Stone Ridge Creamery Cheesecake Flavors Caramel and Double Berry Review

Ok, it's been a almost a year since I've shown you guys anything from Stone Ridge Creamery, the inhouse brand of ice creams from SuperValu owned grocery stores. The maestro behind these flavors does a lot with these "budget" flavors, and there seem to be several new flavors in my area this year, so let's see if we can figure out which ones everyone should try.

Stone Ridge Creamery Double Berry Cheesecake ice cream

Cheesecake Ice Cream with Strawberry & Blackberry Swirls & Graham Cracker Crust Pieces

Stone Ridge Creamery Cinnamon Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Review

[New for 2012] I was pretty excited when I came across the news that Stone Ridge Creamery was releasing two new seasonal flavors. Sure, I convinced myself to try the Peppermint Cookies & Cream first because, well, I was afraid this next one wouldn't live up to it's potential.

Two Words People:

SNICKERDOODLE SWIRL

Stone Ridge Creamery Peppermint Cookies 'n Cream Ice Cream Review

[New for 2012] A few weeks ago I saw the press release for two new flavors from Stone Ridge Creamery, the in-house brand of SuperValu grocery stores. One is the awesome sounding Cinnamon Snickerdoodle, the other is the fun sounding....

Peppermint Cookies 'n Cream

Stone Ridge Creamy Limited Edition Real Ice Cream

Stone Ridge Creamery Tom's Twisted Pretzels An Ice Cream Review

Greetings all! Next up is a Stone Ridge Creamery flavor which you can find at any SuperValu owned grocery store --- with 2500 stores nationwide, I'm guessing there is one near you (it's Shaws for me). Now I've already had this flavor twice this week, and it's not that I'm still deciding if it's good or bad, it's that I'm debating just how much I'm enjoying it.

Too many words. Do I like it or love it? Let's find out.

This is Stone Ridge Creamery's Tom's Twisted Pretzel Ice Cream. You may remember that four Dream Flavors came out last year and were all created by SRC employees. This one is chocolaty covered pretzel pieces and a rich caramel swirled in caramel ice cream. As you know, I adore pretzels (in fact, I'm pretty sure it's genetic), so I can't believe I've waited this long to try this one.

My apologies to Stone Ridge Creamery

I think it may have been..... October? sure.... when I picked up Caramel Waffle Cone from Stone Ridge Creamery. It then got "lost" at the very bottom of the deep freezer.

Wow, that's alot of shrinkage!

Look close and you can see the line where the ice cream use to be.

Oh my, it's gone to soft serve on the edges, and those are some nasty ice crystals...  I'm thinking this may have spent some time in the upstairs freezer at some point. So weird.

Want to hear something scary? The waffle cone bits where still crunchy!! They're big too!

Anyway, the ice cream is totally wasted. It has that weird funky gritty texture that really burned out ice cream has. Bummer since the caramel seems to have a nice mild flavor (though it could have faded over time)

Sorry stone ridge, I'll try this again another time.

Stone Ridge Creamery Dream Flavors

I forget how many weeks ago it was, but we spotted the new dream flavors at Shaws. They caught my attention because unlike other Stone Ridge containers, these ones had drawings on them. I picked up one in particular and it's been patiently hiding in the deep freezer until now. It's been on a long list of things I need to try, but I decided to bump it up the list when I received a very cool email from Supervalu's marketing company.

--- start email ---

Last year, SUPERVALU invited its employees from across the company to show their love for the Stone Ridge Creamery brand by submitting their “dream” ice cream flavors. The company received nearly 1,500 submissions from its 160,000 employees.

Three employees (two from Minneapolis and one from Chula Vista, Calif.), won the chance to have their dream flavors added to the Stone Ridge Creamery lineup and their caricatures featured on the carton. They are also receiving free ice cream for a year! This sweepstakes has been SUPERVALU’s way of recognizing and thanking employees for the contributions they made to the brand’s growth.

The new dream flavors, which are now available nationwide at SUPERVALU’s family of grocery stores, are listed below. Full descriptions of each flavor can be found in the press release: http://www.pitchengine.com/supervalu/cool-prizes-awarded-to-three-supervalu-employees--in-the-stone-ridge-creamery--name-your-dream-flavor-sweepstakes/60869/

Twisted Pretzel
Red Velvet Cake
Italian Kiss

--- end email ---

Talk about a fun idea, and free ice cream for a whole year to boot! I hope the employees enjoyed the contest because I know I certainly would. I love stories like this but it wouldn't be fair to bring it up without actually sampling one of the flavors. Oh which one to try, they all sound unique:
Twisted Pretzel: Chocolate Ice Cream, Pretzels and a Caramel Swirl
Red Velvet Cake: who's description isnt on the container
Italian Kiss: Hazlenut Ice Cream and a Chocolate Swirl

So which one did I pick? Well, ummm, you see.... technically there is a fourth Dream Flavor:

This is Philip's Truffle Shuffle. It's a "Rich Chocolate Ice Cream with Decadent Truffles and a Thick Fudge Swirl". When I bought this, Twisted Pretzel wasn't out yet and so I was having a bear of a time deciding which flavor to go with. So, I made an assumption: I know Phillip is the SRC's ice cream guru, so I went with his flavor. It seemed only fair since he does read the blog (at least he used to, not sure how busy he is these days).

