Preserving Apples: How to Make Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar
Homemade apple cider vinegar is one of my favorite things to make and preserve. That’s because we use apple cider vinegar, also known as ACV, pretty much every single day! It’s also incredibly healthy for you. We love to use it for salad dressing, homemade fire cider, or take small shots straight! Since we have an apple tree that provides us with more apples than we can consume fresh, this is a fantastic zero-waste solution to preserve our apple harvests.
The best news of all is that apple cider vinegar is quite simple to make at home. We usually use whole apples since we often have abundance, but you can also make ACV using apple scraps too. One very common method is to save up used apple skins and cores over time, storing them in the freezer, before starting a batch of ACV.
Read along to learn how to turn apples or scraps into fermented, probiotic-rich, delicious homemade apple cider vinegar. This post will provide easy step-by-step instructions, tips to make the best-tasting apple cider vinegar, and ideas for ways to use ACV too.
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Benefits of Making Your Own Apple Cider Vinegar
It’s Cost Effective
When we buy apple cider vinegar, we choose the high quality stuff: raw, organic, unfiltered, “with the mother”… such as Braggs, our go-to brand. While I wouldn’t call ACV expensive, it isn’t necessarily as cheap as more basic vinegars, like white or red wine vinegar. Plus, if you use it as regularly as we do, it can add up! Making your own apple cider vinegar at home has huge cost-savings benefits, especially if you’re using scraps, homegrown, or otherwise low-cost apples. Even if you buy them just for this project, a few apples can create a lot of vinegar!
It Reduces Waste
We always suggest discarding excess produce in a compost system, as opposed to throwing them in the trash. On this little homestead, we have several types of compost bins that help take care of the majority of our kitchen and garden waste. Personally, our favorite composting method is vermicomposting, also known as worm composting. So, while you could compost your excess apple scraps, why not turn them into apple cider vinegar instead? Up-cycling for the win!
It is Healthy & Versatile
Apple cider vinegar has many wonderful uses and surprising health benefits! As with all fermented foods, it’s loaded with probiotics. This means ACV aids in digestion and helps to balance gut health. Did you know there is a direct correlation between a healthy gut and every other organ in the body? To read more about the health benefits of fermented foods, check out this article that I wrote on that subject.
Homemade ACV can be used for a lot more than drinking or eating! See other uses for apple cider vinegar at the end of this post.
How does apple cider vinegar help diabetes and blood sugar?
One of the key active components of apple cider vinegar is acetic acid. Acetic acid is excellent at slowing gastric emptying and reducing blood sugar spikes, thus stabilizing blood glucose levels. Being Type 1 Diabetic, I find that if I take a shot of ACV before a meal, I have improved blood sugar levels following that meal! Studies have shown to have similar effects for those with Type 2 Diabetes, when either taken with a meal or before bedtime.
SUPPLIES NEEDED
- Organic apples, or apple scraps – For this recipe, you can use whole apples or apple scraps. A great time to make apple cider vinegar is after creating another apple dish, like baking apple pie, when you have a lot of cores and skins at once! If you cannot collect fresh scraps at one time, store them in the freezer as you continue to add to your supply. Organic produce is always the best choice, especially when it comes to fermenting! See notes on apple varieties below.
The amount of apples needed is totally flexible. As you’ll see in the recipe section below, you can scale the portions up or down as needed. - Filtered Water or other un-chlorinated water is best for making living, fermented things like homemade apple cider vinegar. Do your best with what you have! We simply run ours through a basic carbon filter (in the fridge).
- Organic cane sugar
- A large glass vessel, your choice of size. We make large batches in this two-gallon glass crock, but many people use far smaller containers – like quart or half-gallon mason jars!
- Bottles to store your finished apple cider vinegar in. You won’t need these for a few months, so you have time to collect some. We simply repurpose old Braggs ACV bottles!
Wait… Did you just say you won’t need bottles for a few months? Yes. Fair warning: this process takes several months from start to finish. The minimum time from starting to using the finished product is about 2 months, though some people let their ACV ferment for 4 months or longer.
What are the best apple varieties to make apple cider vinegar?
