A unique effect of using so much real fruit in a Fruit Tart is that most of our drinks pack a punch. The alcohol content on a typical Fruit Tart is around 8%, with most of our "doubles" and other experimental tarts over 10%. Our world-famous Astronaut Food is 15%!
A Fruit Tart drinks differently than a boozy stout, too. The alcohol may not be as noticable because of how forward the real fruit is. Some folks will describe this as the fruit masking the alcohol. But the fruit is also contributing to the ABV. We fully ferment out the fruit in a Fruit Tart, which is one of the primary reasons that they are balanced like a wine, and not sweet like a juice. That means that the sugars naturally found in fruit have been converted to alcohol by the yeast and fermentation process.
Most of the alcohol in a Fruit Tart comes from the ale base, but a large amount of the esters, phenols, and complicated flavor elements (plus a smaller percentage of the alcohol content) is from the fermented real fruit. Because fruit also has water in it naturally, many of the Fruit Tarts can get diluted through the fruiting process. We will often "chapatilize" the fruit prior to going into the fermentation tank. This is the French wine making technique of adding sugar in order to boost the brix, resulting in a more thorough fermentation and higher finished alcohol content.
Keep an eye on the Alc/Vol note on each can, and please remember to enjoy responsibly.
