# Make Vinegar from honey- how to?



## gloodinofdoodin

I always thought you have to make it into alcohol first?


----------



## LusciousHoney

Interesting....
Since I doubt there is any kind of difinition of what balsamic honey vinegar is, I suppose they can do whatever they want.

This about the regular balsamic vinegar is from Wikipedia:

"Traditional Balsamic vinegar is produced from the juice of just harvested white grapes (typically, trebbiano grapes) boiled down to approximately 30% of the original volume to create a concentrate or must, which is then fermented with a slow aging process which concentrates the flavours. The flavour intensifies over decades, with the vinegar being kept in fine wooden casks, becoming sweet, viscous and very concentrated. During this period, a proportion evaporates: it is said that this is the "angels' share," a term also used in the production of scotch whisky, wine, and other alcoholic beverages.

None of the product may be withdrawn until the end of the minimum aging period of 12 years. At the end of the aging period (12, 18, or 25 years) a small proportion is drawn from the smallest cask and each cask is then topped up with the contents of the preceding (next largest) cask. Freshly reduced cooked must is added to the largest cask and in every subsequent year the drawing and topping up process is repeated.

Authentic consortium approved Tradizionale is the product of centuries of experience as well as many years in barrels. For these reasons it sells for very high prices. Consortium-sealed 100 ml bottles can cost between US $100 and $400 each."


Considering they talk about the process having been perfected recently, my guess is that they DIDN'T "age" it for a minimum of 12 years in a vaiety of barrels. 
I have accidently created vinegar from a batch of bottling tank rinse water "mead". Tasted horrible!
Petra


----------



## ScadsOBees

I left a little sugar syrup in a jug and a year later it was plain old white vinegar! Smelled and tasted just like the stuff from the store.

I'm thinking about some honey vinegar soon too. There was an ABJ last year or so about how to, and I'll be digging that out soon.

Rick


----------



## LusciousHoney

If you find it, could you post it? 
I regularly make apple cidar vinegar which is just pureed apples, water and sugar. I think it tastes better than the store bought stuff - stronger too.


----------



## Ben Brewcat

Vinegar has to be made from a sugar solution that has been 1) fermented 2) inoculated with _acetobacter_ and 3) exposed to oxygen. So first you're making mead! Honestly from a cost perspective for me it's hard to justify making vinegar out of honey except for an experiment or novelty; little to no honey character will remain in the vinegar though it probably would be distinctive (differentiable) from other vinegars.

But if you want to do it, make a must (unfermented mead up of about 12 percent potential alcohol (specific gravity @ 1.090). For example, 2.5 pounds of honey plus water to make a gallon of solution would be about right. Then ferment in a sanitized two-gallon vessel with an airlock for a month or two at room temp until ALL bubbling from the airlock has truly ceased. Then you can either leave it on your patio on a warm day uncovered for a few hours (allowing fruit flies and other insects to dab their nasty bacteria-laden feet into it, inoculating it with _acetobacter)_ or, preferably, use the "mother" from an unpasteurized bottle of quality vinegar you get at the store. You can also purchase mothers from a homebrew shop. They're basically a pellicle, the structure of a mature colony of vinegarmaking organism, that slowly eats alcohol in the presence of oxygen and makes acetic acid out of it (vinegar). Let the mother work the mead in a crock or other vessel covered with cheesecloth to allow oxygen exchange but keep out insects.

Homemade vinegars are fun and easy and make great gifts, it can be as easy or as informed as you want to get into it. I'm sure there are a lot of good resources online.


----------



## ScadsOBees

Health food stores also will sometimes carry "live" vinegar or vinegar with the mother still in it.

Rick


----------



## wayacoyote

I've been making vinegar from everything that we would otherwise waste (ie drippings from canning pumpkin). I got my yeist from a brewing store and my mother from a health food vinegar. After making a batch to the point of alcohol, I froze the solids and use bits for the next batch. I do the same with the mother.

I haven't made any with honey, yet. It's not complicated. Since the alcohol stage is anerobic, I put it in a milk jug with a hose through the lid. the other end of the hose is submerged in a glass of water. It lets the gas escape without letting foreign yeists in. Since the vinegar stage is aerobic, I put it in a 2 gallon bucket with a cloth stretched over the mouth to keep fruitflies out. A batch started with yeists and Mother in late October was bottled this week.


----------



## BGhoney

I just started a batch of honey vinegar. 1 part honey , 8 parts water
The directions called for adding yeast or some vinegar. I added about .5 part braggs apple cider vinegar. I'm hoping it still has active yeast in it. Guess I'll find out in a few weeks. 

If not, Does anyone know what type of yeast to add. I'm thinking a little wine starter,not bread starter.


----------



## wayacoyote

I use champagne or ale yeast for my vinegar. (I make fruit vinegars). You'll do fine adding the Braggs once it has fermented. I don't know that it will help or hurt by adding it at the beginning. I added after the fermentation has finished.


----------



## Kurt Bower

Honey vinegar would be better labled "honey wine" vinegar as it is first made into meade or honey wine (alcohol.)
After being made into mead it is then a fairly simple process of making it into vinegar by adding a mother of vinegar to it and exposing it to oxygen. There are lots of do's and dont's and I suggest you research them first before making any.
10-11 lbs of honey can be turned into 5 gallons of vinegar. 5 gallons of vinegar = approximately 50- 375 ml bottles of vinegar which can be sold at a cost of $250. 

Ben Brewcat stated "Honestly from a cost perspective for me it's hard to justify making vinegar out of honey except for an experiment or novelty"

Well I would say that turning a bucket of honey into $1250 is far better than retailing your honey unless you are selling it for $20/lb.

If you would like you may view the finished product at http://honeybeeharvest.com/index.php?id=winevinegar&type=wine

best regards,
Kurt Bower


----------

