Discovering NC Agriculture is a year-long series focusing on twelve N.C. grown, raised, caught, and made commodities. Tune in each month to see how an N.C. commodity is grown, harvested, packed for consumer use and more. Learn nutritional value, find fun recipes to try, hear from local chefs who use that product, and other unique commodity facts throughout the series. We look forward to helping you better understand some of our N.C. commodities and how they impact your everyday lives!
North Carolina apples can be enjoyed in a variety of ways, from straight off the orchard to pies and hard ciders. Flat Rock Cider Company in Hendersonville has been creating Homegrown Hard Cider since 2015. Today, they not only work with local apple farmers to make their hard cider products but also give back to the community in a full circle way.
Western North Carolina has always been a prime location for growing a variety of apples. Jim Revis and Jim Sparks, longtime apple farmers, started looking for a way to utilize their lower grade apples in the early 2000’s. “Nearly 40% of apple crops each year aren’t those big, perfect, grocery store apples,” said Jeremiah Tracy, Operations Manager for Flat Rock Cider Company. “Our company became an outlet for farmers to sell their juice apples and see them used in a unique way.” In 2016, Robby Pitts came on board as the head cidermaker, and the journey to becoming a well-known orchard to glass cider company began.
Flat Rock Cider Company works with a handful of farmers in the mountains of our state to purchase nearly 4.5 million apples per year for their hard ciders, including Jim Revis at Revis Farms, Lively Orchard, and Holt Orchard. “We purchase anywhere from 2,000 to 2,500 bins of apples each year,” Jeremiah said. Since many ciders are created from a blend of five to six apple varieties, Flat Rock Cider purchases all apple varieties available to them through these farmers. “In total, we produce about 150,000 gallons of hard cider each year,” Jeremiah said. From the orchard to the bottle, the team at Flat Rock Cider company works hard to bring the flavor of NC apples full circle in their products.
Apples are brought into the Flat Rock Cider facility from August through October each year. “With the number of apples brought in during harvest season, we are able to keep our product running year-round,” Jeremiah said. “We have six coolers where we can store the apples throughout the year until they are ready to be used.” When the apples are brought from the cooler to the packing facility, they are sorted and washed before the cider making process begins. “The sorting and washing of the apples are actually the most labor-intensive parts of our process because a lot of it is done by hand, or requires human supervision, for quality purposes,” Jeremiah said. “Once that is complete, apples are sent to the hammer mill and the process of making cider begins.” The hammer mill cuts each apple into 8–10-millimeter pieces, which are then transferred to the press. By cutting the apples into smaller pieces before pressing them, Jeremiah and his team ensure to get as much of the apple juice as possible from each batch. “Sometimes we do have large apple pieces left after the pressing process, which are then sent back to the farmers that we work with for composting or animal feed,” said Jeremiah. “We try to waste as little product as possible.” Once the juice has been fermented to make hard cider, it is then sent to the final stage of the process where sweetener is added, or other flavors such as pineapple or blackberry. “All of our products are 95% apple juice, but we do have products that other fruit flavors are added to, like the Tropical Pineapple or Blue Ridge Blueberry,” Jeremiah said. “We also create a seasonal flavor each year, which this year is peach.”
Flat Rock Cider currently produces five flavors of hard cider each year: (1) Semi-Dry Apple, (2) Semi-Tart Blackberry, (3) Tropical Pineapple, (4) Blue Ridge Blueberry, and (5) a rotating seasonal flavor. “The Semi-Dry Apple is our flagship cider that fully encompasses the apple flavors of our state,” Jeremiah said. Even though it is a very popular cider, the Semi-Tart Blackberry is currently their best seller.
Flat Rock Cider can be found statewide at many local retailers, including Ingles, Harris Teeter, Trader Joe’s, and Lowes Foods. They are also on tap at many bars and restaurants across the state, so keep an eye out for them in your favorite spots. Check out the website to use their “cider locator” and find their products in your area! “It’s always a point of pride to see our ciders in the grocery store, a bar or a restaurant in our state,” Jeremiah said. “To know that we made that, alongside our apple farmers, is rewarding.”
Although apple farming is dwindling in parts of our state, Jeremiah and his team take pride in the farmers that they work with and the cider products they produce. “These farmers are passionate about growing the best apples for their customers, including us,” Jeremiah said. “It’s important for us at Flat Rock Cider to not only support them by purchasing the apples they can’t sell to a grocery store, but also by telling their story and encouraging people to visit the farms themselves.” From orchard to glass, Flat Rock Cider truly encompasses the art of homegrown cider. We are so proud of how they further the story of NC apples and look forward to seeing them continue to grow in the industry!
