I disagree with the notion of not being able to use vessels again for brewing. I have had two 12 gallon batches of beer turn to vinegar and continued to re use the FV with no problem. Just sterilize well.

It is easier to make vinegar in the autumn when the fruit flies are about. I have got 10 gallons of stout vinegar and a little cider vinegar seeded from the mother of vinegar from the previous years beer.

 

[Garry35]

cheers guys, I'll have a look round the t'interweb!

Garry

 

[graysalchemy]

You could get yourself some expensive vinegar from a tree hugger shop one which is unpasturised and still has the mother of vinegar as this is the bacterial culture in suspension. I would be tempted to leave it in an open container for a few days before covering over with a bit of cloth, you will probably get it infected from the air.

 

[olriley]

I made some! In our house good vinegar is indispensable in the kitchen so it was well worth setting a DJ of our cider aside to make some.

There is more info about it on the blog (link below), but essentially we brewed our own cider from apples, then set a couple of half-full demi-johns (to maximise surface area exposed to oxygen) added a spoonful of unpasteurised apple cider vinegar to each and left in a warm place for a few months.


Hope you find this useful and try it!


More info here!

 

[olriley]

As a note, this took about 5 months for aceto-fermentation to complete and become (fantastic) vinegar.

 

[Hawks]

I have some that is a couple of years old and is definitely vinegar - it is also sparkling... which is odd !!!! :whistle:

 

[graysalchemy]

I have a couple of gallons of cider vinegar, I just bottle all but a bottles worth then start the process again, with more cider. I also have 5-6 Gallons of stout vinegar great for the pickled onions :lol: :lol:

I would definately recomend this to anyone who uses vinegar for cooking or pickling. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[olriley]

Grays, a couple of questions - :geek: did you hop the stout before turning it into vinegar?
Did you use a 'mother' to get it going or just let nature do its thing?
I'm thinking of making a malt vinegar but wondering what the 'beer' to brew as base. Might just try a 1-gall un-hopped malty brew as an experiment. I could use a little of my cider vinegar to start it but wonder whether different strains of acetobacter have different charactestics, like our friend saccharomyces cerevisiae. :hmm: I doubt it's so pronounced, I mean sharp is sharp aint it?
Thanks,
Olly

 

[graysalchemy]

The stout and a previous bitter were accidents casualties of autumn fruit flies. I now just infect all my vinegars with whatever mother I have available.

Yes both my beer vinegars were hopped but it doesn't really show through to be honest. The stout is very malty and very dark beersamic vinegar :lol: :lol:

 

[olriley]

Good to know, thanks :thumb:

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

How do you store the mother of vinegar? Would a jam jar filled with vinegar work okay, and how long would it survive like that for?

 

[olriley]

I think it is quite a persistent bacterium and can regenerate from tiny amounts (I started mine with a teaspoon of unpasteurised cider vinegar).

I keep the mother in a demi-john alf full of my cider vinegar with a muslin lid. When I need cider vinegar, I draw some off into a bottle. When it gets low, I chuck some more cider in the DJ (from our own reserves of course).

:thumb:

 

[PD]

I use small amounts in the kitchen ( well the wife does ) I have a DJ full of home made apple cider ( made by the very complicated process of leaving the DJ of apple cider open to the air for several weeks )
The apple cider so formed has a mass of the bacteria growing in the bottom. When new vinegar is required in kitchen I just pour some into a stoppered fancy bottle and top the DJ up with any cider I have around ....
The process goes on and on.....

 

[olriley]

I thnk there's an echo in here :whistle:

:lol:

 

[graysalchemy]

I do the same :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

I'm not sure I'll be able to follow that kind of regime - I only really use vinegar for pickling, so I go through a gallon between September and October but rarely use any the rest of the year.

:hmm:

Set up two demijohns full of vinegar. Take 1/2 gallon out of each for pickling each autumn, and make a gallon of turbocider in October/November that can then be split between the two and left for next year. Simples! This will actually solve another of my current conundrums as well: what to do with the two DJs whose necks are just a little too wide for my bungs, and so not much use for making wine.