I sniff around a couple of homebrew Facebook groups, and every time a beginner asks for a really simple beer recipe using a kit, some dude appears with a combination he swears will change your brewing life.
Once I spied this banger of a GEM.
“Mate, I’ve had some amazing brews with a lager kit, Riwaka hops and golden syrup!”
I was like, hmmm.
Golden syrup in a lager?
A whole packet of Riwaka hops?
Would this really work, or was this simply another confident declaration from a random bloke on social media?
I prodded him a little more. He then added that he also used a beer enhancer, which immediately made the suggestion sound less reckless. Beer enhancer can do wonders for body, flavour and mouthfeel, especially when a recipe also contains a highly fermentable syrup.
So I put the idea to the test.
Did the Riwaka and golden syrup lager work?
- Yes. The first batch was fresh, fruity, well carbonated and had surprisingly good body for a kit lager.
- The beer enhancer mattered. It supplied malt and body that the golden syrup could not provide.
- The Riwaka was powerful. A whole packet gave the beer more hop character than I would use next time.
- The follow-up batch proved the warning. Syrups without dry malt or enhancer created an extremely dry beer with almost no mouthfeel.
- My verdict: This is a recipe worth repeating, but I would reduce the Riwaka and keep a proper malt-based enhancer in the fermenter.
Golden Riwaka Lager recipe
I used the following ingredients for what I am calling the Golden Riwaka Lager:
- One Black Rock Lager beer kit and its standard yeast
- One packet of Riwaka hop pellets
- One 300 ml bottle of golden syrup
- One beer enhancer containing dextrose and dry malt extract
- Water to the volume stated in the beer kit instructions
A warning is required before anyone blindly throws “one packet” of hops into a fermenter. I failed to record the packet weight. A packet could mean 25 grams, 50 grams or 100 grams depending on where you bought it. Copying the phrase without knowing the weight is how a recipe becomes folklore rather than something another brewer can reproduce.
For a standard kit batch, I would now begin with a restrained dry-hop addition and increase it on a later brew if required. Riwaka is not a shy hop. It brings forceful passionfruit, grapefruit and citrus character, with enough oil to dominate a lightly flavoured lager base.
What is golden syrup?
Golden syrup is a thick inverted sugar syrup, commonly described in New Zealand and Britain as light treacle. It is different from molasses, which is darker and much more forceful, and it is certainly not maple syrup.
In beer, golden syrup is primarily a fermentable adjunct. The yeast consumes most of its sugar, which can raise the alcohol level and help the beer finish drier. It may leave a light caramel or toffee impression, but it does not contribute the proteins, dextrins and malt structure supplied by dry malt extract.
That distinction became the central lesson of this experiment. Golden syrup can be part of the recipe. It should not be expected to do the job of the malt.
What does Riwaka taste like in a lager?
Riwaka is a New Zealand aroma hop with a powerful tropical, passionfruit, grapefruit and citrus profile. It has Saazer ancestry, but that does not make it interchangeable with Saaz in the glass.
Saaz is usually softer, spicier and more herbal. Riwaka turns up with the stereo already playing. That makes it brilliant in a New Zealand pilsner or a modern hoppy lager, but a heavy dose can flatten the delicate malt and fermentation character underneath it.
At a pinch, Saaz can still be used if Riwaka is unavailable, but expect a more traditional lager aroma rather than the fruit-driven result described here.
How I brewed the lager kit
Cleaning the fermenter and brewing equipment
I prepared the brew using standard beer-making practices. I cleaned the fermenting drum with sodium percarbonate, dealt with the tap and lid, and made sure my brewing spoon was properly clean.
This is the boring bit right up until the day you skip it and lose an entire batch. Remove every trace of old yeast, sticky extract and bottle residue before sanitising anything that will touch the cooled wort.
Adding the kit, enhancer and golden syrup
I made the wort using the Black Rock Lager kit, then added the full bottle of golden syrup and the beer enhancer. The enhancer was doing more work than I appreciated at the time. Its dry malt extract helped preserve body and malt flavour while the dextrose and golden syrup fermented more completely.
Without that malt contribution, the recipe would have been stronger and drier, but it would also have risked becoming thin. I proved that point accidentally in the second experiment later in this article.
