diff --git a/src/tz/middleware.py b/src/tz/middleware.py
index 13368ee..af2230d 100644
--- a/src/tz/middleware.py
+++ b/src/tz/middleware.py
@@ -10,11 +10,11 @@ class TimezoneMiddleware(object):
 
         try:
             offset = int(offset) * -1
+            tz = pytz.FixedOffset(offset)
         except ValueError:
             offset = 0
 
         if offset:
-            tz = pytz.FixedOffset(offset)
             timezone.activate(tz)
         else:
             timezone.deactivate()
--
libgit2 0.21.2