Every culture seems to produce a type of vinegar, whether it’s black vinegar of China (aged rice, wheat, millet and sorghum), or Italy’s balsamic vinegar (not really vinegar). There’s plum vinegar, coconut vinegar, and apple cider vinegar, but sadly most vinegars we purchase from our groceries stores are mass-produced in an expedited mechanical method that strips the condiment of its nutrients—even though vinegars are supposed to be slowly crafted.
To make vinegar, alcohol ferments into acetaldehyde, which becomes acetic acid. A slimy and murky substance called the mother (a bacterial culture) grows on the surface and creates the vinegar. Most non-artisan vinegars are made within hours or days. When the vinegar is pasteurized, all of the bacteria (the good stuff) inside the vinegar is no longer living by the time it’s bottled.
Many artisans use the centuries-old Orleans method, which steeps the alcohol and the mother in wooden barrels for a few months to over a year. Holes are chiseled in the barrels so oxygen can invade and ferment the batch. Because it’s considered “craft vinegar,” every batch tastes different—much like craft beer. Just like everything else craft and artisan that’s sprung up lately, artisan vinegar’s becoming a thing. Some chefs use it in lieu of citrus, and home cooks also are discovering how versatile vinegar can be.
Some artisan vinegar makers have been making their small-batch vinegars on idyllic farms for decades. So the next time you consider purchasing ordinary red wine vinegar, consider one (or more) of these handcrafted options.
Back Forty Beer Vinegar
The largest brewery in Gadsden, Alabama, makes beers named Naked Pig Pale Ale, Fence Post Session Ale, and the award-winning Truck Stop Honey Brown Ale, but in December they debuted their Back Forty Beer Vinegar. The vinegar’s fermented with their own malty beer, and can be purchased online for $8 a bottle. Beer vinegar makes sense, as malt vinegar’s a popular staple for fish and chips. Besides the beer and vinegar, Back Forty also produce their own 100% raw honey called Truck Stop Wildflower Honey—it’s the same honey used in the brown ale.
Tavern Vinegar Company
James Beard-nominated chef Jonathon Sawyer of Cleveland’s The Greenhouse Tavern used to make 300 gallons of wine, beer, and malt vinegars in the cellar of his home before he founded Tavern Vinegar Company in 2011. Aligning with the Columbus, Ohio, Middle West Spirits (makers of OYO vodka and whiskey), they craft wonderful flavored vinegars that Sawyer uses in his restaurants and also sells in various places around Cleveland and other markets, including Chicago. Sawyer’s Stout Beer Vinegar takes Colorado brewery’s Tommyknocker stout and ages it 14 months in an oak barrel; the Rose Wine Vinegar’s made with Le Grande Cote, a French rose wine, and ferments for 14 months. There’s also a Riesling vinegar, and an Ohio Witte vinegar, made with Middle West’s sour beer mash. Currently, the vinegars are difficult to find around Cleveland, and most of the vinegars are sold out online (prices range from $9.99-$25), but if you’re lucky, you may be able to snag a bottle.
KATZ Vinegars
