Maracuja (Passionfruit) Lambic 14% ABV

“Real men don’t drink girly fruit beers.” – Anonymous (Could be attributed to 99% of male beer drinkers – especially in FL)

While I am not a fan of some of the berry beers (I believe that Leinenkugal’s Berry Weisse needs to be “cut” with a Budweiser or other light beer to be drinkable!) – I do enjoy a well done Lambic (Belgian sour ale).

While traditional Lambic brews are low in alcohol content (around 4-5% ABV) and usually feature red fruit (raspberry/framboise, cherry/kriek, strawberry/fraise) and are brewed in Belgium, it is enjoyable to stumble upon a special Lambic on occasion.

Such was the case with a local Tampa Bay area brewpub called Lagerhaus in Palm Harbor, FL which featured a wonderful in-house Maracuja (Passionfruit) Lambic topping out at a whopping 14% ABV.  I had heard that brewmaster Franz Rothschadl knew his stuff – and after tasting this Lambic, I couldn’t agree more.  It was subtle yet bold in passionfruit flavor (my favorite of all fruits) and packed a complexity not commonly found in the lighter lambic brews.

The Lagerhaus beer menu on the week I was there (the first week in January 2012) featured several other lambics (the brews change with the batches) and a medieval brown sour ale among others.

To give you an idea of the extent of Franz’s featured beers (the ones above the line are brewed onsite), here is an excerpt:

Lagerhaus is a brewery and grill definitely worth a visit if you are in the Tampa Bay area!

Enjoy…

the unOfficial beer goddess