It's a great resource for making your own vinegar, as well as, fermentation in general. It has a good dose of history of said subjects. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in homesteading and/or just want to try something new.

Apple cider vinegar has become such a popular thing for many people, with too many health benefits to count. But, many people don't know that there are many different vinegars that are easily made and equally healthful to consume. This 300 page book is filled with lots of information about what vinegar is and how to use it. I loved all the colorful pictures. The book includes 60 different recipes for various vinegars including tomato, maple syrup, and pineapple, my personal favorite! I will be adding this title to my cookbook collection for sure.

Loved the photos! The book is definitely very informative and useful. There is also information about vinegar's use through history.

Fascinating read on how to make homemade vinegar. I found it to be well written with plenty of helpful hints on how to bake your own at home.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Storey publishing for providing me with an ARC of this wonderful book.
HOMEBREWING VINEGAR is a comprehensive guide to making homemade vinegars full of vibrant photos and helpful tips that anyone interested in making their own vinegars can follow.
In this book the author takes us step by step through various techniques and recipes ranging from wine and beer vinegars to vinegars made with fruit.
A true treasure trove of knowledge worth putting into practice.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Very informative!!! Can't wait to try making my own and will be going back to this book again and again.

Super impressive and thorough reference book that has got me covered on vinegar for life, probably.

I’m a big fan of fermenting stuff, so I was really looking forward to learning more about vinegar. I don’t know too much about the author, but I do know that she’s a bit of a celebrity in the fermentation world, and I can see why. I will also say that I didn’t realise making vinegar was as complex as this. It’s a bit too daunting for me to give it a try at the moment, but that’s absolutely not an issue with the book.

This covers everything I could possibly want from a book of this nature. There is a lot of background on vinegar history, science and a wealth of recipes (asparagus vinegar made from the woody ends?!), including those that sound disgusting to any normal human being but are weirdly appealing to fellow fermentation freaks (fermented banana pulp bread, anyone?). Also lots of tips on what to do with scraps and other things that are normally considered food waste.

So yeah I’m not really qualified enough to know if the actual content, recipes and tips are as good as they seem, but it’s super impressive for a total beginner and I will definitely use this as my reference book when I finally gather the courage to start making my own vinegar at home (and not just letting a small bottle of my kombucha sit for months so it gets ridiculously acidic, yum).

I think I slightly misunderstood this book, and thought it was about drinks made with vinegar rather than brewing vinegar itself. Nevertheless, this book is quite detailed and informative, with not only all the information a beginning vinegar-brewer would need to know, but also additional information about vinegar's use throughout history.

Amazing reference! Beautiful photography and detailed information and instructions. As a long-time kombucha brewer and apple cider vinegar lover, I can't wait to delve in and start making vinegars of my own!

What I could read of this ARC intrigued me and persuaded me to buy it when it is published, but the ARC is not completed enough to make coherent reading. It seriously cannot be read. Many of the pages have a lot of text that is grayed out and the next page will begin in mid-sentence. This book is also for those who are really interest in the history and science of vinegar, not just those who are looking for recipes .I am giving this only 2 stars for the problems with the ARC, not for the content I was able to read.

This is an extremely thorough and well researched book that will tell you everything you need to know about vinegar. From its history to the various types, ph levels, mom starterss, etc. etc. There are photographs throughout for this complicated and time-consuming process.

Ironically, I discovered I have no desire to put that much time and effort into something like a vinegar. But gourmands will find much to love here since this is the most comprehensive book I've ever seen on the subject. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Homebrewed Vinegar is a comprehensive guide with recipes to brewing and using vinegar by Kirsten K. Shockey. Due out 11th May 2021 from Storey, it's 296 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

I am enthusiastic about fermentation. I love homemade wines, became a beekeeper to fuel my mead brewing, make my own kimchi and other ferments, and just generally all around love the microbes which enrich our lives (and occasionally disappoint us when they're not where we think they should be). This is a really well written and *useful* guide to intentionally turning alcohol into vinegar, or as the author whimsically put it, acid alchemy. I'm also a person who -loves- vinegar and I've been known to sneak a spoonful of one of my collection of balsamic vinegars straight from the bottle.

The information is arranged logically and easy to find in the text. Chapters progress from an introduction, through the science of fermentation, an alcohol primer, alcohol to vinegar. The following chapters deep dive into vinegars from cider, wine, and beer and further into additional vegetable additives such as fruits, nuts, and even scraps and leavings. The final chapters present an impressive array of useful recipes.

The recipes contain an introduction, ingredients listed bullet style in a sidebar, and step by step instructions. Measurements are given in American standard, with metric in parentheses (yay!). The ingredients are mostly relatively easily sourced, but some will obviously require access to mail order or a specialty brewing supplier (especially the equipment).

The book is quite lavishly illustrated, the photographs are colorful, clear, and easy to understand. There are so many beautifully presented serving suggestions and the vinegars have such a lovely range of colors - they almost look like jewels in their glass jars. This is a book full of inspirations.

The author has also included a fairly comprehensive links and resources list for further reading. There are numerous specialty retailers as well as lots of fun links.