Stone Ridge Creamery Denali Caramel Caribou

Poor Caramel Caribou....I keep trying to write about you but keep getting distracted. This was meant to be last Friday's treat. In fact, for a fleeting moment I thought I had bought Stone Ridge Moose Tracks and I was going to throw it in the ring to have a friday night fight with Kemp's Moose Tracks yogurt. Well, I didnt make it to the freezer 'til saturday, and that's when I realized (half remembered) that I bought Caramel Caribou, not Moose Tracks. Oh well, a flavor is a flavor, and this flavor needs testing!

Here's is Stone Ridge Creamery's Denali Caramel Caribou. Since the title isn't very clear, let me say the description is toffee-flavored ice cream with caramel cups & luscious Denali caramel. To be honest, I never really trust a flavor that has to tell you its delicious or luscious or tasty (think about it for a minute, you'll realize I might be on to something here).

Stone Ridge Creamery 100 Calorie Mini Ice Cream Cones

I was home watching my little buddy yesterday, so that mean's a nice midday snack of something to review for the blog. I was doing my best to relax and not worry about work, or chores, or anything else. I did my best to clear my mind and figure out what the best treat would be, and then it hit me. Chocolate! I need Chocolate! My chocolate addiction is in full swing this week, so let's see what we can do about it.

Ahhhh, here to help is Stone Ridge Creamery with their 100 Calorie mini ice cream cones. And it's not just chocolate ice cream, it's Chocolate ice cream with chocolate swirls in a chocolate cone. Mmmm, I do adore Chocolate Ice Cream Cones.

Stone Ridge Creamery Ice Cream Peanut Butter Cup

I came so close to blogging back to back posts this weekend....and failed yet again. Sorry. Our schedule is bound to stabilize sooner or later ...Update: keep trying to finish this post....keep getting denied....

Not sure where to start on this one. I really want to jump to the stunning conclusion, but I know I should take it step-by-step.This is Peanut Butter Cup from Stone Ridge Creamery, the in-house brand of all the SuperValu owned supermarket chains (that's Shaws for me). It seems that every chain has an entry level (low cost) store brand and make no mistake, Stone Ridge Creamery is not messing around. What we have here is vanilla ice cream with peanut butter cup pieces and ribbons of fudge & peanut butter. Notice I said ribbons, not swirls - we'll get back to this shortly.

Stone Ridge Creamery Ice Cream Cookie Dough

Greetings! Nothing makes me want to blog more than when I stumble across a really nice carton of ice cream. I also love the fact that Stone Ridge is always trying to be more than just a cheap economy level store brand product. Wait, that sounds like a insult, but no matter! Where is my new friend?

Ahh, there he is. Stone Ridge Creamery's Cookie Dough real ice cream. Look at the container carefully for a second. Now, what don't you see? Usually to the right of the red logo, you would see a description of the ice cream. Sure it could just be a mix up, but I'm thinking ....maybe, just maybe, it's on purpose. I know, sounds like a conspiracy theory, but follow me on this one.

Stone Ridge Creamery Blueberry Cobbler Ice Cream

You know what my problem with Stone Ridge Creamery is? Well, I don't have one actually. My problem is with Shaws: if you go to one of the older, smaller Shaws, you don't get half the SRC selection that you might find at a new larger Shaws. As with all things in life, the nicer Shaws are further from the house...

Thankfully, I went to one of the better Shaws grocery stores the other day. As I strolled through the freezer aisle, I decided it was time to just give in and try Blueberry Cobbler. Sure I have two other SR flavors in the deep freezer waiting for testing, but I've been wanting to try this flavor. I guess I'm just a sucker for anything in with pie crust bits in it.

 

Stone Ridge Creamy Real Ice Cream - Blueberry Cobbler - Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Pie Crust Crumbles and Ribbons of Blueberry. To be honest, I don't think this picture does the ice cream justice. Here, let's take a closer look.

Stone Ridge Creamery Rocky Road Ice Cream Review

It's been too long since there's been some economical yet tasty stone ridge ice cream in the fridge. After my recent disappoint with Breyers "new & improved" Rocky Road (i.e. why did they mess with an old favorite?), I decided my next Stone Ridge treat needed to be their take on Rocky Road.
May I present Stone Ridge Creamery's Real Ice Cream : Rocky Road - Chocolate Ice Cream with Almonds and Mini Marshmallows. Wait, mini marshmallows? Oh, I hate those things in my ice cream. (You might notice a bit of freezer burn on the far right side there, not real sure how that happened, but I simply scooped that part into the sink and moved on)

Stone Ridge Creamy Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

I'm just going to do a quick post for now, but I wanted to say we had some better success with the Strawberry flavor. It reminds me a lot of the Stonyfield farm strawberry yogurt my wife usually eats. I mean, I don't think I would buy this on purpose, but it's still respectable stuff and my daughter had no problem finishing her bowl's worth.

