[carolyn137]

I think the larger question to be asked is.......what is a strain.

One view, which I agree with, is that it's a variant of a known variety that differs in subtle ways yet can still be IDed as the original variety. Examples might include:

Mortgage Lifter, Mullens strain, b'c it's the same as the original, except has pale leaves. And there's even a problem there b'c the original could mean the Radiator Charlie one or Estler's ML which they claim was developed before Charlies Byles one was and actually I prefer the Estler one.

Yellow Brandywine, Platfoot strain, b'c for most folks it has a higher yield and the fruits are much smoother.

Golden Queen (USDA) b'c it has the yellow blush at the blossom end that was originally described by Livingston whereas most seeds for GQ do not have that blush.

Then there are strains that some ID as strains b'c they have a person's name attached to them, and now talking just Bradywines such as Glick's, Pawers, Joyce's , Liam's, Sudduth/Quisenberry, and when I joined SSE back in 1989 there were even more such strains listed in the YEarbook.

Pawer's for instance, isn't a strain. It's a typo. it's a Brandywine that was listed by Roger Wentling of PA, so his SSE code is PA W RO, which became a strain, Pawer, that neve did exist.

Chuck Wyatt selected for earliness from the Sudduth strain and named it Joyce's for his wife, but folks who have grown it haven't seen that it's any earlier than any other strain.

Several SSE members have grown out ALL of the known strains in one season so as to eliminate the variables and have seen little to no difference in the strains IDed by a person's name, with I think the exception of the Sudduth/Quisenberry strain which many find to give much smoother fruits, higher yields and excellent taste.

Another problem is that most commercial seed sellers have no idea what strain they might be selling, and if no strain name is attached it means they don't know. In the SSE YEarbook, listed under just BRandywine, there are Brandywines listed that could be Sudduth, could be this or that, but totally unknown.

Linda at TGS went out a got the Sudduth strain, Glenn at Sandhill always had it, and others are now listing it as well.

I first started growing Brandywine back in the late 80's and having heard that it was THE best tasting variety, I had expectations that quite frankly weren't met. I grew several strains and most gave me low yields and misshapen fruits. It wasn't until my best tomato friend Craig LeHoullier sent me the Sudduth strain that I stepped down from being the unofficial Prez of the anti-Brandywine club of the USA.

Craig has also written an excellent over view of Brandywine as well as Yellow and Red Brandywines, and none of them are related as far as we know, I mean genetically, and that article for those interested can be found at Victory Seeds online. Also included are some of the varieties with Brandywine part of the name that arose by chance crosses such as OTV Brandywine, Black Brandywine, etc., which I helped out with. And of course none of those are strains of Brandywine.

So, now speaking of just Brandywine, the pink one and since it's pink it's redundant to call it Pink Brandywine, I think the best strain is the Sudduth/Quisenberry one of those that I've grown to date. I haven't grown Camo's Cowlick one yet, he offered me seeds, but these days I try to grow varieties new to almost everyone since I can grow so few being in this walker after a fall, so all my gardening is done by someone else. But Camo, if my 30 maximum limit on new ones isn't filled for 2010 and you still have a few seeds left I might be able to grow it. I know that Carol is distributing seed but it would be nice to have them from you.

Do I think the taste of Brandywine is unique? Yes I do but it's not the only variety I find to have a unique taste. I find the variety Prue also has a unique taste for me as well.

No doubt this post is too long but I thought it was important to point out that others have grown out the several strains of Brandywine and found little difference between them, that many prefer the Sudduth strain, but that if one grows a variety just sold as Brandywine it could be anything.

Look, if I were talking about the history of the various Brandywines here it would be a much longer post, but I'm not and if you're interested do go to Victory Seeds and read the article that Craig wrote.

There's also a thread here at Tville in the legacy Forum and we had quite a surprise when Ben Quisenberry's grandson showed up and helped distinguish Big Ben from Brandywine, so that thread may be of interest to those looking for some history.

Hope that helps.