Watch: Dexter Cider Mill reopens for 137th season
DEXTER, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The Dexter Cider Mill has reopened for the fall season and is marking its 137th year.
A favorite of locals and visitors alike, the owners say it's the longest-continuously operating cider mill in the state of Michigan.
Its famed cider is unpasteurized and is pressed on-site on an authentic oak press.
"It's an oak wood press, which makes it a little bit different than a lot of other presses today," said co-owner Marty Steinhauer. "And it just gives the cider a little bit of a different flavor."
The Steinhauer family is the third family to own the mill since it opened in 1886. In many ways, it's still run the way it was more than 100 years ago.
To press the apples, the apples are loaded into a washer upstairs and are sent down through a grinder, which shoots the fruit into a cloth.
The apples are then smoothed out, and a heavy rack is placed on top. This process is repeated 10 times, and all 10 racks are pressed by a hydraulic piston to squeeze the juice out.
A single press has 40 bushels of apples, which is close to 2,000 pounds of fruit.
"We'll get 130 to 140 gallons per press out of those 40 bushels of apples," said Steinhauer. "The equipment that's down there that's running the press is 110 to 115 years old. That's how they did it 80 years ago, 90 years ago, so it's pretty incredible to watch that work."
Another item that brings in thousands of visitors is the apple cider doughnuts, and it's a recipe that's closely guarded.
Co-owner Nancy Steinhauer was making the doughnuts while we were interviewing her.
A large fryer distributes the right amount of dough into hot oil, flips the doughnuts, dries them, and drops them onto a baking sheet.
Steinhauer would set plain doughnuts aside or apply a generous coating of cinnamon sugar.
"I've been coming here for over 40 years, and I love the smell of the fresh donuts and the fresh taste of the donuts, and it officially means that fall is here," said customer Trish Hanna.
Nancy's parents bought the mill in 1986 as a retirement project. She and Marty purchased the mill from them 20 years ago, and it's still a family-run business.
According to the Michigan Apple Commission, this year's harvest is projected to produce 32 million bushels of apples, which comes in just under last year's record-setting season with 32.38 million bushels.
"We have a small orchard in Chelsea," said Nancy. "It does not meet all of our needs, so we use a grower on the west side of the state, Michigan Apples, up in Conklin, Michigan, and we will go through 30 varieties from the beginning through the end of the season."
For the owners, meeting their customers is the highlight of each season.
"People in Michigan enjoy this; I mean, this is a fall tradition," said Marty. "And to see how many people come from all over. We get people who come in who say, 'I was here 60 years ago as a kid, I used to come in all the time.' So, to see the people that really enjoy it is really cool."
The Dexter Cider Mill is located at 3685 Central St. in Dexter.
For more information, visit its website.