2011 Update: Stone Ridge Creamery has discontinued their line of tart frozen yogurt. Guess I'm not the only one who doesn't like tart.

Brandy New! Tart Frozen Yogurt from Stone Ridge Creamery

I mentioned I had a special package coming and here it is:

You may not even seen on your store shelves yet, but you will. Big thanks to Stone Ridge for letting me try before I buy, but there is a problem: I am totally the WRONG person to be reviewing these products. I just don't like tart yogurt. It seems like it's a good product, and I dig two of the flavor choices ( strawberry and pomegranate blueberry ), but I just can't get over the tartness. This blog has let you know that I definitely lean towards the sweet side of life, not too sweet ofcourse, but sweet is the way to go for me.

Stone Ridge Creamery Ice Cream Chocolate Fudge Brownie

That's right, the other brownie flavor that got my attention Monday night was Stone Ridge Creamery Chocolate Fudge Brownie "Real Ice Cream". Something tell me that's a shot across the bow of all the "Frozen Dairy Desserts" out there ...ya got that Edy's? It was kind of funny because only two of the flavors were sporting the new look. It actually took me a minute to decide between this and the other one. They both were a chocolate base with a fudge swirl, but the other had almonds. Took a minute, but I went with the brownie.

Stone Ridge Creamery Rainbow Sherbet

Ok, first scoop reviews gonna be a bit concise since my eyeballs are already half closed. Well, I guess the container should be the tip off that this is a swirled sherbet and not a divided sherbet. I'll admit it looked a little funny when I first opened it, but I attempted to dig in anyway.

It's not so much that it's bad, it's that it's not that good. Thankfully it's not one of those salty sherbets. The flavors are just kinda blah. Sure, they are there, but they're weak and not particularly good. I ate it but I became less enthused with every bite. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for sherbet like I thought I was.

On Second Scoop: Yeah, this puppy is just kind of sitting in the freezer. I have a bit now and then, but it just doesn't excite me. I've been spoiled by Hola Fruta. I'm going to rank it below Friendly's Sherbet, and I guess place it in the same spot as Life Saver Sherbet. Maybe it's the fact it looks like yellow snow...

Nutrition: 110/0/0/

Stone Ridge Creamery Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I'd like to start this review with a little confession. This was suppose to be a review of Stone Ridge Creamery's "churned" Cookie Dough Ice Cream. Unfortunately the containers in front were a little beat up, so I reached in the back for a better one. I wound up grabbing a chocolate chip container because it looks almost identical to the cookie dough container. The embarrassing part is that I didn't notice until I cracked open the container and thought "where are all the cookie dough chunks???"

packaging circa 2009

Now it's been over two months since Stone Ridge was in the freezer, so let's recap from the beginning. Supervalu owns a whole bunch of grocery store chains, including my local Shaws. Like any nationwide chain, they make their own stuff. Now I haven't seen the Stone Ridge logo slapped on anything else, so it currently appears to be limited to ice cream, though maybe in your area it's different.

Stone Ridge Creamery Black Raspberry Chip

I think it's been less than a year, but a while back Stone Ridge Creamery invaded the freezer section of our local Shaw's Supermarkets. With its low price, I assumed it was an entry level brand and didn't pay it much attention. Well, it was on sale this week, so I decided to give it a try.
I decided to go with the "Special Edition" Black Raspberry Chip ice cream. I know, I said I would avoid chocolate chips in my black raspberry, but this is different. The black raspberry is mixed with vanilla ice cream. Sounds tempting, especially when you are really hungry.
After throwing dinner in the oven, I decided it was time for an 'appetizer'. I took off the lid and scraped it off (don't want to waste). Hmm, interesting, it has potential. I dig in to the main container and take several bites before I really settle on how I feel about it. The vanilla is alright, it's mild, but the texture is nice. The black raspberry is strong, in fact, it feels like a sherbet. It says ice cream, but it's very debatable. I just don't like it by itself. I think the secret is to scoop the vanilla and the black raspberry in a ratio that's right for you. I bet this could actually be used to make a really nice black raspberry milkshake.

Ok, so, do I like it? ....well, ummm, I guess I do. How about this, the quality is better than "Great Value" or Hood. I can definitely see myself trying one of the other Stone Ridge flavors. Stone Ridge is owned by SuperValu, which owns a bunch of supermarkets ...including Shaws. Well, it all makes sense now.
On Second Scoop: Well, my opinion hasn't changed a whole lot really. It's an alright ice cream. The black raspberry is just way too strong, especially if you make the mistake of taking too big a bite of it. It actually kind of reminds me of Breyer's take on black raspberry, but that's not really a good thing. I forgot to mention the chips: the are fairly scattered so they don't really bother me. They aren't real high quality or anything, so they basically just add a bit of crunch now and then.
Nutrition: 150/70-5/0/3