The best-tasting apple cider vinegar will result from using a variety of different apple types, if possible. Using a combination of sweet and tart apples creates a well-balanced finished flavor. A good goal is to use about two-thirds sweet apple varieties like Gala or Fuji (our Anna apple falls into that category) and one-third tart, such as Granny Smith. Pink Lady would fall somewhere in between. Truth be told, we don’t always mix in tart varieties with our Anna’s since some are picked slightly underripe and tart. It still turns out pretty damn good, just not quite as tangy.
HOMEMADE APPLE CIDER VINEGAR RECIPE
When you’re making apple cider vinegar, the goal is to fill your chosen container about halfway full of chopped apples or apple scraps. Then, the rest of the container is filled with a combination of water and dissolved sugar.
Sugar to water ratio: 1 tablespoon of sugar per one cup of water, or scaled up to 1 cup of sugar per one gallon of water.
Yes, the use of sugar is essential in this process. There are several types of beneficial bacteria naturally present on fruit, including our friends lactobacillus and acetobacter. The addition of sugar provides food for those bacteria to rapidly grow and thrive. They will change the environment in the crock through a series of chemical reactions, first changing the sugar to alcohol, and then further transforming that alcohol into acetic acid over time. Therefore, the final apple cider vinegar is very, very low in sugar, and the alcohol content is virtually non-existent!
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1) Gather & Prepare Apples
If you are using collected apple scraps, this part is extra easy! There is no prep needed. If your apple scraps were frozen, let them thaw out before starting. A cold ferment is not a happy ferment! I do suggest adding at least some fresh scraps with your frozen ones, if possible. This will ensure your brew is inoculated with live bacteria. When making apple cider vinegar with whole apples, the prep is pretty dang easy too. Simply wash the fruit well with water (no soap!) and chop them up into smallish chunks. You can leave the skins, cores, seeds, and even stems in there!
Add the apples to your glass container of choice, filling it about halfway full with apples. We use this 2-gallon container, but many people make much smaller batches! Ensure the container is nice and clean, but doesn’t have any soap residue present – which can cause off-flavors. We clean all of our fermentation supplies with plain white vinegar and hot water.
2) Add Water & Sugar
Next, it is time to get wet and feed the bacteria! Pour room-temperature to lukewarm filtered water over the apples until the container is completely full. Keep track of how much water you add as you go! To do this, I suggest adding water with a measuring cup, or a jar that you can note the volume of. We need to know the water volume to determine how much sugar to add.
Unfortunately, it isn’t as simple as half of your container. For example, when we fill a 2-gallon crock “half full” of apples, that doesn’t mean it is taking up a true half of the volume – because of the air space between the cut fruit. We can generally still fit 1.5 gallons of water inside.
Now, scaling up or down as needed, add 1 tablespoon of sugar per one cup of water used, or 1 cup of sugar per one gallon of water. Stir thoroughly until all of the sugar appears to have dissolved into the water. Here is where the “lukewarm” water helps out!
To inoculate and kick start our batch, we usually add a few glugs of finished apple cider vinegar. This step isn’t necessary, but may help prevent the formation of mold – especially if you are attempting to do this during a cold time of year.
3) Let Sit to Ferment – and Stir!
Once the apples, water, and sugar are all combined, cover your container with a breathable material, such as a lint-free tea towel, old pillow case, or coffee filter. I do not suggest using cheesecloth or any looser-knit material – it may allow fruit flies in!
Set this container in a location that is around 70 to 75°F, if possible. This is the ideal temperature range for fermentation. The container should also be kept in a dark location. Because we need to see and access it daily for the first two weeks (described below), we keep ours out on the kitchen counter, but wrap the crock in a dark towel or pillowcase to block the light.
For the first two weeks, your fermenting apples should be stirred every day. The purpose is to ensure the sugar doesn’t settle on the bottom, and also rotate which pieces are floating on top. If the same apples are left to float, exposed to the air, there is a chance of mold developing on them. Stirring prevents mold. If you miss a day here or there, it isn’t the end of the world! However, I suggest making a concerted effort stirring daily during the first week especially.