Five stars. This book would make a superlative selection for homebrewers, sustainable agriculture folks, smallholders, orchardists, gardeners, local food fans, adventuresome cooks, and other lifestyle readers. This is a passionately written, eminently reasonable, usable guide to making and enjoying vinegar for cuisine and health uses.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Very informative book! Loved all the history details, tools needed, how to make vinegar, recipes (really need to try Switchel), medicinal vinegar tips, tips, and beautiful photography.
Now I just need to gather my courage and make some home brewed vinegar.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storey Publishing for a early read of this great book

If the world needed a vinegar bible, this is it. This enormous book is packed with information about the benefits of vinegar, how to make your own, and why you should (I will never again buy white vinegar after reading what it really is). There are gorgeous color photos and a ton of diverse recipes. Love it.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

I will start off saying that though this book hasn’t been released I got a free digital copy for an honest review BUT before I even got that I actually already pre ordered the book. I have 3 others by the Shockeys (the one on vegetables, sauces, and tempeh/natto+), all of their books are amazing, full of info and tons of good quality pictures so you know what to expect from your ferments, which is why I didn’t hesitate in buying this one site unseen for an eventual May delivery. Fermenting has become my corona hobby and the only other book I have on fermenting that isn’t by this couple is my book on Kombucha and I think that’s only because they didn’t make one! The books starts out with what vinegar IS, which at first I was like “I know what vinegar is, I’m not an idiot”. Well, I apparently am! I never really thought about what vinegar might be, expect for maybe my over fermented kombucha. It then goes into the science behind vinegar, and when I decide to commit to something I want to know EVERYTHING I can so I this was very interesting and entertaining. My favorite chapter however is the ‘Waste Not Want Not’ chapter, creating vinegar from the stuff you would have thrown away (similar to the kraut I just cut up from a leftover cabbage after taking a few leaves for keto enchiladas using their Fermented Vegetables book).
When they go in depth as to what vinegar is and how it is made they give way more info, numbers crunching, and methods than you need. They also give you cheap DIY methods for doing things (like removing sulfites from wine for example can be done by mixing vigorously, or more expensively by adding fancy stuff to it or aerating with a fish tank set up…needless to say I will be doing the mixing method first!)
They are very careful to tell you the safe #s the vinegar has to have, not just for drinking but also if you want to use for pickling, or selling. I really appreciate this as safety is paramount when you do things at home like fermenting. I have PH strips and they stressed as I knew from making kombucha what good PH to look for to ensure it is safe to drink, they give you other tools and things you can do for measurements but since I plan on just using for me and gifting I won’t be purchasing any. :-D
This book is not for the faint of heart, ideally to get the safest batch of vinegar they tell you to measure sugar levels, alcohol levels, etc. I don’t have any of these tools and am definitely a beginner fermenter. Granted she does state many times that her recipes in this book have already been premeasured for safety so people like me don’t have to purchase every vinegar making gadget before knowing I want to commit. She also discusses the need for yeast, wild or commercial. Pros and cons of both as well as the fact that you can use them interchangeably if you prefer one over the other as you start making some of her recipes. I like that I can spice things up a bit and easily tailor it for what works in my house. I’m already planning to send my country living coworkers on a wild goose chase for some edible flowers so I can make a wild yeast starter. :-D
As I reached the beginning of the chapter about actually making the vinegar I knew I would be going back to the indepth explanations of the why/how. If you make wine/cider/or beer I am pretty sure a lot of this won’t be as complex as it seems to me as I first sit here reading this book. Especially since, prior to corona, if the grocery store didn’t make I sure wasn’t going to! I mean, other than regular dinners and stuff.
The making vinegar section jumps into 3 easy ways to get starts, with juice, with alcohol, or with fruit scraps. I don’t want to waste good alcohol so I plan on making with some store bought organic juice and house scraps first, see how that comes along. And I might try one with wild yeast and another with commercial bread making yeast that they offer as option.
I look forward to trying several of theirs, most of all the chocolate vinegar, universal wine vinegar (because it’s what I use the most), pineapple scraps vinegar (because I seem to have a ton of those!), molasses vinegar, bourbon style drinking vinegar for my bourbon loving husband, and the fire cider. I noticed they gave credit and interviewed Rosemary Gladstar that popularized and maybe created the fire cider, unlike many other sources that use it.
If you’ve dabbled in fermenting this is definitely a book to have as we all use vinegar!

So making vinegar is on my bucket list of things to do when I retire so coming across this book was a delight.

What did I like? This is a gorgeous book with some delightful history and an array of different kinds of vinegars and processes. The fire cider caught my eye among some other varieties. I plan on taking some classes on fermentation so this was a great peek at what I may come across. The author did a great job laying out the book and providing great pictures.

Would I recommend or buy? Yes to both. If your interested then this book is pretty appealing. The gorgeous pictures make you want to learn this alchemy since it’s long been predated in history. Five stars for an interesting book!

I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review.

Great ideas... lots of information and how to's.

Cant wait to try some of these!

Great details, love the pictures.

A good overview that provides an approachable introduction to a potentially intimidating topic. The introductory chapters in particular provide a wealth of information on the history of vinegar production and aid in understanding the complexities of an easily ignored kitchen staple.

I was impressed and surprised by how scientific this book ended up being. This book gives you a background of vinegar, steps to make it, and the history of vinegars.

This book is a tasty treat and a must have for anyone who likes to create in the kitchen whether a cook, baker, homebrewer, canner, whatever. I adore Shockey's sense of humor added here and there and grinned so much while reading this book. The recipes are fantastic but only a small part of what this book is - a science and art lesson of homebrewing. I can't rave about it enough!