With a history that dates back to 1863, Yates Grist
Mill opened its doors beside the rapidly flowing waters
of the ‘then’ Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal. Amidst
the beautiful countryside of Rochester, Michigan the
memories began in full bloom
The Clinton River cascades over the Yates dam, which
supplies the headwaters to power the mill. The dam was
built to create a stream that the mill uses for water
power.
By 1876, the Yates family installed
a cider press into the existing water-powered process
and began producing delicious Michigan cider. It then
became known as Yates Cider Mill. Local farmers, orchard
owners and landowners would bring their apples to Yates
for custom apple pressing. Over all these years, Yates
has been producing the same kind of fresh 100% all natural
cider that folks enjoyed way back in 1876.
You can enjoy Yates Cider Mill and the beautiful
surrounding parks any day during the Fall.
Why not carve out a little time to enjoy making
your own memories at Yates Cider Mill?
What is SO SPECIAL about Yates Cider?
Yates is known for making a premium cider. During the
fall, as many as six different varieties of
apples are blended to produce delicious, 100%
natural Yates cider. Yates takes pride in selecting
the best balance of apples to give you the very
best, balanced flavor you can find anywhere.
Yates cider is made without preservatives. “Flash
pasteurization" is now added to the process for your safety. Please
remember- refrigeration is still required.
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Fat Free
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Sodium Free
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Cholesterol Free
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Only 120 calories per 8 oz serving
Our line-shaft driven, double table press can produce
300 gallons of fresh cider per hour!
In addition, we have the capacity to make all
the donuts you can possibly eat – always
fresh. In addition to donuts, we make fresh
apple pies, apple turnovers, apple crisp, and caramel
apples daily. You'll also want to try our apple
butter, apple syrup, apple jelly and dutch-apple jam-
DELICIOUS!
Detailed History and How Apple Cider is Made.
We love visitors! We
are one of the most popular local attractions
for those who live in our area as well as tourists from all over the U.S. and around the world.
School and scout groups
love to tour our facility and eat our yummy goodies.
WE ARE HERE TO SERVE YOU!
You are the reason we make cider!
Visitors are able to watch cider being
made from start to finish and then purchase the freshest
cider and snacks possible! Our unique
atmosphere offers a place to rest, a place to make
memories and for many, a place to indulge!
Thousands of visitors pay us a visit throughout the
fall it’s a festive atmosphere for an experience
that doesn’t disappoint. We are a ‘piece
of the country pie’ amidst a fast growing
suburbia in Oakland County.
The apples we use at our mill are exclusively
grown in Michigan. When you drink our cider,
eat our apples, enjoy our pies and crisps you
are enjoying good ole fashioned Michigan hospitality.
Our visitors can learn our history and
see our process. With our 26-inch water turbine providing
direct power for the complete cider operation it’s
an experience young and old are thrilled by. This
very turbine was installed in 1894, making this a
hundred-plus year legend! Our 58-inch culvert
carries the water underground from a diversion dam
right across the street to the mill, providing water
power for the turbine.
The process of cider making starts with
apples arriving on a flatbed truck
from Michigan orchards near and far.
These 20-bushel boxes are unloaded by a forklift –
each weighs about 1000 pounds! The
apples are then unloaded into a dumper-washer inspection
area where cleaning, grinding and pressing
begins!
As a visitor at Yates Cider Mill we
LOVE TO MAKE YOU a part of our process by letting
you have a birds eye view!
The apples not scheduled for direct
use are placed in cold storage at
the mill.
The rest of the apples are cleaned, taken up on an elevator and dropped
into a hopper. This cone-shaped box holds
150 bushels and is located on the second floor
of the cider mill. Below, on the first floor, the
remainder of the operation takes place.
A trap door on the bottom of
the hopper is controlled by a handle on the
first floor, allowing the fruit to fall thru
to the first floor chute. On their way down the chute,
the apples are chopped into small pieces,
about four bushels at a time, then placed in a special
nylon blanket. This process continues until
up to 12 blankets are stacked.
The layers of chopped apples are on
a large turntable that rotates under
the apple press. The Yates Cider Mill press is called
a ‘screw press’ because
large screws turn to make the press go down.
Putting 50 tons of pressure on the
blankets of chopped apples makes some FINE
CIDER! As the press goes down on
the blankets, the cider comes thru the
weave in the cloth leaving the seeds, peelings
and pulp to remain inside the blanket. All
by-products are then discarded down a chute in the
floor and into a small railroad car under the mill.
Periodically, the car is transferred to the
dump area.
The cider flows from
the press to our chilled mixing tank.
From here, the cider is filtered
to remove any and all small apple particles.
Lastly, the cider is flash pasteurized before
bottling.
Yates cider is made without preservatives.
“Flash pasteurization" is now used for
your safety. Please remember-
refrigeration is still required.
See additional tour information under
the “Tour Tab” to find out more about
bringing your group to Yates for a special
look into the Yates cider-making
process.
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