Sour Apple is a sativa-dominant hybrid from Top Shelf Seeds, made by hitting an Original Diesel clone with a selected Cinderella 99 male. It is sold only as regular seed and finishes in about 60 days.
Its biggest claim to fame came a generation later. Lumpy's Flowers crossed Sour Apple with Animal Cookies to create Apple Fritter, a Northern California clone that Greenpoint Seeds says has stayed in the conversation since 2016.
An Original Diesel clone and a C99 male
Top Shelf's own description is short and specific. The breeder used an Original Diesel clone as the mother and a selected C99 male as the father. It tells growers to expect faster-finishing phenotypes with a sour citrus and tropical pineapple taste.
The breeder adds that the cross puts a heavier high on top of the energetic buzz C99 is known for. Original Diesel also brings stretch in flower, so plants grow taller during bloom but respond well to training.
Seedfinder lists Sour Apple as mostly sativa, with an 8–9 week flowering window and suitability for both indoor and outdoor gardens. Top Shelf has never released it as feminized seed.
Chemdawg, Skunk and Northern Lights in the Diesel line
Seedfinder traces Original Diesel to Chemdawg crossed with a blend of MassSuperSkunk and SensiNL. MassSuperSkunk comes from Super Skunk, itself Skunk #1 × Afghanistan, while SensiNL combines Northern Lights #1, #2 and #5.
Those Northern Lights lines trace in turn to Purest Indica and Afghani genetics. Leafly traces Sour Diesel to Chemdawg and Super Skunk, so Original Diesel and Sour Diesel share much of the same family tree.
Cinderella 99 and Brothers Grimm
Cinderella 99 is the father. Mr. Soul of Brothers Grimm created it, and he has said the line started from seeds found in a Sensi-branded 2-gram package of Jack Herer bought at an Amsterdam coffee shop.
Seedfinder lists C99 as Princess × P94, with both sides tracing back to Jack Herer, Northern Lights #5 and Shiva Skunk. Leafly describes the plant as short and bushy, with high indoor yields and a 7–9 week flowering time.
Top Shelf Seeds built much of its name on that C99 hybrid line. Founded in 2012, the company also specializes in feminized and autoflowering hybrids, including Auto Glue Dream, Auto Pineapple Crack and Auto Skush.
How Sour Apple became Apple Fritter
Jason Dias of Lumpy's Flowers made Apple Fritter in 2013. Prime Cuts Nursery says the Sour Apple × Animal Cookies project was largely unfruitful, and the keeper came from the last four seeds.
Grown by Lumpy's Flowers, Apple Fritter took 2nd place for Best Hybrid at the 2016 NorCal High Times Cannabis Cup. High Times listed it among the Strongest Strains on Earth in 2017 at 25.2% THC. Leafly named it a Strain of the Year finalist in 2021.
Lumpy's keeps Apple Fritter clone-only. Seedfinder lists two other direct descendants of Sour Apple: Sour Apple IBL, an inbred line, and Zephyr from Lucky Dog Seed Co, a {Sour Apple × Long Valley Royal Kush} × Chemdog 91 cross.
Sour Apple on the shelf
Leafly also lists the strain as Sour Apple Diesel and averages it at 18% THC. Reviewers there describe tingly, relaxed and giggly effects. The dominant terpenes are myrcene, caryophyllene and pinene, and the strain holds 4.3 stars across 294 ratings.