Beak & Skiff Farms, located in Lafayette, NY, (just
south of Syracuse), has grown and sold apples since
1911. In 1979, they started making part of their 700
acres of apples into cider. Since then, they have
supplied regional supermarket chains with cider, as
well as selling it at their own retail store.
They press
year round, and have pasteurized every gallon since
1979. The average off season daily production is 3,000
- 4,000 gallons. Daily production can go as high as
18,000 gallons in the peak fall months.
In the beginning.
The first press they owned was an 18 layer, 42" rack
and cloth, which produced about 700 gallons per hour
(gph). It didn't take long for Beak & Skiff to discover
the shortcomings of that style press.
The "rack
and cloth was . . . labor intensive. We had two people
on the press all the time," says Dave Pittard, co-owner
of Beak & Skiff. "Sometimes we made it a three man
operation because we wanted to go faster." Those two
or three people were in addition to the regular staff
of 8 - 11 needed to operate the cider facility.
Pittard
describes the rack and cloth as a back-breaking ordeal
of building each layer by hand, pressing, and then
breaking down each layer. He adds that after working
with the rack and cloth, people would be "whipped"
at the end of the day.
"With
the Goodnature press, the press is doing everything.
Based on the rack and cloth we were running, we've
eliminated at least 2 1/2 people," comments Pittard.
"There are savings in labor - there's no doubt about
it," he adds. "It's easier to get people to work with
the Goodnature because it's not so physically demanding."
"The rack
and cloth did about 700 gph. With the Goodnature,
we can do 1,000 gph." Beak & Skiff's yield is the
same with the Goodnature press as it was with the
rack and cloth, which means the Goodnature provided
an increase in output with a decrease in labor.
Instead
of two or three press operators, only one part-time
press operator is needed. "The main reason the person
is in there with the Goodnature press is to make sure
nothing goes wrong," says Pittard. He adds, "one person
could run 4 or 6 Goodnature presses without a problem."
In addition, the press operator is now available to
help on the bottling and packing line.
But Beak
& Skiff didn't immediately switch from the rack and
cloth to the Goodnature Maximizer. In between, they
purchased a belt press.
Belt press experiences.
The belt press was less labor intensive than the rack
and cloth, and at 750 gph, its output was about the
same. But, the yield was not as good. Compared to
both the rack and cloth and the Goodnature, the belt
press required nearly one extra pound of apples to
make each gallon of cider.
"The yield
on the belt press was 174 gal/ton, compared to 188
gal/ton with the Goodnature." (Both figures include
the use of 150 lbs of wood fiber press-aid for every
30,000 lbs of apples.) There were other downfalls
of the belt press in addition to a poorer yield. One
was that the belts tore a lot. Another, Pittard says,
is that there were "more solids with the belt press
than with the Goodnature press." That meant they had
to increase their capital costs by purchasing a vibrating
screen and a centrifuge. The Goodnature produces fewer
solids, Pittard states, because it exhibits "less
of a shearing action than a belt press, which is what
causes solids with the belt press. You don't see any
solids coming out of the Goodnature press."
The bottom-line,
though, Pittard says, was that "the yield was better
on the Goodnature press, and that's probably the main
reason we switched" from the belt press.
Goodnature
results.
In 1996, Beak & Skiff replaced the belt press with
a Goodnature Maximizer series press. "When we were
looking to upgrade, the Goodnature was able to give
us the yield and volume we wanted." Pittard adds that
a Bucher might have been comparable to the Maximizer,
"but the Bucher was way out of our price range."
Asked
if he'd replace his Maximizer, Pittard replied, "Not
unless something real radical came along. It'd be
more likely that we'd add another Goodnature press
before we replaced it."
"We're
very, very happy with the Goodnature press. It's very
easy to work with. We've had no problems with it."
As for
the service he has received from Goodnature, Pittard
says, "It's nice to pick up the phone and talk to
someone who knows what they're talking about."
Leader
in pasteurization.
Beak & Skiff has also been a leader in the cider field
when it comes to pasteurization. When their cider
facility was built in 1979, a pasteurizer was installed.
"Everything is pasteurized," Pittard states. Asked
if he'd sell any unpasteurized cider, his answer was
a resounding "No." One of the major benefits of pasteurizing,
according to Pittard, is the extended shelf life.
By pasteurizing, Beak & Skiff has been able to extend
their cider's shelf life from 5 days to over a month.
As far
as taste concerns, Pittard states, "we've found no
major problems with the pasteurized cider in terms
of flavor. We haven't found any measurable difference."
When asked
if he thinks ultraviolet is a viable alternative to
pasteurization, he answered, "I don't think so. I'm
not a scientist, but from what I've seen of the UV,
I don't know how it's going to hit all sides. With
pasteurization - heat is heat." He goes on to say
that unless pathogens adapt to heat, "pasteurization
is going to be pretty fool-proof."
"Until
something's proven and accepted," Beak & Skiff is
"not willing to go out on a limb" and risk their customers
safety, nor their good name.
Decreased
Labor
"With the Goodnature press, the press is doing everything.
Based on the rack and cloth we were running, we've
eliminated at least 2 1/2 people," comments Pittard.
"There are savings in labor - there's no doubt about
it."
Increased
Yield
"The yield was better on the Goodnature press, and
that's probably the main reason we switched" from
a belt press.
No
taste change
"We've found no major problems with the pasteurized
cider in terms of flavor. We haven't found any measurable
difference."
Comparison
between Beak & Skiff's old rack and cloth and belt
presses, and their currently installed Goodnature
Maximizer.
