GRCC faculty member Don Steeby’s Commercial Refrigeration class had the opportunity to tour Aseltines Cider Mill in Comstock Park last week as part of the curriculum in the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning) Program where students specialize in studying commercial refrigeration such as in supermarket applications. Aseltines is one of the very few cider mills in the Midwest that has the capability of pasteurizing their cider and caters to such customers as Meijer, Sam’s Club and Spartan Food Stores.
The tour allowed the students to see how cider is processed from the apples to the bottles and included observing the ammonia refrigeration system at work as well as the cold storage facility and how the refrigeration system is used through the custom made pasteurizer.