Candi Syrup - Is it real? - Does it matter?

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RAmeeti

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CSI Candi Syrup
CSI Candi Syrup.png
vs U.S. Candi Syrup
US Candi Syrup.png


CSI Candi Syrup: Beet Sugar/Date Sugar < ---------- vs ------> U.S. Candi Syrup: High Fructose Corn Syrup

Should I care about the different ingredients?

The CSI Candi Syrup used to be found at many sources. MoreBeer, MidWest, Austin, etc. Now either it is shown as Out of Stock (MoreBeer), or the shop is selling the U.S. version. There appears to be some legal issue of the U.S. version being an unauthorized version of the CSI Candi Syrup (per the CSI web site). It also seems that the CSI version is not being distributed in the U.S. at this time.

Is the U.S. version as good? Does it really matter which one is used? I can get some of the CSI version from a friend in the UK. Should I bother? Or is the U.S. version good enough?
 
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I'm not really sure what happened. LD just told me that the CSI product wasn't available anymore so they created the knock off with corn syrup. I'm not stocking that garbage. I inquired with CSI Confections, which is located in North Carolina and they said they're working out a new distributor "soon".
 
I didn't realize this happened. I just made a Belgian Tripel and a Golden Strong. I had no clue until I saw this post. The packaging and colors they chose should be worth a lawsuit although CSI would probably lose. I just rechecked one of them that I had been swindled to use corn syrup. Wow.
 
I'm not really sure what happened. LD just told me that the CSI product wasn't available anymore so they created the knock off with corn syrup. I'm not stocking that garbage. I inquired with CSI Confections, which is located in North Carolina and they said they're working out a new distributor "soon".

from www.candisyrup.com
1737167110302.png
 
Isn't priming sugar usually corn sugar?
It is, but that's not what the thread is about. I guess the question is more like, what is the exact reason people use these various sugar types? Is there a real flavor difference between a syrup made mostly of HFCS vs one made from Beet Sugar (Sucrose)?

The main gripe is that so many Abbey style Belgian beer recipes have used the CSI product that it was a relative upset to see a different product somewhat slipped into the stream with an obvious attempt to make people think it was the same.
 
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There was a guy complaining on the Beersmith forum a month or so ago about the change to high fructose corn syrup. I don't make a lot of Belgian beers but I can see how this would piss off people.
 
Using the D-180 in conjunction with Special B or C-120 has always given me just the right amount of dark stone fruit I expect in a Duppel. Will this new stuff add the same flavor?
 
Using the D-180 in conjunction with Special B or C-120 has always given me just the right amount of dark stone fruit I expect in a Duppel. Will this new stuff add the same flavor?

Who knows, but CSI is getting the real deal back out there. I have no idea who the A-hole was in the breakdown between CSI and LD Carlson but it looks like CSI is distributing through Morebeer. I bought a case of each directly from CSI but it looks like 2.5 pound increments are the new size to retail.
 
I haven't written it up yet, but in September I brewed my annual Westvleteren 12 clone with the new 180L. It's been in bottles for a couple weeks.

First impressions:
- Color seems way off. I used 2.5lbs vs 2lbs of the CSI product, but the corn syrup version is not as dark. Also not the same red tint.
- Taste is not right. Since the syrup is 75%* of the flavor, this isn't surprising. The CSI product has a lot of complex dark fruit, whereas the corn syrup product is one dimensional (and boozy).

1 data point, but I won't be using the plastic bottle stuff again. (This beer in particular is a labor of love; I'd rather pay $20/pounch than cut corners.)

edit: PS kudos to Bobby for refunding without my even asking for it. We say it a lot, but brewhardware.com has great customer service.

* edit2: OK, I guess the yeast is important, too. Edited down from 95%
 
Just think of all they do for the brewing community just to get their image stolen by LD Carlson.
Yeah. Pay for what you think is crafted in the Belgian style and get a nickel's worth of corn syrup for the same price. :mischievous:
 
I mean, are we talking corn syrup colored and flavored to duplicate CSI, or just corn syrup used in lieu of beet sugar for similar maillardization processes as the real deal?
 
First ingredient is corn syrup. Then caramelized "sugar" syrup, then caramel. I don't know how that matches with CSI, since CSI just says beet sugar and water.

If I had to guess, they carnelize a small bit way past 180L and try to dilute back to 180L. This may be to save money, or maybe they thought it tasted more similar to CSI.

edit: I bet CSI could make perfectly cromulent syrup with whatever refined sugar you handed them - LDC probably just doesn't know the secret recipe.
 

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First ingredient is corn syrup. Then caramelized "sugar" syrup, then caramel. I don't know how that matches with CSI, since CSI just says beet sugar and water.

If I had to guess, they carnelize a small bit way past 180L and try to dilute back to 180L. This may be to save money, or maybe they thought it tasted more similar to CSI.

edit: I bet CSI could make perfectly cromulent syrup with whatever refined sugar you handed them - LDC probably just doesn't know the secret recipe.
Oh my - that is straight into the "cheap knockoff" category rather than simply failing to live up to CSI's standard. Thanks for the pic!
 
Nice use of the word cromulent :mug:
Never heard of the word cromulent, but it looks like the word was invented by a staff writer for the “Simpsons” TV show. I suppose it’s fitting to have that word inserted into a discussion that includes fake Candi syrup.
 
I believe you are correct, sir!

From https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cromulent#word-history

crom- (apparently an arbitrary formation) + -ulent

Note: The word was introduced in "Lisa the Iconoclast," an episode of the Fox animated television series The Simpsons that first aired on February 18, 1996. Coinage of the word has been attributed to the television writer David X. Cohen by Bill Oakley, one of the series' producers, in a commentary to the DVD release of the series.

I think that's hilarious!

Cheers!
 
Do the new official CSI containers have a "best before" date? Or at least a "packaged on" date?

The old 1-lb bags I've bought had nothing mentioning any sort of date/time other than a note saying:
"Copyright © 2013 by Candy Syrup, Inc. All Rights Reserved"​

Kinda annoying, actually...

Yes, they do. The golden says BB 9/2025
 
I wish there was a clear explanation of what happened. Did LDC pull the rug out from under CSI? Or did CSI let a contract expire and LDC rushed to fill their supply chain with $something? (That CSI didn't have anything lined up implies the former.)

Currently I'm left with a negative impression of LDC... Which is too bad, since they're a brand I've trusted in the past.
 
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