Fresh cider is not pasteurized. That gives it a distinctive fresh taste, and it also means that it will ferment if left to itself.

Here's a list of some of the local cider mills that make cider on-site, with a look specifically at the cider makers that are part of the Michigan Cider Makers Guild. And no look at cider can go without a mention of the fresh hot doughnuts that go with them.

About the Michigan Cider Makers Guild

The Michigan Cider Makers Guild is an association of producers in the state who have joined together to set standards for fresh cider production:

"The Guild is patterned after the craft guilds of the Middle Ages. It restricts membership to those who meet its stringent quality standards, and it has a vigorous program to keep its members up to date on improvements in cider-making practices. Michigan's leading cider mills have joined the Guild."

Dexter Cider Mill, Dexter

The Dexter Cider Mill is located on the bank of the Huron River in Dexter at 3685 Center St. Corinna Borden wrote about her visit to the mill in September, with a video of the pressing process.

An account of a visit this fall from the Stuff and Things weblog: "The cider mill had a couple of local vendors set up out front selling trinkets and crates and crates of apples. Once inside the store, one encounters a barrage of all things apple. We limited our purchases to a gallon or so of cold cider, a dozen and a half apple juice sweetened doughnuts, a dozen or so honeycrisp apples, and a loaf of apple nut bread, which I bought for myself and took home. Then we went around back to a nice river overlook and proceeded to polish off pretty much everything. We had to scuffle a little bit with the innumerable yellow jackets that were trying to drink our apple cider and share our various sources of fructose."

Alber Orchard, Manchester

Alber Orchard in Manchester was profiled by Jessica Levine, who described her trip to the orchard in early October. She recommends the doughnuts, which come from Benny's Bakery in Saline.

The weblog Weddingbee went out on a search for a location for engagement photos, and came back with this account and some beautiful photos: "We are so excited and really think this is the perfect spot for us. The cider was amazing, the best we have had during our search. Yum!"

Doughnuts

No account of cider can go without a mention of donuts.

The Arborwiki donuts page has this to say about cider mill doughnuts:

"The best donuts in the area, better than all urban competitors, are at the orchards, like the Dexter Cider Mill, Wasem Fruit Farm or Wiards Orchard. The Dexter Cider Mill fries their own on-site, so you walk away with bag of hot, greasy, fried delicious-ness. They come with either cinnamon sugar or some glaze. Cinnamon is recommended, as is a jug of cold cider. Wasem's has a donut making machine in plain sight, with the full-fat glory of the process revealed to all. You can smell the donuts cooking fresh daily as you enter Wiard's Orchard country store. Enjoy one of the many home made varieties."

Further afield

The Chowhound discussion in 2007 on southeastern Michigan cider mills has an extended list of cider mills across metro Detroit, with reviews and discussion of both the quality of the cider and the quality of the doughnuts.

Michigan.org's list of farm and mill attractions includes lists of cider mills in southeast Michigan and the Thumb.

Taking care with your cider

Fresh cider is unpasteurized cider. It is particularly important to buy your fresh cider from a producer you trust to have good production practices, and in particular one that is aware of the risk to the public from contamination of the cider by bacteria including E. coli. A 2008 outbreak of E. coli was linked to fresh cider in southeast Iowa,

A 2007 paper from researchers at Michigan State University, entitled Microbial levels in Michigan apple cider and their association with manufacturing practices, was printed in the Journal of Food Protection: 

"Cider samples were obtained from Michigan mills between 1997 and 2004 and analyzed for Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, generic E. coli, total coliforms, and aerobic bacteria. Neither E. coli O157:H7 nor Salmonella were detected in any tested cider samples, suggesting a very low frequency of pathogens in Michigan apple cider. The persistent and relatively high frequency of generic E. coli observed in samples obtained in all years indicates a continued risk of pathogen contamination in Michigan apple cider, especially when it is untreated."

Edward Vielmetti can't keep cider in the fridge long enough to let it go hard. Reach him at edwardvielmetti@annarbor.com.