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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
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Trax Farms —
THERE’S NOTHING FINER
THAN APPLE CIDER
W
ITH FALL RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER, MOST
PEOPLE ARE THINKING ABOUT BACK-TO-SCHOOL
ROUTINES AND COOLING WEATHER. BUT AT TRAX
FARMS, EVERYONE’S THINKING ABOUT APPLES.
That’s because the apple cider season starts in mid-August
and continues a tradition at Trax that dates back to 1964. With
everything done on-site, there’s no better way to enjoy some of
the freshest and most flavorful apple cider in the region.
“We grow the apples here, we press the apples here and we
still use our original recipe,” said Alyssa Ashcraft, advertising and
marketing coordinator. “It’s for sale during all of our fall events
and we keep pressing cider all the way through winter.”
The more than 18 acres of apple orchards on Trax Farms
produces about 75,000 gallons of cider each year. Apples used
for cider are not sellable as they may contain blemishes or other
cosmetic defects that customers wouldn’t want in their fruit
pantries. But they still yield delicious apple cider to create a
perfect blend that customers clamor for.
The rise in the cider’s popularity through the years has resulted
in increasingly larger and more efficient cider-making machines.
The farm started with a traditional rack and cloth press in the
1960s, replaced that for a modern machine in the 1970s, and
replaced that machine with an industrial-sized machine in the
1990s to meet consumer demand, Ashcraft said. The pressing
equipment still resides in a dedicated barn about half a mile from
the market, where the farm’s cider journey began.
One batch uses 4,000 pounds of apples and yields more than
400 gallons of cider. The apples are washed, a smasher pulverizes
them into a sauce, and from there the apple paste is funneled to
the press. A cylinder with an air bladder pushes the juices out into
a trough, where sediment is suctioned out before the cider is flash
pasteurized at 165 degrees and bottled for sale. A portion is also
held back and sold to local grocery chains for private-label sale
under their own brand name.
Not only do people enjoy the beverage warm and cold, major
breweries have contracted with Trax to formulate hard ciders from
the Trax recipe. But for those just looking for something tasty on a
chilly fall evening, Trax’s cider is available by the gallon, half gallon
or quart. And, as if the drink isn’t delicious enough on its own,
Trax sells blends of spices and herbs that can be added to the mix
to create any number of unique and memorable flavors from the
cider base.
Trax Farms is located at 528 Trax Road, Finleyville (15332), and
is open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday
and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. Go to traxfarms.com to
extend your experience with recipes, special deals and an
upcoming events calendar.
CANON-MAC
❘
FALL 2018
25