Citric acid, that is. With summer on its way here in the Northern Hemisphere you can expect to see a lot of beer glasses with those little slices of lemon, lime and even orange clinging to the rim.

So far, the citric link to beer seems restricted to three styles: wheat beer, wit and Mexican lager. The first wheat beer that I ever tried was served to me with a slice of lemon so somehow this pairing seems more natural than the others. Often on a hot summer day I want nothing more than a glass of good hefeweizen with a slice of lemon. The sour lemon can tone down the sometimes cloying sweetness of a thick wheat beer and give it a nice refreshing edge.

The other two pairings are a little more mysterious to me. Why lagers brewed in Mexico and not elsewhere require a slice of lemon or lime is puzzling, especially darker lagers like Dos Equis. Nevertheless whenever I order one in a bar or restaurant I can expect a citrus slice, usually lime, whether I want it or not. And at least one brand, Corona has embraced this practice with their marketing.

The beer and citrus partnership that most amuses me is wit and orange. I suppose that it seemed like a great idea to the bartender or marketer that first came up with it – add a slice of orange to a beer to which orange is used to the brewing. But let’s step back for a moment. Don’t you think that a brewer would just add more orange if she felt that the beer needed it? The subtly spiced flavor profile of a well brewed wit can be a work of art and a beautiful thing indeed in hot weather. Let’s not screw it up with a blast of citric acid, OK?

But that’s just my opinion. What do you think?