Dry hopping with Riwaka
I dry hopped the wort with the whole packet of Riwaka pellets. Gosh, they smelled like beer heaven.
I added them early because the point of the exercise was to test the exact social-media suggestion. On a repeat brew, I would add a measured amount after the most violent stage of fermentation had eased, then leave the hops in contact with the beer for several days. That should preserve more of the aroma rather than allowing the escaping fermentation gas to carry some of it away.
The broader guide to dry hopping beer for aroma explains timing, contact time and the danger of treating every hop variety as though it has the same strength.
Fermenting in the man shed
I wrapped the fermenter in some old sheets and left it in my man shed.
The first day I went in to check it, my nostrils were swamped with the delicious Riwaka smell. The aroma had enveloped the whole room, and the airlock was bubbling away quite happily.
Winning.
The original batch was bottled after about a week because the bubbling had slowed to the occasional blip. I would not use that as the bottling test now. Airlocks report gas movement, lid seals and temperature changes. They do not prove fermentation has finished.
The safer bottling rule
Check the specific gravity with a hydrometer and bottle only after the reading remains unchanged for at least two consecutive days. A quiet airlock is encouraging. Stable gravity is evidence.
A brief detour into my lazy bottle-cleaning phase
At the time, I had developed what I called a bit of a cheat when cleaning bottles. “Cheat” was the generous description. “Getting lazy” was probably more accurate.
After emptying each bottle of its liquid gold, I rinsed it at the kitchen bench, sometimes added dishwashing liquid and used a bottle brush when required. The bottle then went into the dishwasher. My theory was that the heat would kill anything nasty lurking inside.
The problem is that a dishwasher is designed to clean the outside of a narrow-necked bottle far better than the inside. Very little spray may reach the base, and ordinary dish soap can leave residue that damages beer foam. Waiting until bottles begin tasting suspicious before doing a proper clean is also a backwards quality-control system.
The better routine is simple:
- Rinse each bottle immediately after pouring the beer.
- Inspect it against a light before storage and again before bottling.
- Use sodium percarbonate or another proper brewery cleaner when residue is present.
- Sanitise every bottle and cap on bottling day.
- Retire scratched, chipped or suspicious bottles rather than gambling a batch on them.
Phew, we wandered off the track there a bit.
Where was I?
Ah yes, bottling.
Batch priming the Golden Riwaka Lager
I batch primed the original brew with 80 grams of sugar, capped the bottles and put them back in the shed for some alone time in the dark.
That amount worked for this batch, but it should not be copied without knowing the actual packaged volume, the beer’s temperature after fermentation and the desired carbonation level. A 23-litre recipe rarely puts a full 23 litres into bottles once sediment and transfer losses are accounted for.
Use the site’s priming sugar guide and calculator, enter the volume you are genuinely packaging, and confirm that final gravity is stable before adding more fermentable sugar.
I knew the seasonal warmth heading into summer was not ideal lager weather. Anyways, this patient brewer put the bottles aside and waited to see whether the random Facebook dude knew his beer.
The tasting verdict
A couple of weeks later, I put a bottle in the fridge overnight and opened it with dinner.
Holy shit, I made a damn good beer.
That random dude on social media had stumbled across an amazing combination of ingredients.
| Tasting point | What ended up in the glass |
|---|---|
| Aroma | Strong, fresh Riwaka fruit and citrus. |
| Flavour | Fruity and lively, with far more personality than a plain lager kit. |
| Mouthfeel | Good for a kit lager, thanks largely to the malt content in the enhancer. |
| Carbonation | A steady stream of bubbles and enough lift to keep the beer feeling fresh. |
| Best serving | Properly cold, preferably on a warm day. |
The beer had a real summer vibe. The hops were strong, perhaps stronger than a traditional lager drinker would expect, but the beer felt fresh in the mouth and carried enough body to stop the syrup from hollowing it out.
Would I brew it again?
Most definitely.
I would reduce the Riwaka level. The whole packet felt like overkill for my taste, and a smaller measured addition would leave more space for the lager base and golden syrup character. That is personal preference, of course. Some hop fiends will read “overkill” as “a promising start.”
The second syrup experiment failed, and here is why
I later had another go along the same lines after receiving a Coopers Lager kit for Christmas.
