Flat Earth Mummy Train Pumpkin Ale

I'm going to re-visit a beer I didn't like the first time. My old notes for Flat Earth's Mummy Train Pumpkin Ale were from on tap at the Blue Nile in October of 2009, 5 years ago. I ordered the keg before trying the beer and was disappointed. My notes were brief, succinct, judicious, diplomatic. Recently, I felt that I should give it another chance, and bought a bomber. Here we go…

Appearance: semi-clear, auburn-hued, the perfect look for a pumpkin brew, with a stable, if slim, slab of creamy, off-white head.

Aroma: Pumpkin pie spices scream out of the glass: Hot cinnamon notes are biggest and boldest, with nutmeg and allspice mixed in for measure.

Taste: Again, spice notes are first felt, and dominate the flavor. Not getting any real pumpkin meat flavors, it seems to be all spices. We've got a malt-forward ale, some carmel and toffee flavors showing, with little hops, hanging out underneath the spices. The pumpkin's in there, somewhere, just drowned beneath all the spice. Medium-bodied, long spicy, malty finish. Better than I remembered it.

This is much improved from that initial taste, 5 years ago. Let's gander at the label: "Ale with spices and pumpkin added. Enlgish ale, caramel & wheat malts; pumpkin, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cinnamon, mace, Fuggle hops, American ale yeast, and St. Paul water. OG-1.052, SRM-13, IBU-30, alcohol, 5.2% by volume."

The gobbledygook on the other side gives us the meaning and the history of the phrase "mummy train", which I'll let you go to their website to read for yourself, and ends with: "A secret blend of pumpkin and spices mixes with English malts and hops, creating a sensation that brings back memories of bon fires, hay rides, and the changing of the seasons--the perfect beer for any fall holiday event."

You know, I think this beer must have changed, and improved, because I'm liking it, and I think I would've been a bigger booster if that keg tasted like this bottle.

Here, for old times sake, are those notes from 10/09:

Hazy orange coloration, slim head.

Aroma: all pumpkin spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, a little of clove. Mmmm.

More spice once in the mouth. Medium bodied, high carbonation, spritzy and spicy. Long, lingering finish in the mouth.

Easy drinkability, refreshing, not too big, not too boisterous. A sessionable pumpkin ale.