Growing in different shades of red, green and yellow, there are at least 2500 apple varieties grown in the United States. Out of all the commercially produced apples, more than 60 percent are eaten as fresh fruit and the rest end up as apple ______ (fill in the blank with your favorite). Music to the ears of top apple producing states, (Washington, California, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia) average consumers eat 45 pounds of apples every year!
   Even though Kansas doesn't grow many apples, the Louisburg Cider Mill has been crowned one of the top 10 cider mills in America. Determined to create the best natural apple cider in the country, the Louisburg Mill only uses American grown apples, never concentrates its product (to be watered down later) and produces its apple juice in a 120 year old barn. Using cider making methods that date back 2000 years, the Louisburg mill has been producing cider for nearly 50 years.
   Restoration of an old eastern Kansas barn began in early 1977, and by September the mill bottled up its first jug of cider. With the business experiencing plenty of timeouts to help its steady stream of customers, the owners purchased the neighbor's barn on the roadside of Route 68. Converted into a country store, an array of complimentary products line the shelves. With plenty of space still allotted for their famous cider, shoppers will find gift baskets, jams, preserves, snacks, cookware and cook books. The store also features its own brand of Lost Trail Soda. This locally brewed line features sugarcane, sarsaparilla, root beer, strawberry, orange and cream soda flavors.
   Fall festivals at the mill include family entertainment in the pumpkin patch and corn maze. The Ciderfest, another autumn celebration, runs the last few weekends of September and the beginning of October. A cider mill tour, where you may watch tons of apples in a big squeeze, runs from early September well into October. Other guided and self-guided tours are available year-round.

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