Pears

[Bujapat]

Wish you good luck next time...

I have an apple wash that turned vinegar, as I said in the post "vinegar".
Didn't distill yet, but now I can say the wash has a very "special" smell (not very good). I think I'd throw it in the WCs, but I'll nevertheless try to distill it... Maybe I'll lose my time, but I want to try!

[Uncle Remus]

I don't know what you guys consider to be 'vinegar'. Every wash I ever make has a sour, acidic taste when I distill it. I've always had good luck fermenting, the sugar all gets used, so when there's no sugar left, the wash does kind of have a sour, yuck taste to it.

[Bujapat]

I understand what you mean UR, but my apple wash had a real smell and taste of vinegar. The flies where really on it. And fermentation wasn't finished at all.

So agree with you, my other washes are "acid" but not at a point to smell vinegar in the entire cellar!

[hornedrhodent]

="Bujapat"
I understand what you mean UR, but my apple wash had a real smell and taste of vinegar. The flies where really on it. And fermentation wasn't finished at all.

So agree with you, my other washes are "acid" but not at a point to smell vinegar in the entire cellar!

Apple cider vinegar is very expensive here.
Just kidding - move it out of your fermentation area, let it complete the process and use it as vinegar.

Kill the flies they're the culprits which spread the bacteria.
Expect a skin (bacterial mat) to grow on the vinegar. Leave it open to the air as oxygen is necessary to the process.
If you want to speed up the process build a column packed with woodwool and keep pouring the liquid through the column. The bacteria will attach to the wood fibres and there will be plenty of air for the reaction to convert alcohol to acetic acid.

[Bujapat]

Thanks, better use that apple vinegar as vinegar than throw it to the WCs!

[Watershed]

There's a big difference between acidic due to fruit acids and acidic due to vinegar - my pear wash was undrinkably sour but didn't have a trace of acetic acid. I used wild pears and let it ferment out completely.

The distillate after a two runs is superb - its got that high ester content that you find in some grappas that makes them practicaly crawl out of the bottle when it's uncorked.

I make loads of vinegar - but I make it deliberately.

[pothead]

I ran my other batch. I ran it slow...one pass thru the still. stopped collecting at about 100proof, and collect in a seperate conrtainer till about 70 proof.
It tasted a little rough right out of the still, So I added some of the lower proof back to it to take the edge down a notch. I wasn't that happy with it.
BUT...I let it sit for just a few days, and tested it again....man it is nice. I'm glad I picked enough for a few more batches.
Not sure If I should age any on wood, leave it raw or make a sweet tater-style drink.

[Bujapat]

Congrats Pothead!

I took a part of my pears spirit to make a sweet liquor : simply added 200 g sugar and diluted to 38%ABV to obtain 1.5 l of sweet 38% liquor : very nice, sweet and tasty!