i think my ciders gone bad

[rooky1]

i just finished secondary on a batch of apple cider vinegar i used one gallon of great value aj 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup light brown sugar this is my 3rd batch of apple cider and this time it tastes like a cross btween wine and vineger im pretty sure that its a bad batch but was wondering if anyone knew of a way to salvage it or just open it to air and let it turn to vinegar
i can use it both ways but if it can be fixed i would rather try that

 

[Northbank]

If you are kegging, you could kill off the yeast, back sweeten it and then carbonate it .... sounds like you just let it dry all the way out, which will happen ... it's not like there are complex sugars in there ...

 

[MizzouFermentationScience]

Put it in your attic and come back in 4 months for some homemade vinegar. If you don't like the taste now, carbonation ain't gonna help. I'm serious about going for vinegar, could be pretty awesome.

 

[rooky1]

thanks for the advice i dont have a keg yet its on my wish list so I will try storing it for a while and see what happens i just wasnt sure if it was fixable as cider or not thanks again

 

[kristiismean]

I have made 1 batch of cider, 1 gallon. not much help, but did a lot of research. I ended up using splenda with good results in my one batch of apple cherry cider with ec-1118 clocking in at around 10%.

tasted like a non-carbed sangria.. was actually pretty decent.

 

[Pratzie]

If its already started to hit the vinegar point, I don't believe theres any turning back from what I've read. I could be wrong tho since I've never had that issue. Hopefully someone else with more experience can weigh in.

 

[bucketnative]

Cider doesn't just "hit the vinegar point" on its own; it requires acetobacter, which is a bacteria that convert the ethanol to acetic acid. The acetobacter requires oxygen in order to produce acetic acid. So, if your cider is turning to vinegar, then it means you have an acetobacter infection and oxidation of the cider. There's no going back.

In the future, focus on sanitation and minimizing headspace (like almost no headspace) in secondary fermentation.

I would follow the advice of @MizzouFermentationScience and let it go to vinegar completely. You can always use a good cider vinegar for pickling, dressings, or slaws.