It has been quite a while since I have made beet pickles. My mom's old recipe says 2 cups brown sugar and 2 cups vinegar, no mention of any water. I do think she would have used apple cider vinegar as she seldom used white vinegar as she said cider is stronger. When she used white vinegar, she specified that in the recipe. Cider vinegar was just "vinegar" The only other ingredients are 1/2 teaspoon salt and 3-4 cloves in each pint jar. I just remember they were very good and all of us kids loved them. I do remember boiling the beets, leaving a bit of the top and the root on. Boiling until tender, put in cool water, and the skin would easily slip off. It was a colorful operation with red beet juice everywhere. Our hands would be stained for a few days as I recall.