Froz Broz Black Sea Salt Malt

Alex's recent review of Froz Broz Black Lager Candied Pretzel really pushed me to get my butt in gear to finally write a review of my second Froz Broz flavor, Black Sea Salt Malt.  One reason I put it off is because I'm supremely lazy.  The other is because I have some pretty complicated feelings about this flavor and I needed some time to process them.

There's not really a description of this ice cream on the Froz Broz website, but I suggest you go read their blog post about.  This flavor has some pretty cool origins, it was created for the launch party of a book written by a friend of the Froz Broz.  The description is pretty straightforward from the name though.

When Alex and I ventured to Froz Broz there were three flavor options. Toasted Grits and Maple Syrup sounded the most delicious, so we both picked up a pint. I foisted Black Lager Candied Pretzel off on Alex because it was the less weird sounding of the remaining two flavors.  Also, Alex knows more about beer than I do. (As evidenced in his post where he named at least three different types of beer. Whoa.)  That left me with Black Sea Salt Malt.

I was equal parts excited and afraid of this flavor. On one hand, it's one of the strangest flavors I've had the fortune to encounter, but would it be too strange? This question triggered an existential crisis. Was it possible that I, adventurous ice cream eater extraordinaire, was afraid of a flavor? The only cure for this crisis, the only way to assuage my fears was to forge boldly ahead and try the ice cream.

I didn't let myself chicken out. I didn't try a lone spoonful. I scooped myself an overflowing bowl. I was committed. There was no backing out.

The base of this ice cream was a light and mild vanilla pepped up by the barley malt.  Although it was hard to separate the malt flavor from the salt flavor, I thought this malt was more stronger and more savory than malt I have had in the past (this is a good thing).  The black salt had a richer and less overwhelmingly salty flavor than standard table salt. Since it dissolved in the ice cream, it created nice little black swirls throughout the pint.  This allowed the salt flavor to infuse the entire pint.

Overall I did find the combination of sea salt and malt slightly overwhelming. I think I would have been much better off having about half as much ice cream as I did. Also, I think it would make a superb base for a fancy sea salt caramel sundae or a white chocolate sundae.