Malt vinegar. [using a 40oz can dark or stout malt]

very thick mother of vinegar

I made this up once, it was really nice. I have everything I need to put another lot down but am busy making Apple cider vinegar right now.

Malt vinegar, 1st stage.
 Vinegar is made by two distinct biological processes, both the result of the action of harmless microorganisms (yeast and “Acetobacter”) that turn sugars (carbohydrates) into acetic acid. Many foods involve some type of bacteria in their production i.e. cheese, yogurt, wine, pickles and chocolate.
 Though one might suspect that malt vinegar is a simple process, no harder than winemaking, it is however an involved and complicated process. Though it is thought that vinegar was a chance discovery and is 1000, s of years old there are references to vinegar and its use in food and medicine that are over 5000 years old. Simply it is wine that had gone off what the French aptly call VIN aigre - meaning sour wine and one can make vinegar from any material that one can make wine from. Malt vinegar is made from malted barley. However, the modern-day product is a lot more complicated than simply letting a barrel of wine go off (though that would work). It is a two-fold fermentation of barley malt or other cereals where starch has been converted to maltose
 The first process is the alcoholic fermentation and occurs when yeasts change natural sugars to alcohol (beer wine making etc.)
 In the second process, a group of bacteria (called “Acetobacter”) converts the alcohol to acid. This is the acetic or acid fermentation that forms vinegar. Getting a bacteria culture to grow is important; timing is important; and fermentation needs to be carefully controlled.
 The Brew
 Ingredients
 Malt Extract. one 40oz can dark or stout malt (obtainable from most home brew shops and some health shops
 Yeast 2 tsp. brewer's yeast (or stout yeast if you can obtain it)
 Sugar 8 cups of unrefined white sugar,
 Method
• Pour 10 liters of fresh, cold water into a 10-gallon plastic bucket that has a lid (If the bucket is new, wash it out with baking soda and rinse well to remove the plastic smell)
• In a large pot, bring 7 liters of water to a boil.
 Add the malt extract. Stir and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
• Add the sugar and stir to dissolve.
• As soon as the sugar is dissolved, pour contents into the bucket. Pour, or 'splash', the contents quickly, which adds air to the mixture the air allows the yeast to grow quickly
• Top up with bottled drinking water, distilled water or boiled tap water until so that your bucket is half full. Let it cool to blood temperature
• Sprinkle in the yeast, and stir well, loosely Cover with lid if too tight your malt could explode from the carbon dioxide gas that is produced.)
 Keep covered and avoid unnecessary opening. The malt will be ready in 6- 10 days, depending on ambient temperature of the room Ideally the room temperature should be 20-24 Celsius at the highest; you could get away with a slightly lower temperature of no less than16 Celsius, but it will take the malt a day or two longer to ferment.
 Test for readiness with a hydrometer. Set hydrometer into the malt and spin it once to release bubbles which cling to it and give a false reading. The ready reading should be about 1.008. If you don't have a hydrometer, you can judge readiness by tasting a sample - it should not be sweet tasting. There should be little or no bubbling action in the malt. At this point the malt is ready for the next stage
Malt vinegar, 2nd stage
 Aceto conversion
 Take about half a liter of your finished malt and place it in a large open jar it need to be left uncovered to allow the musty mold to develop (this is called the vinegar mother) Place the jar in a cool (but not cold) dark room A garage or shed or cellar would be ideal, in about a week the liquid will have a mold on or a misty residue in the body of the malt. This is your finished mother and all you have to do now is to strain the mother through some very fine muslin to remove the mold, mist and any bugs that happened to fall into the mother. Then you add the strained mother to the rest of your malt, leave it covered with some muslin held tightly over your bucket for a minimum of 2 months, though 3 or 4 would be better. You should now have really healthy and fantastic malt vinegar
 Part 3 pasteurization
 Now you could just use the vinegar as it is, but it will go misty and cloudy quickly because the Acetobacter is still alive and trying to make your whole batch of vinegar into a mother. To prevent this, you have to heat your vinegar to 170F and hold it at this temperature for 20 minutes. This will kill all the bacteria and give you really good, delicious and stable malt vinegar. Chill and bottle your vinegar will keep for years if kept in a cool dark place
 You can make smaller amounts (adjust the quantities of malt and sugar accordingly) but this is such an involved process that a larger amount means less work.
 Thank You, to the poster in River Cottage who answered my question. Name withheld for his privacy.
Posted 11th November 2011 by jellybeans