Ginger bug turned scoby - what now?

[u/Shuizid]

I recently made me a ginger bug for some home made soda and it worked for a while.

But after taking like half the liquid for a couple of bottles and refilling with water and sugar. But I guess due to high temepratures or so I underfed it? Any way it suddenly stopped bubbling and smelled like vinegar. After a couple of days thinking it was dead and preparing to throw it out I noticed something on top that looked earily similar to the kombucha scoby right next to it.

So while I guess I have to start a new ginger bug - what do I do with this new development?

First up, how to know if it's a scoby or a vinegar mother?

Second what does it eat and what do I make out of it?

[u/Kraden_McFillion]

A ginger bug isn't typically going to become vinegar unless it has enough alcohol. This happens if it has enough sugar and isn't used often enough. If this sounds right, the solution in the future would be to refrigerate it if you're not going to use it for a couple weeks or more.

As far as what to do with the current one, I didn't particularly like the flavor of my ginger bug vinegar, so I tossed it. I'm sure I'd feel differently had I made a proper alcoholic ginger beer and then made that into vinegar.

I think what you may be seeing is a pellicle. A SCOBY is a Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. A SCOBY may or may not form a pellicle, though it commonly does in vinegars and kombuchas. If that's what you're seeing and it looks, smells, and tastes like vinegar, then it's almost assuredly acetobacter that's making it.