Hello,
I am new to making vinegar so appologies in advance if I'm missing something obvious.
Recently I made my first batch of vinegar using sugared tap water and apple scraps. I followed the textbook instructions of stirring it everyday and straining it after the bubbling subsided. At first it turned into a ciderlike concoction (it was delicious but I restrained myself!) and a few weeks later it was acidified and tasted like vinegar. Following this success I tried making another batch, replacing the apple with used coffee grinds. After a few days there were still no signs of bubbling or yeasty smell and overnight the liquid turned to a syrupy saliva-like consistency. It was almost impossible to spoon as it would pull away and slip off the spoon. But there were no signs of mold and it tasted and smelt like clean sugared water. My initial instinct was that the used coffee grinds, having been 'cooked', did not host any live yeasts which made the fermentation more difficult to kick start and in the mean time an undesirable bacteria got to work. But why no smell or discoloration?
So a few days ago I started another batch of sugared water and apple scraps. Today it has turned into saliva again. The only conditions that were different between the successful batch and the two unsuccessful ones is that:
(1) The first batch started in the cellar which has a humidity of 74-87% and was later transferred to a cool cupboard. But the two unsuccessful bathches were started in the cupboard to begin with. Too little humidity preventing the yeast growth? But surely the water itself provides enough humidity?
(2) The later batches had more sugar although I can't say how much more as sugar was added to taste. Is that causing the syrupiness? Although this is more slimy than syrupy. Not anything like the thick blood-like brine of fermented beets.
Do you think any of the above could have caused this? Or perhaps this is a normal phase in the process?
Many thanks
Peiman