Day 81 - Lucy Rose

My name is Mike.  It's been 9 months since my last apple blog.  If I had relations with an apple then, I could have a little pome baby now.  I think that's how that works but life got in the way, issue with and of the heart, political upheaval, brain matter and sleep.  So back to it...

My wife was at Sendik's Food Market in Germantown a couple weeks ago and picked up a couple Lucy Rose apples.  They are very interesting indeed.  Don't worry, your gums aren't bleeding!  The inner flesh is not just white but pink or even red.  I wish I had taken pics of the other apple I had (VERY red  inside)  This is a pic of apple number 2 cut open, not as red but you get the idea.

The Lucy Rose was developed by Chelan Fresh in Washington state and is part Honeycrisp.  The red interior looks cool raw or for baking.  I have not seen apples with this much color inside before in person.  It is a sweet, tangy and crisp apple but not very juicy with notes of berry.

Lucy Rose has a uniform, somewhat conical shape and lenticals (spots) which remind some people of a strawberry.  Personally, it reminds me of an apple.  It has a sister apple called Lucy Gold which is orange to gold on the outside and has a more tart and tangy flavor.  See some more pics below of both.

Next time, I review another apple with a unique pink flesh, the Pink Pearl.  Crunch on!

Day 80 - EverCrisp

EverCrisp is a sweet and juicy, yummy apple that holds a powerful, mighty and manly crunch!  That is more or less what the Midwest Apple Improvement Association website says.

Technical name, MAIA-1, EverCrisp debuted in 2016 and is a combination of a Honeycrisp and a Fuji.  It is a durable, late season variety that will stay good up to 4 months and in fact has an even better flavor after several weeks.  It is grown in 32 states and is quickly gaining a reputation as a top-notch piece of fruit.

I like the EverCrisp quite a bit but don't have much to say about it.  Give one a try, yo!

Hey Lucy, I'm home!  Next time, I review Lucy Rose.  Crunch on MOFO's!

Day 79 - SugarBee apple and The Brown Note beer

The SugarBee apple is the latest Honeycrisp cross to hit the market place. It is unknown what other apple is it crossed with. This new apple was created by the bees doing their thang of pollinating the apple blossoms.  They were developed in Minnesota in the 90's but are now grown in Washington state, a great state for apples!  The sticker on the apple is cute, there's a little bee on there, precious!  It is very similar to a Honeycrisp, a good snap to the bite, thin skin, crisp, juicy and very sweet.  The sweetness does seem more honey-like as opposed to sugar.  There are some floral notes.  I really enjoy this apple.  I found them at Woodman's.      

Now, a beer review with one of the most disgusting beer labels I have ever seen, depicting a dude who has shit himself!  This is The Brown Note from Against the Grain Brewery out of Louisville, KY.   It has a ABV of 5%, IBU 20.  According to their website:  The brown ale to end all brown ales. Enjoy it, because there is no longer any reason to drink another. You’ve reached the pinnacle. A healthy blend of traditional British malts give this popular style a semi-sweet, biscuity, slightly roasted flavor. Oats thicken the mouthfeel, and a handful of specialty malts add complex chocolate, toffee, and caramel notes. The hops are mostly traditional, earthy British hops, but we cocked it up a bit with some Cascade late in the boil just to show those snooty Brits that we don’t approve of that Constitutional Monarchy crap.   

Against the Grain also cautions this beer is so good, it will make you shit yourself!  I did not shat myself but this stuff is a good Winter/Fall brew.  It is rich and robust, has quite a bit of carbonation and just moderate head.  The mouth feel was kind of thin but I did taste notes of chocolate, toffee and caramel.  I bought a 4 pack of 16 oz cans at Total Wine & More for $10.99.  I don't always spend that much on beer but had to give it a try.  Shit, I would try it again!

Next time, I review the EverCrisp apple.  Crunch on and get yer shit-faced drank on!

Day 78 - CrimsonCrisp, an Apple Cult and is organic really better?

This is a CrimsonCrisp,  the 3rd apple variety I was able to try from Peck & Bushel Organic Fruit Co before they closed for the season.  They describe it as a wonderful new apple with a firm sweet/tart complex flavor that has a cult following, not a cult-like following but a cult following.  I was hoping there might actually be some weird apple cult out there with robes and secret meeting places and a cool apple logo and a weekly sacrifice of some other kind of fruit.  I probably would have joined!  After extensive research the last 5 minutes, it appears these rumors are greatly exaggerated, I guess some people like this guy.  I thought it was ok.

CrimsonCrisp has roots in Golden Delicious, Red Rome and Jonathan apples.  They keep 4-6 months when properly stored and don't fall off the tree easily which makes for less waste or potential damage.  They are supposed to be a deep crimson color although the half peck I purchased were not.  I found them to be fairly crisp, more tart than sweet, medium in size. 

Keep in mind, these were organic apples.  I have discussed in past blogs that organic apples although healthier for the environment, the farmers and the consumer, they don't generally look and taste better and are more expensive.  Many studies using casual and expert tasters have shown that the quality of organics is based more on emotion and pre-conceived perception than the actual taste and appearance.  Organic has a shorter growing season and a smaller yield means more land is required for a good output.  Look man, in my experience non-organic is generally better.  I look forward to trying several kinds of organics from Peck & Bushel this coming season. 