This time I added 300 ml of golden syrup and 200 ml of maple syrup as the fermentables. I did not add dry malt extract or beer enhancer. A small handful of Green Bullet hops went in as well.
After two weeks of bottle conditioning, I sampled the result with a little trepidation.
Sure enough, it was the driest beer I had ever made. The hop flavour was present, but the beer had almost no mouthfeel and the dryness dominated everything else.
The syrups had done exactly what highly fermentable sugars tend to do. They fed the yeast, increased attenuation and left very little behind to build body. Maple syrup may sound rich when poured over pancakes, but much of that richness does not survive fermentation in the way a brewer might imagine.
The lesson from the failed batch
Golden syrup can supplement a beer kit. It should not replace all of the malt-based fermentables unless the deliberate goal is an unusually dry and light-bodied beer. Add dry malt extract or a balanced beer enhancer when you want alcohol, flavour and mouthfeel to arrive in the same glass.
Like Thomas Edison discovering many ways not to make a light bulb, I had confirmed one reliable way not to make this beer. The failed batch made the successful one easier to understand.
For more detail, see the guide to building better body and mouthfeel in homebrew.
How this experiment compares with other beer kits I have brewed
This Golden Riwaka Lager sits between a standard kit review and a full recipe. The can supplied the base, while the hops, syrup and enhancer decided whether it remained an ordinary lager or became something genuinely memorable.
| Beer kit or method | How it differs | Read this when |
|---|---|---|
| Coopers Lager kit review | A basic lager-can benchmark brewed without a major Riwaka addition. | You want to know what the familiar Coopers can tastes like before modifying it. |
| WilliamsWarn Bohemian Pilsner | A maltier premium pilsner kit using a dedicated lager yeast. | You want a more traditional pilsner direction with a stronger malt foundation. |
| Lion Brown Lager kit | A darker, malt-led lager-kit comparison with a familiar New Zealand reference point. | You prefer malt character over a bright modern hop aroma. |
| Te Aro Obligatory fresh wort pack | Fresh commercial wort rather than concentrated extract, with a fuller hop and malt profile. | You want kit-level convenience with a result closer to an all-grain craft beer. |
| Two Coopers Lager kits together | A double-can approach that builds gravity and malt intensity without relying on syrup. | You want a stronger, richer lager-style beer and are willing to use more extract. |
For the complete collection, visit the beer kit reviews hub. It brings together the lager, pilsner, ale, stout and fresh-wort reviews so you can compare what each kit actually produced rather than relying on the picture printed on the can.
Riwaka lager and golden syrup questions
Can you add golden syrup to a beer kit?
Yes. Golden syrup is fermentable and can increase alcohol while adding a mild caramel impression. Pair it with dry malt extract or a balanced beer enhancer if you want the finished beer to retain body.
Does golden syrup make beer taste sweet?
Usually far less than expected because brewing yeast consumes much of the sugar. A large addition can make the beer finish drier rather than sweeter. The exact result depends on the yeast, original gravity and the amount of malt-based fermentable in the recipe.
How much Riwaka should be added to a lager kit?
Measure the hops by weight and choose the dose according to the result you want. A light addition can freshen a simple lager. A large addition can turn it into an assertive New Zealand pilsner-style beer. The original “whole packet” worked, but it produced more hop character than I would use next time.
When should Riwaka be dry hopped?
Add it after the most active fermentation has eased if the main goal is to retain aroma. Leave enough time for the hop oils to extract, then package promptly once fermentation is complete and the desired contact time has passed.
Can Saaz replace Riwaka?
Saaz can make an excellent lager, but it will produce a softer herbal and spicy character. Riwaka has Saazer ancestry while delivering a much stronger passionfruit, grapefruit and citrus profile.
Why was the second syrup lager so dry?
Golden syrup and maple syrup supplied fermentable sugar but very little lasting body. Without dry malt extract or enhancer, the yeast consumed most of the added material and left a thin beer behind.
The recipe I would brew now
I would keep the lager kit, golden syrup and malt-based enhancer. I would measure the Riwaka rather than emptying an unidentified packet, add it later in fermentation, confirm stable gravity before bottling and calculate the priming sugar from the actual packaged volume.
That keeps the idea that made the original beer so enjoyable while removing the guesswork that could turn the next batch into either a hop grenade or another glass of extremely dry disappointment.
