Yates Cider Mill – photo by Michael Dwyer
Landmark Cider Mill Opens on Tax Day
The late start to spring, a dusting of snow, and cleaning up the yard might remind you of last November – so you had better go to the cider mill too. Yates Cider Mill opened Tuesday for a spring pressing. Occasionally, Michigan apple growers have a surplus of apples in cold storage that allow cider mills to offer a pressing this time of year. Yates did this a couple of years ago. At first, the mill was planning on two weekends back in 2012, but the word spread and they stayed open for two full weeks. This time, owner Mike Titus tells Rochester Media they plan to press cider for 3-4 weeks.
“Better than just cold storage,” said Mike Titus, the apples are stored in a “controlled atmosphere that removes the oxygen and keeps bacteria from forming.” This process preserves the apples in a sort of suspended animation. The respiration of the fruit is slowed; and keeps it fresh for nearly a year. Thanks to the bumper apple crop of 2013, cider mills such as Yates can offer a sweet reminder of fall this spring.
Yates in the Spring
Yates Cider Mill will have cider and donuts – of course – when April visitors come to the mill, as well as all their regular bakery items. Sparkling cider will be available in apple, cranberry and cherry blends. Sparkling cider is a non-alcoholic, carbonated drink for those who want a little fizz to their cider beverage.
The spring pressing period will also open the ice cream shop at Yates where they serve traditional scoop ice cream and frozen custard. Mike Titus suggests the Yates Specialty Sundaes and the Cider Crème – popular sweet treats – available when the ice cream shop opens around May 1.
Fans of the fudge shop and other outside activities usually found at the mill will have to wait until fall. Titus plans to open the last week of August or the first week of September. Since spring is running late year, so will the apples will late. We should know “by the end of May,” said Titus, “depends on the blossoms” and then “pray for no frost” after that.
Coming Soon to Orion Township
A new Yates outpost will be opening at Canterbury Village, off Joslyn Road between Waldon and Scripps Roads. This new location will be open year-round with all the Yates favorites, a coffee shop, donuts, ice cream and of course cider in the fall season. “Canterbury Village is going in a fresh direction,” said Titus, and Yates is proud to be “part of the community there.”
Yates Cider Mill opens for a special spring cider pressing
Yates Cider Mill
1990 East Avon Road
248-651-8300
Hours for spring cider pressing:
8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday
9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (closed Easter Sunday)
About Michael Dwyer
How long does your cider stay in refrigerator
7-14 days. Pasteurized lasts longest, at least two weeks. Untreated and UV treated should be used up in a week. You can freeze cider for up to a year (leave room for expansion in the container).