What is the relationship between vinegar and alcohol?

Alcohol is formed by fermenting raw materials such as grains, while vinegar is formed by further fermenting low-alcohol beverages. Both alcoholic beverage and vinegar brewing involve steaming and cooking the raw materials, followed by fermentation to produce a liquid containing ethanol. However, alcohol brewing from this point involves continuous steaming and cooking to improve the purity and clarity of the alcohol. Vinegar brewing, on the other hand, involves adding bran, acetic acid bacteria, etc., to the ethanol-containing liquid for secondary fermentation, allowing the acetic acid bacteria to convert ethanol into acetic acid. This is commonly known as brewing vinegar first, then alcohol; ethanol in the air is catalyzed by acetic acid bacteria to become acetic acid. However, brewing vinegar before brewing alcohol is not without conditions. The growth and reproduction of acetic acid bacteria are inhibited as the alcohol content increases, and an alcohol concentration above a certain level will directly kill acetic acid bacteria. Therefore, the ethanol content during vinegar brewing is kept very low. This is why it is difficult for spirits to turn into vinegar, while yellow wine and wine are easily oxidized due to sealing problems. Therefore, in many cases, yellow wine, wine, and low-alcohol spirits will turn into vinegar due to oxidation, while high-alcohol spirits or high-purity alcohol solutions are basically impossible to turn into vinegar.

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