During this time, you’ll notice the apples will turn more brown, and the liquid becomes cloudy. Small bubbles should also appear, and it will start to smell a bit like hard apple cider. A layer of yellowish-white sediment may also collect on the bottom. This is all normal and good! Any obvious, fuzzy, green or white raised mold on the surface is not. In all the years making ACV, we have never had ours mold!
RELATED: Looking for more ways to preserve apples? Try making dehydrated apple chips, or our delicious apple butter recipe for canning or the freezer!
Step 4) Strain Apples
After two weeks of daily stirring, it is time to strain the apples to separate them from the liquid. To accomplish this, we set a fine-mesh strainer on top of a large bowl and slowly pour the contents of the crock through it. You can also use cheesecloth, or whatever else works! The collected fruit can now be composted. Return the captured liquid to a clean glass container of the appropriate size, and cover in the same manner it was before.
Step 5) Continue to Ferment
This is where the waiting game begins… Store your covered crock in a temperate, dark location for at least one month, or longer! The bacteria will keep working to convert more and more of the sugar or alcohol to acetic acid, creating vinegar. The rate at which your partially fermented apple cider turns into full-blown vinegar will vary, depending on the storage conditions and apples used. Our apple cider vinegar usually sits for about 2 to 3 more months before we bottle it.
After a month has passed, you can give your vinegar a taste-test. If it tastes plenty vinegary for your liking, move on to the next step. If not, allow it to ferment longer. When it doubt, you can check the pH of your apple cider with these simple pH test strips! Finished apple cider vinegar should have a pH in the range of 2-3.
Note: During this time, sometimes the vinegar develops a layer of SCOBY on the top – sort of like kombucha does! It is a thin, smooth, off-white membrane made up of accumulated beneficial bacteria and yeast. It is normal and harmless. We discard it once we are ready to bottle the vinegar. Our chickens love to eat SCOBY, but make sure to chop it up well for them!
Step 6) Bottle & Enjoy
Once it reaches that perfect fermentation level, transfer the apple cider vinegar into bottles with tight-fitting lids for storage. We re-use old ACV bottles, or store it in our swing-top kombucha bottles. As an acidic concoction, homemade apple cider vinegar does not have to be refrigerated for safety-sake! It is best to store it in a relatively cool, dark place.
If we have the space, we typically refrigerate at least some of our bottles at this point. Why? Well, once they’re refrigerated, the bacteria activity will slow way down and prevent the vinegar from fermenting beyond the point we enjoy it. Plus, most people like to enjoy their ACV cold anyways! I know we do.
Even stored at room temperature, homemade apple cider vinegar will stay good for up to five years! However, the quality and flavor will likely be best within the first two years.
Ways to Use Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar can be used in wide variety of meals, recipes, taken straight on it’s own, or used in other natural health, home, and body care applications.
- As a salad dressing – drizzled over salad with olive oil, or used in other salad dressing recipes.
- Make shrubs, aka drinking vinegar! Use our fruit shrub recipe to combine AVC, honey, and your choice of fresh fruit to make a delicious gut-healthy sweet and sour syrup to add to sparkling water, cocktails, mocktails, salad dressing and more.
- Use apple cider vinegar in other recipes that call for vinegar, such as our favorite easy refrigerator dill pickles. We also like to add a small drizzle to egg salad, potato salad, and similar dishes.
- Take a small shot (1 to 2 Tbsp) before a meal to reduce blood sugar spikes (aka postprandial blood glucose levels).
- Learn how to make homemade fire cider with apple cider vinegar here. Made with garlic, onion, turmeric, ginger, honey, and spices, fire cider a fantastic tangy tonic that can support your immune system and naturally reduce the intensity and duration of cold and flu symptoms.
- ACV can be diluted and used as a hair rinse, which removes built up minerals in your hair (such as from hard water) while also conditioning, balancing, pH, and healing hairs outer cuticle.
- Many herbalists and naturalists use ACV as a natural facial toner, or as an ingredient in other natural beauty and healing remedies!
- Acidic vinegar makes a great natural surface cleaner and disinfectant, such as in the sink, garbage disposal, stinky cutting boards, or even used to soften laundry. Learn more about using vinegar as a cleaner here.
And that’s how to make apple cider vinegar!
