turning beer into vinegar-where to get bacteria?

[fredthecat]

hi, i have a small amount of unhopped beer i want to turn into vinegar. i plan to just put it in a 2 litre jar and cover it with cheese cloth. will it reliably and tastefully turn into vinegar on its own?

if not/or to help does anyone know how to get a easy and cheap source of acetobacter? i'd rather not spend 8-12 dollars and the effort finding a bottle of unpasteurized vinegar when i just want to make my own. any suggestions please, including dropping a kernel of malt into the beer!!

 

[imasickboy]

You can probably find unfiltered vinegar at your grocery store. Heinz offers one, $3 or so. Cheap, and very reliable.

 

[BowAholic]

I know nothing about the process, but just checked my cabinet. I have white, apple cider, and wine vinegar...all from WalMart. The cheap store brand of apple cider has stuff in the bottom like yeast..? I'm thinking a spoonful of it after being stirred up would do it. I just put some in a beer I had to see if it works.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Just look for some fruit flies.

 

[GrogNerd]

look for the "mother"

Heinz does include it, as does Bragg. buy a small bottle for the mother and build it up just like you would a starter for your beer, using extract or, in the case of cider vinegar, apple juice

If I understand correctly, you can use it just like a yeast cake: rack your fully fermented beer/wine/cider right on top of it and let it do its stuff

 

[imasickboy]

buy a small bottle for the mother and build it up just like you would a starter for your beer, using extract or, in the case of cider vinegar, apple juice

Slightly incorrect. You would need a fermented product to build it up. It eats the alcohol, not the sugar.

 

[GrogNerd]

Slightly incorrect. You would need a fermented product to build it up. It eats the alcohol, not the sugar.

good to know, thanks for the correction

 

[oldstyle69]

im making a sake vinegar today using Braggs apple cider. its unfiltered.

 

[wonderbread23]

How timely, I just finished up making a batch and wrote about it below. I used a bit of Bragg's vinegar to get it started, although simply leaving it open to the air will eventually create vinegar.

http://www.thepourreport.com/brew-your-own-malt-vinegar/

 

[kmcrae]

Nice article! Maybe wood aging would add some more complexity. One of these days I'll get around to this.

 

[fredthecat]

So i requested in the op-a solution without buying bottled vinegar-because i dont hapen to live where you live, so i cant "just get braggs". I live in korea and i cant think of seeing a specifically unpasteurized vinegar for sale at all at a store. I could scour a market for hours but id rather not.

But, bwarbiany thanks, would adding a single fruit fly do the trick? Ive never had an infected beer really. Im thinking i will make a small aceto-starter to see if i can get it to work.
Will try lots of oxygen, surface area and maybe fruit peels as recommended by another website i saw.

 

[Brewtah]

Just look for some fruit flies.

Yeah those little devils are sure to turn your beer to vinegar

 

[fuzzy2133]

Is there any concerns about having an increase in acetobactor near brewing equipment? Would normal sanitizing practices (using star-san) still keep acetobactor from infecting batches of beer?
Those are 2 questions on making vinegar I can not find any where.

 

[Greenbasterd]

Is there any concerns about having an increase in acetobactor near brewing equipment? Would normal sanitizing practices (using star-san) still keep acetobactor from infecting batches of beer?
Those are 2 questions on making vinegar I can not find any where.

i make vinegar and beer in my kitchen and have never had a spoiled batch of beer. i also make kombucha and fermented vegy's. i've got bacteria everywhere. fridge, cupboards, countertop.. lol now im obviously not splashing my vinegar bottle around while im brewing. but i don't think its that big of a deal.
infact i have a old wash i made for distilling. the airlock has dried up multiple times. its been full of fruit flies(the airlock) i've found the airlock on the ground(kids) and it still hasn't picked up a vinegar bug yet. i'm not worried because its a wash for cleaning my still. vinegar works just fine for that.

you pretty much have to use very bad practice, or try to infect something with vinegar.

 

[Jim311]

Maybe if you posted this in the beginner brewing section they could help you out, we're great at making good beer go bad.

 

[fuzzy2133]

i make vinegar and beer in my kitchen and have never had a spoiled batch of beer. i also make kombucha and fermented vegy's. i've got bacteria everywhere. fridge, cupboards, countertop.. lol now im obviously not splashing my vinegar bottle around while im brewing. but i don't think its that big of a deal.
infact i have a old wash i made for distilling. the airlock has dried up multiple times. its been full of fruit flies(the airlock) i've found the airlock on the ground(kids) and it still hasn't picked up a vinegar bug yet. i'm not worried because its a wash for cleaning my still. vinegar works just fine for that.

you pretty much have to use very bad practice, or try to infect something with vinegar.

Thanks for the info Greenbastard. I was thinking I was being too cautious.

 

[fredthecat]

i ended up heavily oxygenating 100ml of rice wine in a big wide bowl. let it sit for a week, covered with a cloth. after 1 week it had turned cloudy and had turned more fruity, but sour in aroma. taste was sour but hard to place my finger on. i added this starter to 1.5 litres of rice wine diluted with just a bit of water to an alcohol of about 12% (i hope). keeping it covered with cloth and very loose tinfoil. going to let that sit for 4 weeks then bottle it i think.