UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- It's March. Let the (flavor) madness begin.
Penn State Berkey Creamery is bringing back Flavor Madness, the online tournament in which ice cream fans can vote weekly for their favorite flavors. The contest was held last in 2017, when Death by Chocolate took home the trophy.
"We had such a great response when we held the contest before that we decided to bring it back, this time pitting traditional favorites against some new flavors," said Jim Brown, assistant manager. "It's a fun way to celebrate Penn State, the Creamery, basketball and spring."
Voting will take place on the Creamery's website, and participants are encouraged to share their picks on social media by using #FlavorMadness.
Fans can choose their favorite flavors each week, starting with the Berkey Creamery Sweet 16 from March 18 to 22. Participants can vote for each matchup in four different brackets.
The "I Scream" bracket features Vanilla Bean vs. Cookies-N-Cream and Happy Happy Joy Joy squaring off against Chocolate. In the "You Scream" bracket, Grilled Stickies is paired against Alumni Swirl, with Bittersweet Mint going against Peanut Butter Swirl.
The "We All Scream" bracket contains Death by Chocolate vs. Butter Pecan and Strawberry vs. Black Raspberry Frozen Yogurt. Finally, the "For Ice Cream" bracket offers a choice between Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and WPSU Coffee Break, and Peachy Paterno and Monkey Business.
The Flavor Madness voting schedule is as follows:
--The Creamery Sweet 16: March 18-22, with eight winning flavors announced March 25.
--Elite 8: March 25-29, with four winning flavors announced April 1.
--Flavorful 4: April 1-5, with winning flavors announced April 8.
--Tasty 2: April 8-12, with the "scoop champion" announced April 15.
The winning flavor will be discounted by $2 per half gallon on online shipments only at creamery.psu.edu from April 15 to 19. No in-store discounts will be offered.
Another sweet bonus -- participants in the Flavor Madness contest will be entered in a drawing for a free shipment of Creamery ice cream (within the 48 continental U.S. states) with a new winner chosen every week. Winners will be selected at random from the pool of each week's players with a valid email address.
Participants must re-enter each week to be eligible for that week's prize. Winners will be contacted by email and must respond within seven business days to claim their prize. Winners will receive five half gallons of ice cream or frozen yogurt. For complete contest rules, go to http://creamery.psu.edu/flavor-madness.