I hope you found this tutorial helpful, and interesting! Next time we have an abundance of apples, I think we are going to take a stab at making our own hard cider. I will report back! Do you brew your own apple cider vinegar, or hard cider? What are your other favorite ways to preserve apples?
If you are interested in other healthy fermented goodies, you may enjoy these articles:
- How (& Why) to Make Fire Cider for Immune Health – We use our ACV as the base for this recipe!
- Easy Fermented Garlic Honey Recipe + Benefits and Uses
- How to Make Kombucha 101: Brewing Basics for Best Booch Ever
- Fermented Dilly Radishes Recipe
- Homemade Elderberry Syrup Recipe – Not fermented… but oh so good for you!
Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar
Ingredients
- Diced apple chunks, or apple scraps (skins, cores). Enough to fill half of your chosen fermenting vessel (e.g. quart jar, half-gallon jar, 1 gallon crock)
- 1 tbsp sugar, per 1 cup filtered water OR
- 1 cup sugar, per 1 gallon of filtered water
Instructions
- Wash and chop the apples into chunks, or gather collected apple scraps (which can be saved in the freezer over time) and add them to your jar or other large fermenting vessel until it filled about halfway full.
- Pour lukewarm filtered water over the apples into the container until it is almost full, but measure/note the total amount of water added.
- Stir in sugar in ratios of 1 tablespoon of sugar per cup of water added, or for larger batches, 1 cup of sugar per gallon of water added.
- Optional: Add a splash of finished organic apple cider vinegar (e.g. store-bought) to inoculate the culture and encourage fermenting.
- Stir combined ingredients until thoroughly mixed, and cover with breathable material.
- Store in a dark location around 70 to 75 degrees F for two weeks to ferment, and stir everyday to prevent mold from forming on top. If needed, add another layer of material like a dark towel on top of the container to block light.
- After two weeks, strain and reserve the liquid into a similar sized container and cover again. Compost the spent fruit.
- Move the covered container of liquid to a location that is out of the way to continue long term fermentation. Maintain dark. A cooler "room temperature" at this stage is okay, but do not refrigerate yet.
- After one month, sample the vinegar to see if it is finished fermenting and tart to your liking. If needed, allow it to continue to ferment for a total of two to three months.
- Once it is fermented to your desired flavor, transfer the apple cider vinegar into bottles with lids (or swing top bottles). Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator, and enjoy!
- Properly fermented apple cider vinegar should "stay good" for over a year – as long as it does not have visible mold, or a strong and unusual flavor or appearance.
625 Comments
Andrew
the instructions say to put the water in first then add the sugar determined by the volume of water ….. can i not just mix up one gallon of water with the correct sugar amount then pour it into my one gallon containe and discard the excess?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Andrew, yes you can.
Sarah Leavitt
I am new to making cider and vinegar, but bought a big antique grinder and press. I am curious if there is a benefit to making vinegar the way you describe or with fresh pressed apple cider? Thanks!
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Sarah, since you have an apple press, you may as well put it to use and make ACV with just the apple cider itself. I think some people add yeast or even a little bit of apple cider vinegar with the mother just to give the apple cider a kick start. You won’t have to worry about stirring the ACV daily as you would if you chop up the apples and let them ferment that way, although I would recommend straining the ACV once it reaches your preferred flavor after a few months of fermentation if it looks like there is too much sediment in the vinegar. Hope that helps and good luck!
Carol
Sounds wierd I know but can you make vinegar from other fruits! Pears or peaches as example?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Carol, yes you can! I would assume that pear vinegar could be made in a similar way to our apple cider vinegar here, however, peach vinegar may need more or less sugar or water. Plus the softer fruits like stone fruit or berries need to be watched much more closely as they can likely mold quicker than apples or pears. People also infuse white wine vinegar with fruit to make a fruit vinegar that way as well, we have done something similar with our chive blossom vinegar. Hope that helps and good luck!
Jen
About a week in to the process! The apple scraps I used were from home grown apples. I used scraps of the imperfect apples and though I thought I discarded all of the bad parts I have now found a few apple worms in my brew when I stir it. They are not fruit fly larva, but worms that had been in the cores or other pieces of the scraps used. Do you think my vinegar will be safe to drink with these as part of the brew??
