REVIEW: Blue Bell Malt Shoppe

When Blue Bell first announced they'd be releasing their latest Malt Shoppe flavor, we here at the Ice Cream Informant were a bit skeptical. The treasured malt taste of old doesn't seem to translate well to today's ice cream consumers, but we were willing to give this old fashioned combination of chocolate malt ice cream with malted milk balls a chance anyways. Plus let's face it, Blue Bell rarely misses the mark. Reader Reviews of this particular flavor seemed to be mixed, so we weren't sure what to expect as we scooped the light brown colored base into a bowl.

Practically every time our scoop glided through the ice cream it wasn't long before its path was impeded by the enormous amount of malted milk balls (similar to Hershey's Whoppers candies). We approached our first bite with caution, knowing from experience that mix-ins such as these tend to stay frozen solid for a good bit after placing them out of the freezer. This was a smart approach as most of the malted milk balls were initially way too hard to immediately chomp into. The chocolate malt base only slightly differentiated itself from Blue Bell's standard chocolate, but worked well with the interior flavor of the malted milk balls once they were soft enough to chew. Even with these complementary flavors, the hard, overly crunchy texture and lack of any other mix-ins really held this one back for us.

Where I Found It: Walmart
Grade: C

REVIEW: New Orleans Ice Cream Co. Mississippi Debris

The fifth stop of my tour through the flavors of New Orleans Ice Cream Company, Mississippi Debris has a rather impressive ingredients list. At first glance it appears this pint was produced merely by taking their chocolate base and tossing in every chocolate covered mix-in they could get their hands on. I'm a bit worried that this offering may result in cocoa overload.

With a smorgasbord of chocolate including brownies, truffles, malt balls, cherry cups and an influx of fudge chunks and swirls, they leave nothing to the imagination. With so many options in such close proximity to one another, and drowning in chocolate ice cream, I keep the lid handy so I can refer back to the index in order to see exactly what I'm munching on. It's impossible to grab just the chocolate ice cream, so I opt for a little bit of the fudge swirl for my first bite.

The rich chocolate ice cream is on par with the quality of their vanilla. It provides the perfect foundation to flaunt all these mix-ins. The most inconspicuous of the ingredients, the fudge swirl amplifies the chocolate base more than I had anticipated. Even richer than the ice cream, the thickness requires some chewing and as I'd soon find out, hard to differentiate from the fudge truffles.

Then came the copious amount of chocolate mix-ins. The brownie bits were decadent, dense and took multiple bites to break down. The chocolate flakes, as hard pieces of fudge tend to be, are more of a hinderance than a highlight. The truffles were the same consistency and texture as the fudge swirl, but consisted of a more complex, dark chocolate.

Then came these. These malt balls aren't your standard Whoppers. Coated in high quality chocolate, the crunch from these are audible in different area codes. Unfortunately there were only four or five of these, but with this magnitude of mix-ins, I can't complain. The chocolate covered almonds didn't differ in quality and combined with the malt balls to really beef up the texture.

Another kicker came with the cherry cups. I wasn't sure what to expect, but these ended up being like miniature chocolate-covered cherries that were able to completely change the flavor profile of the entire ice cream. The finishing touch comes with bits of real marshmallow. These mini-mallows were the most accurate marshmallow interpretation I've seen in an ice cream. The fluffiness and texture were tremendous. New Orleans Ice Cream leave no stone unturned in this unique offering. I thought I would get burnt out on so much chocolate, but the high-quality, high-quantity ingredients won't allow that to happen. So sit down, relax and prepare to take your time with this slow-moving pint.

Where I Found This: Ice Cream Source
Grade: A

READER REVIEW: Raghavan's Review of Blue Bell Malt Shoppe

While looking to buy some of my favorite Blue Bell flavors from the grocery store, my eyes were instantly drawn to the bright, light blue color of the Blue Bell Malt Shoppe ice cream carton. While the color was exciting, the description on the front of the carton was a bit less so: “Chocolate Malt Ice Cream with Malted Milk Balls”. Still, I’m not one to pass up trying a new flavor, so I gave it a shot.

Opening up the carton, the ice cream itself has a slightly rougher texture than other Blue Bell ice creams I’ve tried. There were also bits of malt balls poking through the surface. The ice cream itself was slightly sweeter and much lighter and less chocolate-y than Blue Bell’s own chocolate ice cream, and made for a great base as it was not overwhelming, even after eating an entire pint. The malted balls were also very enjoyable, and seemed to be the exact same as Hershey’s Whoppers. There was a decent amount of malt balls in the ice cream, but without any other mix-ins, the pint became somewhat bland towards the end.

While the flavor of both the malt chocolate ice cream and malted balls were both great, the lack of any other mix-ins means I will probably skip this flavor the next time. However, at 170 calories a pint, it is definitely a decent choice to try at least once. I would love to see the same malt chocolate base in another ice cream with more and different mix-ins.

Where Raghavan Found It: Kroger
Raghavan's Grade: C

READER REVIEW: Steve's Review of Blue Bell Malt Shoppe

When the Ice Cream Informant posted notice that Blue Bell was releasing a new flavor for September, called Malt Shoppe, I knew I was going to be all over it. Blue Bell describes Malt Shoppe as a tasty chocolate malt ice cream loaded with milk chocolate-covered malted milk balls. Pretty simple, but as a life-long fan of both malt balls and chocolate malt milk shakes, I was excited when I came across a tub of this concoction a few days before the official September release date.

Dipping my spoon into the tub, I quickly realized that one important aspect of this ice cream was going to be positive: It is indeed loaded with malt balls! From the moment the spoon cracks the surface, it will likely collide with one of these malt balls, which litter the ice cream top to bottom. Better still, these are real chocolate-coated malt balls, not flakes or pieces of them. Fully-formed and round, these treats abound, and they taste excellent, just as if someone were to pour a box of malt balls into a tub of ice cream. The balls are not as large as movie theater candy malt balls, but that is no loss, as they are plenty big enough to pack both a rich malted center and a nice coating of chocolate. Equally impressive is the chocolate-malt ice cream. Blue Bell wisely uses a milk chocolate foundation and combines this with a rich malted flavor. When you eat a spoonful that has no malt balls (and these are few and far between!), it does taste like an old-fashioned chocolate milk shake. This chocolate malt base has nice synergy with the mix-in malt balls, creating a pleasurable sensation on the taste buds.

One thing I found out about malt shoppe is that it melts pretty quickly! So if you don't want to end up drinking it with a straw, do not let it sit out for very long. With that caveat, it is clear that Blue Bell has come up with a winning flavor. If you like malt chocolate and malt balls, then you should hasten to try this as soon as possible.

Where Steve Found It: Walmart
Steve's Grade: A

NEWS: Malt Shoppe Ice Cream, Blue Bell's Newest Flavor for September

Following up on the huge success known as Magic Cookie Bar, this month brings us Malt Shoppe Ice Cream, a tasty chocolate malt ice cream loaded with milk chocolate-covered malted milk balls. Keep an eye out for an official review for this flavor coming soon!