Friday, May 8, 2020

Ben & Jerry's Chip Happens Ice Cream


[New for 2020] Good morning ice cream fans! You know what today is? It's the 12th anniversary of the launch of On Second Scoop. 12 Years! I can't believe I'm still here.... I can't believe you are still here! You know I appreciate all of you (especially the ones that comment), so to celebrate, let's dig in to something that is hopefully delicious!

Limited Botch - Ben & Jerry's Chip Happens Ice Cream
a cold mess of chocolate ice cream
with fudge chips & crunch potato chip swirls

Whoa, that's a big little pile of chip swirl. You know where I'm headed first!

Question: why am I eating this after brushing my teeth? Probably not my best plan...

Early thoughts: digging the flavoring of the chocolate base. Making something that tastes like a milkshake was definitely the way to go. Also digging the chocolate chip sizing.

And the potato chip swirl? It's a unique experiencing for sure. Tastes like they ground up kettle cooked chips. It's just got a hearty flavor with a fair amount of saltiness kicked in. How much you love this pint is definitely going to be in direct relation to how much you love this swirl.

I feel like it's been awhile since someone has put out a flavor with a truly robust pretzel/chip factor, so there's definitely kudos for that, even if it is limited time only.

Will you have flashbacks to late night snack? I certainly won't guarantee it. To me personally, the difference between a chip swirl and chocolate covered chips is just too vast. This pint seems like it really wants to get the chip flavor across and I don't remember that from Late Night Snack.

Am I glad I found this one for my anniversary post? Ofcourse! Will I still do an official "state of the freezer" post this weekend? Probably, but no promises (have to be in a sentimental mood for that and right now I'm in much more of a "what junk can I throw out of my house" mood).

Note: this is one of 4 new treats I picked up at the grocery stores yesterday, so stay tuned.

On Second Scoop: I enjoyed this one less today. The chip flavor is so strong that it's taking away the fun of the chocolate base and chocolate chips for me. While I don't personally enjoy it, I will not knock them for going all out of that chip flavoring.

Verdict?  different!
Buy Again?  nah


22 comments:

  1. Congrats on 12 years! I appreciate your effort to keep it going. I'll continue to read for as long as you keep it going.

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  2. It's tough right now (so weird to not hunt ice cream constantly), but as long as I can at least get a few new things here, I'll keep going! :)

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  3. Happy Anniversary! I've followed and commented since the beginning and hope you continue to do so. While I was disappointed in this flavor, I preferred Late Night Snack and Netflix and Chill, I appreciate their attempt at something different.

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  4. Hey you were actually complimentary to a B n J's chocolate base. I really do not generally like their chocolate base either but in this one it works? Sadly I can't eat Chip Happens or most Ben and Jerrys anymore because I am no longer consuming any vegetable/bean/seed oils (so like soybean oil or sunflower oil that this one has). There are options because ice cream by itself doesn't use vegetable oil. Milk, Cream, Eggs, Sugar, Flavor. Congrats on the anniversary. I used to read you and Ice Cream Informant, he is long gone but you have been there throughout.

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  5. ummmmmm, I don't like ben & jerry's chocolate ice cream?

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  6. Oh I think I mixed you up on the chocolate base with the youtube ice cream blogger I also follow. I've never been impressed with B and Js chocolate base. It just seemed too milky to me. And I recall at least some other thought that as well. Just about the only chocolate B and Js flavor I ever liked the chocolate base in was Chocolate Therapy and most people seem to think they used a different/ darker chocolate base with that one which is why it tasted good. I cant even do Chocolate Brownie today because of the base but everyone else seems to like that flavor.

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  7. 12 years already?! WOW! Keep up your hard work. Always fun to see ice cream reviews. Trends has come and gone for sure. I think the diet ice cream trend is becoming a fad for sure.

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  8. @Anon: oooooo, ha, ok! short story: back in the day, people thought I was crazy for thinking Ben & Jerry's had multiple chocolate flavored bases :)

    @U: there will always be some kind of fad in the freezer aisle. froyo, greek froyo, sugar replacement, and the current non-dairy trend are all part of the "healthy" segment that flips over every few years.

    Thanks for the well wishes everyone!

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  9. This is a milk chocolate base mnot like they're regular chocolate and its delicious

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  10. Favorite Ben and Jerry’s flavor?

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  11. I'd say I can appreciate this flavor (almost as much as I appreciate your blog!)-- it at least is different enough from the other same old mix-ins in B&J's rotation and is pretty tasty. The only other potato-chippy flavor out there right now that I've had (and liked more) is 7 Eleven's Malt Crunch. As for the base, I think it's the same as in Chocolate Shake It, so no real complaint there. My real complaint is that lately, I've had more under-filled pints and massive air pockets from B&J over this past year than I ever remember. I wonder what gives with their equipment these days. I hate being the d-bag at the store pressing down on pint lids to make sure they're solid/full.

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  12. Congratulation on 12 years! Enjoy reading you blog!Thanks!

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  13. @May: well they are sold by weight, not volume, so in theory it shouldnt matter. I'm sure there is more air in there then there used to be (money savings, everyone does it unfortunately!), but the pints should be the same. Iunno. Now I feel like weighing a few pints to be sure :)

    @Unknown: not sure what my favorite is right now to be honest

    @sport: thanks!

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  14. I work for one of the ice cream companies you review. Ice cream pints are sold by volume! As far as underfilled pints, please report to B&Js , that's potentially illegal. Love my job though :)

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  15. sorry, i was thinking about how a serving size was measured in grams. I was under the impression that they measured (random?) pints by weight to verify they were filled properly. My bad!

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  16. You're correct! We measure a specified amount of pints for both weights and volume. Legally though, we sell by volume (due to overrun).

    As far as underfilled pints, ice cream is frozen upside down, so the product should always be flush against the cap. If you slice a pint cross-wise, you should see a bottom void (air pocket) due to the the upside down freezjng. If pints are underfilled at the top, that is likely temperature abuse during transit or at the store (thawing, losing air, and refreezing).

    i dont work for B&J, but assuming processes are pretty similar. They make a great product!

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  17. Wow 12 years? Congrats! Your reviews have influenced my ice cream purchases for years and I'm definitely grateful. I hope this site lasts another 12!

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  18. @Anon: thanks for the clarification! :)

    @EU: Thanks! 12 years is a long time, but I'll try!

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  19. I dug in hard for the potato chip swirl but left the ice cream itself

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  20. Just hulk smash a bag of kettle cooked chips and scoop that up, it should have the same effect :)

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  21. The potato chip swirl is the star of the show as I was not a fan of the chocolate ice cream or the fudge flakes. They were just way too boring. If the ice cream had been sweeter and if there were plentiful amounts of the potato chip swirl I would have loved it. Otherwise, this is just chocolate ice cream.

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  22. Can I ask a question that will unfortunately sound a bit rude? You sound like one of those people that doesn't really like Ben & Jerry's ice cream (at least their chocolate ice cream).... so why continue to buy it? Completion-ism? Hopefulness? Maybe I am inappropriately lumping you in with other B&J's naysayers, but I would like to have an honest conversation about it.

    For years and years, there has been the "B&J's is over-hyped crowd" and they point out a boring chocolate or whatnot, but I just don't understand why it continues to bother them. There are lots of other companies out there, just buy them instead. (maybe they did move on and it's just a new crowd saying the same thing)

    Sorry if I sound like a jerk here, I don't mean to be. Sometimes I just need someone to fill in the piece of data I am missing. Thanks!

    p.s. just so I don't seem like a hypocrite, I have drastically reduced my intake of low-quality mainstream brands (only give in when desperate for something new).

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