“I see ice cream in much the same way as I see pizza — as a canvas upon which unique flavor combinations can be brought together in ways that make people happy,” Brailey said.
Customers have embraced the menu addition — but not all of Brailey’s flavor combinations.
Some of Brailey’s more experimental batches “have admittedly not gone so well,” he said, such as the Prosciutto & Fennel Pollen, the Olive Oil Ice Cream, and the Roasted Corn with Caramel (“We roasted the corn in our pizza ovens, and I thought it tasted great, but it didn’t go over so well,” Brailey said). Others have had mixed reviews, such as his Honey Lavender, which prompted customer reactions that ranged from “That’s amazing” to “Yuck, it tastes like Grandma,” Brailey said.
The hits have included Sea Salt Caramel, Drunken Cookie Monster (with Bailey’s Irish Cream), Peanut Butter with Chipped Chocolate, Roasted Banana with Nutella Swirl and Chocolate with Peanut Butter Swirl. And some of the less-traditional flavors have been popular as well, including Roasted Pineapple Habanero, which starts out cool, then leaves a lingering heat.
Ice-cream making is in Brailey’s blood. His great-grandfather, Hugo Jensen, “loved frozen desserts, especially ice cream,” Brailey said. “It was his true passion to make ice cream for his family and friends on those hot Connecticut summer nights. Everybody loved Grandpa Hugo’s ice cream and encouraged him to open his own ice cream shop someday. But World War I called him to duty, and work in the shipyards paid the bills later in life.
“Now Hugo’s lifelong dream of producing artisan ice cream is taking shape with me, his great-grandson.”
A year ago, Brailey traveled to Florida to take a week-long ice cream-making class from an artisan ice cream expert, and when he returned, he invested in a small-batch six-quart ice cream freezer. He starts with a base of 14 percent-butterfat heavy cream, skim milk and sugar, then adds high-quality ingredients, sourced locally when possible, Brailey said.
The ice cream maker mixes the ingredients and freezes the ice cream to soft-serve consistency, then it’s placed in a deep freeze set to 26 below zero to solidify completely. Spinoza’s sells a sampler of three flavors for $4.95, or a full scoop of a single flavor for $3.95. Hand-packed pints are sold for $7. Brailey keeps at least four flavors available for diners, sometimes five or six during warmer months.
“Since I am the only one making the ice cream right now, it is often a challenge to keep up with production,” Brailey said.
But it’s a challenge Brailey happily accepts.
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