Sweet Science - Honey Chamomile Ale

Honey Chamomile Tea - Honey and Chamomile Ice Cream with a Caramel Ale Swirl

The Saint Paul-based Sweet Science brand had another monthly tasting event, so I picked up a few new pints.  Today's pint is a seasonal flavor called Honey Chamomile Ale.  It's a unique flavor!  It has honey and chamomile in the base -- I have not had chamomile in ice cream before -- and it has a caramel swirl laced with Wheatstone Bridge Beer from the local Tin Whiskers brewing company.

Chamomile is an herb which derives from a daisy-like flowering plant.  It is a common additive to tea and is also a commonly used in herbal medicine -- it is believed to have a calming effect.  The name of the beer used here is also interesting.  A wheatstone bridge is actually an old electrical engineering term.  It is a special type of circuit which has be used to measure all sorts of electrical properties (resistance, capacitance, impedance, etc) since the mid-nineteenth century.  That said, the folks at Tin Whiskers say in the link above that we shouldn't overthink the name and just imagine the circuit's co-inventor Charles Wheatstone kicking back and enjoying a good beer.

Enough talk, lets eat!  Removing the lid shows the creamy color of the honey chamomile base.   The honey flavor is evident right away in the first spoonful.  I really like honey-flavored ice cream.  I think it should be used more often.  I don't know if I am tasting the chamomile or not.  Perhaps it is mild, or perhaps I am just not familiar with what chamomile is supposed to taste like.  The ice cream is delicious, though.  I start to encounter the caramel swirl on the sides of the pint.  The 'ale' that is mixed in makes the caramel a bit saucier than the usual caramel swirl but otherwise I don't notice a strong beer flavor.  It is also good, though.  The caramel swirl becomes a little more pronounced as I eat my way down the pint which a decent amount of it on the bottom of the carton.

I quite liked this pint.  The honey and caramel were the stars here.  That is a good flavor combination which I think should be used more often.  The mixing of the swirl was a bit uneven but it did not detract from the overall quality of the pint.  If you're in the mood for an out-of-the-ordinary flavor, check this one out.