There are reasons that genetic modification, chemicals and pesticides are used for non-organic apples. This makes for a more consistent, pleasant appearance, larger fruit, increased shelf life and better control of the flavor.  It has also helped to feed the masses with it's quantity and not everybody can afford organic fruit.

My conclusion here, CrimsonCrisp is a decent, middle of the road apple but if I had tried a non-organic version, from what I have read, I might have loved it!  I say, wash your fruit people and if you are eating an apple every day like I am, try to eat organic apples at least some of the time.

Next time, I review a SugarBee apple and The Brown Note beer, crunch on!

Day 77 - Snowsweet

This apple is smiling at me, sweet, Snowsweet!  I got this at Peck & Bushel Organic Fruit Co.  Organic fruit is often not pretty.  They have physical flaws and might not grow as big as their non-organic counterparts.  This flaw made for a happy little apple until I bit it's face off!

 I liked the Snowsweet.  I had to buy a half peck of them which is aprox. 5.6 lbs.  It is a sweet apple with a good tart balance.  It is crisp, the flesh is snow white.  They are also bred to be slow to brown.  That's cool, kind of like the Opal which was my Day 21 review. https://mikegrunertblog.blogspot.com/2017/03/day-21-opal.html.  I did extensive testing on the Opal, finding that a slice after 3 hours had little browning!  I didn't have a chance to do this test with the Snowsweet.  

Snowsweet is a late season apple.  It is a cross between a Sharon and a Connell Red.

While I'm writing this, I'm listening to Power Windows by Rush.  It is an album that I kind of ignored back in the day.  Power Windows came out in 1985.  I just discovered Rush around 1986 and gravitated immediately to all the cool progressive stuff of the 70's and early 80's.  Grace Under Fire, Power Windows and Hold Your Fire was the dark period for me, wanting the rock!

Being such a huge fan, I'm embarrassed to say I think this is the 1st time I've listened to this album all the way through but I'm digging it at the moment.  I was more familiar with live versions of the Power Windows songs in that half the tracks were on Rush's 1989 album, A Show of Hands, which I bought and listened to in high school.  It even got played on the radio at the time.  I would say now that Power Windows is my favorite of these 3 albums.  They seem to have their "new" sound more figured out than on Grace Under Fire.  Though there is a lot of keyboard and some electronic drums, the guitar is more in yer face and on Hold Your Fire, they were about to transition their sound a bit again and some of it, I was just like, blah.  I have mad respect for these MOFO's!

So to recap, Snowsweet is good, just not as good as fucking Rush! Next time, I review CrimsonCrisp, an apple with a cult following.  Could it be evil?  Crunch on!

Day 76 - Wolf River

Wolf River, could this be the official apple of my punk/metal band The Night Howls?  Read on...

It was September 2018.  I hadn't seen any new apples in a while and I was getting restless and borderline depressed.  I was hitting the sauce pretty hard and I don't mean apple sauce! (apple sauce review coming soon, one of the top requests from internal voice no.5)  I'm talking whiskey people, though sometimes apple whiskey.  I went on the world wide web and did some googling.  I discovered not too far from me was an apple orchard that looked intriguing and was indeed, intriguing, Peck & Bushel Organic Fruit Co. (see my Day 75 blog). https://mikegrunertblog.blogspot.com/2019/02/day-75-peck-bushel-organic-fruit-co.html

One of the apples I tried was the Wolf River.  It is a large, historic, antique variety originating from Wolf River, WI circa 1870.  The Wolf River is know as a good cooking apple with it's large size, ability to keep it's shape when exposed to extreme heat and does not require much extra sugar when cooking.

My experience was not that of a very good eating apple.  The skin was thick and somewhat bitter.  The white flesh looked nice but was a little mealy and lacked character.  

Even with it's cool title that compliments my band name, Wolf River cannot be the official apple of The Night Howls.  (though we really should have an official apple, hit me up with suggestions)  A good eating apple is essential to represent The Night Howls, one that is sweet and juicy, tart and floral, crisp and snappy.  It don't have to look pretty but must be so alluring that tasters cannot help but devour it to it's core in a ravenous rage with gnashing of teeth, screaming, convulsing and then topped off with a good belch!

Next time, I review Snowsweet, crunch on and rock!

Day 75 - Peck & Bushel Organic Fruit Co.

On September 29th, I visited Peck & Bushel Organic Fruit Co.  Located in Colgate, WI, just about 30 minutes from my place, I was all like what-what and cool man!  They are an all organic apple orchard started in 2010 by Joe and Jennifer Fahey who produce at least 25 varieties of apples throughout the season.  They are only open to the public August through October.  15 of the apple varieties they grew this year I had never even heard of so needless to say, I was apple curious for sure!  I will definitely go back next August as they only sell some of the apples for a limited time, see timeline below.  I only got to try 3 types of apples this year, the Wolf River, Snowsweet  and Crimsoncrisp, each of which will have a separate review.

Visitors can pick their own apples or buy them in the rustic, barn-like store along with other goodies.  We bought some apple cider and had some of the best apple cider donuts I have ever tried.

So there ya have it, Peck & Bushel Organic Fruit Co. is a great find, check it out southeast Wisconsinite apple lovers!  Next time, I review one of my purchases there, the Wolf River.  Crunch on!