Add Citrusy Notes To Your Beer With A Splash Of Lemon Juice

On its own, a cold beer is plenty refreshing. When flavored with citrus, however, that beer becomes all the more flavorful. Case in point: Many breweries already incorporate light, tropical flavors into the beers they sell. For instance, SweetWater Brewing Company makes an orange citrus ale, as well as a "Grass Monkey" beer with Lemondrop hops and lemongrass. If you don't have any citrus beer on hand, however, you don't have to miss out on this winning combination. Simply add just a splash of lemon to upgrade your favorite brew — or make cheap beer taste much better.

Beer with lemon is a great combination because citrus adds nuance to an otherwise standard beer. The fruit's acidity and brightness maximize fresh, summer flavors, and offer an element of vibrancy to that can in your fridge. For proof, remember all those times you've been served a bottle of Corona with a lime — or lemon — wedge. While either citrus form does the job, lemon works especially well because it's less sweet and slightly more acidic. It packs a distinctive flavor. 

As for how much lemon to add, that depends on how much you like its taste. Add just a splash to enhance your beer's flavor – or go all-in on lemon for a completely different drink. 

In general, squeezing just a little bit of lemon — a wedge works perfectly well — should be enough to elevate your beer without transforming it entirely. Just as a lemon slice flavors water, it likewise offers a new taste to beer ... but isn't quite potent enough to overpower or override the taste of the underlying beverage.

Just make sure to choose your beer carefully. While you can opt for one of summer's best beer styles, Mexican-style lagers work as well with lemon as they do lime. Try that Corona with lemon, or utilize a wheat beer. As a rule of thumb, citrus tends to work well in any light, relatively neutral beer (including most lagers and wheat beers), so you have plenty of options when it comes to incorporating a lemon wedge. 

Of course, if you really want to up your beer's lemon flavor, you can try mixing beer with lemonade for a refreshing summer shandy. Adding citrus to your brew leaves plenty of room for interpretation. So, when life gives you lemons, make a delicious and refreshing citrus beer.