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Jen, if you can take out some of the apple pieces or caterpillars in the ACV I would likely try and remove them when possible, however, it likely won’t have a negative effect on your ACV and ferment process. Just be on the lookout for mold and stir your apples everyday to help prevent it. Hope that helps and good luck!
Kay
What keeps it from evaporating during all this time with a breathable cover on it?
Pretty sure even if I used a jar as big as yours, after 4 months it would be down to a couple inches! (Here abouts anyway. Used to have some fish tanks, don’t ask me how I know about the evaporation levels… 😮😉) Thanks. 🙂
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Kay, surprisingly our vinegar doesn’t ever reduce to that point, we usually let it sit for 2-3 months in the second ferment stage. If you are worried about evaporation, you could use a crock which has a loose fitting lid or even place a small plate over the top of the crock which may keep some of the moisture from evaporating. Hope that helps and good luck!
Mary
I have tried this out. Love I can make it at home.
Celine
Hi, thanks for a very clear set of instructions for making ACV! I’m in the UK and am just about to try making some ACV using organic apples I bought from the supermarket. Even thought they’re organic, some stores in the UK spray their apples with a preservative, so to be safe I want to peel the apples first and discard the skiin. Is it still possible to make ACV without the skin, or does the skin contain all the necessary ‘good’ bacteria?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Celine, it should be fine to remove the peels if you feel they have been sprayed with a preservative, there should still be plenty of good bacteria and microbes in the rest of the apple. Good luck!
Ss
I’m making vinegar and strained the apples out today. The color is cloudy, yellowish. But it seems to have an off smell (I spilled some liquid on the counter). The smell is almost acidic and cheesy. That doesn’t seem good. Should I discard and start over? Or let the liquid ferment a bit longer?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Ss, if you fermented the apples for two weeks, stirred it daily, and saw no mold on the apples throughout the process, the smell is not something you should worry about. I can’t speak for a cheesy smell but it will definitely have an acidic smell, almost acetone like. I think you should move on to the next step of the fermentation process and proceed as described in the article. Hope that helps and good luck!
Kim Parker
Deanna, First your tutorial is so easy to follow and I thank you for that. I just finished processing our own apples from our 2 trees. I have two 1 gallon jars over 1/2 full with apples cores, skins and pieces, and one 2 gallon jar 3/4 full of the apples. Just made it today. I covered with cloth and will stir everyday for 2 weeks. My question is, for phase 2 when I strain out the apples, can I combine the liquid of all three jars in 1 jar (if it will fit) for the phase 2 process? Thanks for you time and God Bless you both.
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Kim and congratulations on your huge apple harvest! Absolutely you can combine the liquid from the separate jars so you have fewer containers to store for the second ferment stage, good luck and enjoy!
Ivana
Thanks very much for the recipe, it’s very easy to follow. I just started a long term fermentation of my ACV, and I was wondering if I should still keep covering the container with a breathable cloth, or should I switch to a lid at this point.
Thank you
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Ivana, you could use either at this stage, we always just keep the same breathable cloth on that we used in the first ferment stage. However, if you do use a lid, just be sure that it is a loose fitting lid. Hope that helps and good luck with the rest of your ferment process!
CB
I made vinegar for the first time last year using your recipe and loved it! Your instructions were very clear and easy to follow. The vinegar is almost as sweet and tasty as apple juice with a good bite to it.
Can I follow the same process and make vinegar with other kinds of fruit? I tried it last year with blackberries, but it molded.
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi CB, it should still work for berries and other fruit such as pears, but if you are using more perishable fruit such as berries, the likelihood of mold will increase. If doing so, it’s even more important to keep the fruit below the water line as it may mold easier while being exposed to oxygen if floating on top of the water surface. You could also just soak some berries in either white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar for a couple weeks before straining the fruit from the fruit infused vinegar. Hope that helps and good luck!
Mary Oliver
Can you tell me where to purchase the test strips to see if my homemade apple cider vinegar is strong enough to can with?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Mary, you could use these test strips but if you want to use the ACV for canning other food items, I would maybe look into a more reliable or accurate testing instrument as you want to be absolutely sure that your ACV acidity level is at least 5% but I am not sure how that translates to pH in test strips or even a pH probe/meter to know if you’ve reached that acidity level? Hope that helps and good luck!
