I would like an apple that stores as well as Idared. I actually had that apple in mind since that’s an apple I stored from a local orchard every year, before my trees started bearing, and really opened my eyes to how long an apple could keep. Idared is a good apple after months in storage. I’m hoping for something with a bit more complex flavor, but similar keeping quality, that can be my main red storage apple.
Keepsake is another good keeping apple, my tree has only borne a couple fruit that got consumed on the spot, so I haven’t tested it’s storage qualities yet, but it has a great reputation in northern climes. From the U of Minnesota breeding program.
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I’m eating the last of my Black Oxfords now, some have been a bit rubbery, some are still firm. All are very good! With better storage temps they’d likely keep longer (mine start storage at about 50 then down to 40 as the root cellar cools down). Someday I hope to have enough to see how much longer they’ll keep. But mine don’t seem to be in the same category as the better keepers.
Haralson is reported to be a very good keeper apple. Though I have a bearing tree I’ve only had one med-small harvest and they were gone by end of Nov. They seemed to me somewhat in the same league taste and texture as Ida Reds, though I like Haralson better. Ida Red, Connell Red and Haralson from a local orchard have kept well for me in root cellar conditions into March/April.
Like Jesse’s Keepsake, my harvest this year of one Frostbite apple didn’t make it to storage. Maybe in a few years. It certainly was firm enough to be a good keeper.
Sue
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Gideon Sweet. I have never tasted it, but those who have like it and it definitely stores well. This farm has a mature tree.
http://www.friendlyhaven.com/farmstories.php
" A few years ago we joined the Home Orchard Society. The Society also has a fine group of old farmers who have helped us identify more of our orchard trees.
This year I took in samples from a few more old trees and after a lengthy investigation, all our apples got named.
The last apple I brought was a big question mark. The group of five men and one woman were stymied. It’s rare that at least one of them hadn’t even seen such an apple before so they started in on their research.
By looking at the unique shape of the calyx on the bottom of the apple they were able to determine it was probably one of six different breeds. They knew four of them well and quickly eliminated the fifth, leaving them with an apple none of them were familiar with.
Finally they found a page in an old, old apple book that matched all the identifying characteristics of this last apple and it was looking like this specimen surely was a Gideon Sweet.
At the very bottom of the lengthy description the woman read out, “Thought to be extinct,” and we all raised our eyebrows.
We were on the verge of whooping it up when someone asked where the breed originated. She said, “Minnesota.”
“Minnesota?” I said. “That’s where the old Swedish family lived before they made their way west to settle our farm.”
“Well that pretty much clinches it, doesn’t it?” said one old guy and we did the crusty old farmer version of a high five, which means we all went, “Hmh,” and gave each other a big close-mouthed celebratory smile.
In our cold storage Joseph and I have a bushel bin full of the only known Gideon Sweet apples in existence and they’re a true keeper apple, tasting better the longer we let them go into winter. And if you come to visit anytime soon we’ll pour you a glass of some homemade “thought to be extinct” apple cider."
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Congrats. Are you thinking of sending out some scions to folks to spread the tree out some?
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All I have are a couple of 2 year old grafts. The folks in the link have the big tree.
Opps, didn’t catch that. Suppose I will have to wait a few years to ask again 
Back on the topic of red keeper apples, Winesap and Black LImbertwig are two I grow which are excellent keepers. Both ripen before Pink Lady - they are late-ripening but I think would be OK for zone 6 folks. Yates is more in the Pink Lady period, pushing up against the hard frosts in zone 7 for me.
I haven’t stored a lot of either myself due to various issues with the grafts. A few years ago I topworked a mature tree with 50-50 Black Limbertwig and Winesap and I should eventually have a good crop to test. Well, assuming I eventually get the deer under control. I bought 8 new motion detector sprinklers for next year, they are going to get assaulted from every angle from now on.
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I am eating my last Gold Rush apple in my salad as we speak. Today is April 25. The apple was picked since Nov and kept in a plastic bag ( closed) and a a crisper in a fridge all these months. I ate some earlier. This was the last one.
It tasted very good. The taste was mellower than when they were fresshly picked but it was still noticebly sharp, It was no longer crunchy but still was dense enough to give it good texture (not spongy or mushy). I asked my husband what he thought. He said “very tasty” and “apple-y”. He said he likes it a lot because it tasted like what an apple should taste like.
GR is a very tasty apple, both freshly picked and after being kept in storage for 5 months. Our kind of apple.
