cbx wrote:
> My 2 cents worth. Acetobacter is the critter that is responsible for
> changing the alcohol to vinegar, and when making wine this is the
> critter you want to avoid at all costs.
>
> Surest way to make good vinegar is to buy a culture (mother) from
> reputable vendor (homebrew supply stores carry it) or borrow a few
> ounces from someone who has a culture going. The "Mother" is the most
> disgusting looking thing you would ever see in your life, and it looks
> obscene to say the least. There are different strains of
> "acetobacter" that produce various flavors. I like Malt vinegar so
> purchase a malt vinegar mother and use stale beer instead of wine.
>
> You can make your own "mother" by putting single layer of very coarse
> cheesecloth or screening over a jug of wine, and set it out on the
> porch. Fruitflies, flies, other flying critters will come to try to
> get into the bottle, but will be stopped by the screen. However, the
> little "acetobacter" fall into the wine and start growing, as they
> naturally populate the outside of the fruitfly and flies, and other
> bugs.
>
> The problem with this method is that although it works all the time,
> you never know exactly which strainof the little bacterium or whatever
> you are starting, although most always it will turn out OK. For a
> particular flavor get a "mother" from a company specializing in
> vinegars.
>
> Commercial vinegar is made from Crude Oil, I would NEVER NEVER NEVER
> drink vinegar made in a refinery (distilled white vinegar and most
> commercial vinegars, flavored with laboratory chemicals).
>
> Maybe someone from England can jump in here with more explicit
> instructions, as they have some excellent Malt vinegars over there and
> I have never been able to even come close to those with my
> store-bought mothers. (a "Mother" would make the basis of a good
> science fiction movie, as if you have ever seen one they are the stuff
> mightmares are made of).
>
> On a related subject,, I used to make sherry the way they do in
> Europe, in an Estuffa (heated cabinet),

I thought it was called a "solera" and was sun-powered. and wasn't one
"cabinet" but a series of casks....

Ah, here we go:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solera

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