Brittany Manning
I’m in phase one right now and had a few incidences and wondering if you can give me some direction. First, after about 5 days my cider started leaking. I was storing it in a water dispenser because I didn’t have anything else large enough and The spout didn’t seem to be up and it didn’t seem to be too full. I was burping it (but maybe not as frequently as I should have?). Could that be the gas pressure build up?
Next, the smell is getting a little bit rough for my family. I’m not sure where to store it. I recognize that it’s instructed to stir it every day, so I’m worried about putting it so we’re all forget, but aside for that, I’m wondering if I could keep it outside. It is currently about 70 as the high each day. Also I’m concerned about whether animals might get to it.
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Brittany, your ACV should have a loose fitting lid or a tight knit towel over the top of it for a lid but both of them should allow oxygen to flow in or out of the container as you should have no need to “burp” the jar as there shouldn’t be a build up of gasses at all this way. The ACV shouldn’t have too bad of a smell to it at this point at all, it almost sounds like you took a step towards make hard apple cider without using an air lock and burped the container instead?
David Smith
Good day,
I hope you could advise me. I have stared with my ACV, successfully finished Phase 1 and strained the apples, leaving just the liquid/vinegar which needs to stand for one to three months. What I’d like to know, do I need to stir the liquid/vinegar every day or two during this second Phase of fermentation, or do you simple leave it to stand, not interfering with it?
Thank You very much for your advice.
Regards, David
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi David, congratulations on making it to the second step of the fermentation stage! Thankfully in the second step, you don’t need to do anything to the vinegar aside from letting it age until it reaches the flavor you are looking for. Good luck!
David Smith
Good day, Aaron
Thank You very much for taking the time to reply to my message. I appreciate giving me the peace of mind that I can leave my ACV to mature now without interfering with it. I hope no mold will grow, thumbs crossed.
Enjoy your weekend ahead.
Kind regards,
David
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Sounds good David, your vinegar should be fermented enough as to not worry too much about mold growth so you should be in the clear now. Good luck and enjoy!
Annika
I made it to the point where I strained out the apples and am left with the cider. I’m just confused on if I need to continue to cover it with a breathable cloth like before, or put a lid on it? Also, it smells like alcohol… is this normal?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Annika, it’s normal for it to have an alcohol like smell since it has been fermenting. We always just use the same towel for the lid as we did during the first ferment stage for the second ferment. Hope that helps and enjoy!
Dawn
Can I ask why you discard the skoby? Most organic acv that I buy has the skoby (or Mother) in the jar and I’ve always been told it’s very beneficial for us?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Dawn, we actually add some ACV with the mother to our initial ferment of ACV to help give it a kickstart but we have removed the formed SCOBY at Step 5 mostly due to the fact that it will spread across the top of the crock, making it a difficult shape to fit inside your smaller bottles once you bottle your ACV. You can keep sections of the SCOBY if you prefer but the vinegar will already have a healthy population of bacteria and will sometimes form another SCOBY inside your bottles once you bottle the vinegar. Hope that helps and good luck!
25yrNovice
Just starting out but I too was curious about tossing the SCOBY it in Step 5 “Note”:
“Note: During this time, sometimes the vinegar develops a layer of SCOBY on the top – sort of like kombucha does! It is a thin, smooth, off-white membrane made up of accumulated beneficial bacteria and yeast. It is normal and harmless. We discard it once we are ready to bottle the vinegar. Our chickens love to eat SCOBY, but make sure to chop it up well for them!”
I agree that putting a portion in the bottle with ACV or saving for the next batch. Now its likely frequent production would create a plethora that needs to be pared down and feeding to livestock would be a benificial use.
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
We have found that if a SCOBY forms in your main crock, it is likely an odd shape or size to fit into smaller bottles without cutting it up into smaller portions. However, the vinegar as is, will still have more than enough beneficial bacteria to where even once your ACV is bottled, a SCOBY may start to form inside of those as well. Hope that helps and enjoy!