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Thought I’d add a Haralson report for those who might read this thread later. March 1 - still good. Ate the slightly rubbery one of three (other two nice and firm). Inside texture good, flavor better than month ago - mellowed well, no sharpness, nice apple flavor, sort of like a decent store Macintosh. Enjoyed fully. Seems to be living up to its reputation as a good storage apple. Sue
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Here’s what’s left of apples in my root cellar: Northern Spy, Honey Gold, Spokane Beauty, Honey Crisp™, and Swiss Gourmet. These remain, not necessarily because they’re the best keepers, but because I haven’t gotten around to using them up, yet, and there are only a couple of each. Everything else has been e’t whole, pressed, sliced, diced, sauced, canned, frozen, baked, jellied, or shared.
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Chuck, How are the various varieties holding up? Are they still good eating? Sue
We had several Haralson trees growing up in northern Minnesota. We also grew Connell Red, Sweet Sixteen, and State Fair Girl. Haralson was the best keeper. We had a small storage room inside our garage that stayed just above freezing through the winter. We stored apples there. We were still eating and baking with Haralson in March. The taste and texture were still great, though the skin got a bit rubbery . Beat store bought apples hands down. 
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How are the various varieties holding up?
I kept the Northern Spy for baking, but I’ve been eating them out of hand, instead, just because they’re different I guess. The texture is good.
Honey Gold is shot … mostly. There’s one good one that I’m going to slice up as soon as I post this.
Spokane Beauty is a large apple and a baker, too. These are destined for apple crumble someday. I have half a dish left over that I made out of the rotten remnants of Wolf River and Northwestern Greening, which had pruned up quite a bit.
Honey Crisp™ never grows old because of its so-called texture.
Swiss Gourmet has a waxy skin (like Pink Pearl) that keeps it from drying out. I don’t care for it most of the time (which is why I still have a couple) because of its normally woody texture, but I’ll have to say that that has improved with storage.
There are a few odds and ends (falls and stuff that didn’t ripen) that I can’t identify but have to use up, anyway. These are not in great condition. In other words, I’m within a couple of weeks of running fresh out. I have a two gallons of frozen cider in reserve to tide me over until the Solstice, though.
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Ate our last Haralson apple today - March 31 - Nice! Skin good, texture juicy with nice bite - not crisp or crunchy, just pleasant. Flavor even better than last two months - apple-y. Not real sweet but enough; early season “cooking apple” tartness gone, though enough for flavor. Next time I’ll definitely save more for fresh eating late winter. I went out and told the tree how much the fruit was appreciated! Definitely a good keeper apple. Sue
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I just pulled out the last of my Hauer Pippins yesterday, and they pretty much matched that description of Haralson. They were surprisingly good, considering that I just tossed them in the crisper drawer of the fridge. I sliced & cored them and tossed them into a crock pot with a little water and nothing else, and they produced a tasty coarse applesauce that I really like.
I still have a few GoldRush specimens rolling around in the crisper. They’re a bit wrinkly but still crunchy and delicious. I just grafted a second young tree over to GR this spring, as I’d like to have a lot more of them to store.
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Well, there’s terroir, and then there’s terroir. Around here, terrior favors Idared IMNSHO. I’m snacking on one I brought in on 9 Oct 2019. It’s good. I’ve fed these to friends a couple of times, inviting them to compare them to other varieties. They say Idared is “sour,” by which I take them to mean “less sweet” than the other varieties I offered at the same time, but I’ve never found Idared sour. I’m just a sucker for the perfume, I guess.
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In 2018, I picked Hauer Pippin on Dec 31 and it was excellent. This year, I picked it Nov 22, and it was overripe. I ascribe this to very warm (and sometimes hot) weather we had this Fall.
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Mine are ripening earlier than usual as well. Most varieties did, with a few exceptions: Stayman, Rubaiyat, GoldRush.
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Mine have been average sweet-tart, not as tart as I was hoping.
I made the mistake of leaving them on the tree too long for the first few years. I was using the lift test, but they were dry with weak flavor by then (late October). Apparently they like to hang well past ripeness. I started picking them by calendar (about 7-14 days earlier) and they have been much better. Like most apples, they tend to develop more flavor in storage. Last year was the longest I’ve had them in storage and they had a very strong fruity flavor after few months. The flavor didn’t weaken much after baking either.
On the down side, they seem to be somewhat of a codling moth magnet, which might be good for the other apples. 
Also, they seem to be above-average susceptible to bitter pit in years with excessive rain. Although, the bitter pit wasn’t deep and was easily removed with a peeler. I think there were some other disease issues noted in literature, but I haven’t seen any other issues myself. It’s probably another northern apple that doesn’t do well in the south.
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