How vinegar is produced in modern days

The first modern commercial process in developing vinegar was developed in 1823, when the generator method was first introduced in Germany, by a German chemist called Schutzenbach. This method uses a large generator which is packed with porous material or beachwood shavings. Alcohol-containing feed is allowed to trickle down these materials, while air is supplied from the bottom either by forced or natural convection. In this way, the air aupply to the fermenting bacteria is increased dramatically compared to the Orleans method, and reduces the amount of time required to produce vinegar from months to weeks.

The latest and fastest process(and most common) in developing vinegar today came in 1955 when Otto Hromatka and Heinrich Ebner reported on a new method of making vinegar using submerged acetification. Submerged culture fermentation was first developed during World War II for the production of penicillin, but it was soon found to be a good way to develop vinegar as well. Submerged fermentation improves and allows better control of fermentation conditions like aeration, stirring, heating, etc. In this process, the mash contained in large fermentors is stirred and aerated frequently, and the fermentors are usually fitted with heat exchangers for the maintanence of optimum temperature during the fermentation process. A major improvement over the generator method, the submerged fermentation method now allows acetification to be achieved within days.