This past summer, Berkey Creamery let Penn Staters choose the 150th Anniversary flavor, and ultimately debuted Birthday Bash as the winner. While in competition there’s always a winner, there also has to be a loser. In this case, one of the losers was Strawberry Cheesecake, and even though it didn’t win the contest, Strawberry Cheesecake still made it in to the Creamery’s extensive lineup of flavors.

Since the runner-up flavor was just made available yesterday, we sent a trio of staffers to try the new addition.

Jacob Abrams — Cone

I’m not usually a big fan of strawberry flavors, but boy did this one impress me. Going in to the taste test, I was expecting big things — I mean, it is Berkey Creamery ice cream we’re talking about. The flavor didn’t disappoint. It was the perfect spin-off of strawberry shortcake ice cream; a light strawberry-flavored cream with chunks of soft cheesecake in every bite.

The crumby pieces of graham cracker crust were the perfect contrast to the smooth texture of  ice cream. The strawberry had a nice taste, though there were no strawberries in the ice cream as I’d expected. The one thing that caught me off was the flavor of cheesecake. As I started eating I only encountered pieces of cake, but no cheese. Once I tasted it, the treat became more interesting. The tart flavor of the cheese was intriguing to say the least, but after several minutes of devouring my cone, I got used to it. As I kept eating, the tart cheesecake mixed with the sweet ice cream in a way which would appeal to anyone’s palette.

Then I got to the best part of the treat: the cone. The crunchy cone perfectly complemented the taste of the flavor of the ice cream. As I finished my dessert, I realized I was sad to have eaten it so fast, but fortunately not fast enough to develop brain freeze during my unnecessary race against the clock.

Strawberry Cheesecake is an interesting twist on a strawberry shortcake ice cream. It’s a flavor that entices the taste buds thanks to the mix of sweet and tart, along with the mix of textures that are present thanks to the graham cracker crust. Getting Strawberry Cheesecake on a cone should be the go to, it adds a nice touch to an already satisfying treat.

Patrick Koerbler — Cup

I’m not usually a big fan of ice cream where a fruit plays a large part in the flavor. I find myself more drawn to flavors like chocolate marshmallow or Mint Nittany, as opposed to other classic Creamery fruit flavors like Peachy Paterno or Bananas Foster. Either way, it’s safe to say my expectations were relatively reserved when receiving my cup of Strawberry Cheesecake.

Overall, my thoughts on the Creamery’s new flavor are mixed. The ice cream — as always — was super rich, and I was a big fan of the incorporation of chunks of cheesecake into the ice cream.

So what was the problem? I didn’t like the strawberry fruit swirls. At least for my taste buds, I felt like the ice cream had enough of a strawberry flavor to it already, and that the addition of the swirl was a slight overkill.

While I probably won’t be ordering Strawberry Cheesecake again, I still think that Strawberry Cheesecake will have fans, and will find itself as a mainstay at the Creamery. Different strokes for different folks, as they say.

Carolyn Popescu — Milkshake