Forget the ice cream. Headless Mumby has brewed a new job for its delivery truck

EDITOR’S NOTE: The state Liquor and Cannabis Board shut down the truck on Friday, but Headless Mumby owners are working to comply with regulations and get beer delivery back up and running.

If you hear a jangly version of Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer” coming down the street, pause before you send the kids out for ice cream. It might be calling you instead.

The theme song that’s called generations of kids out of their houses, money in hand, is now calling grownups: The Hop Rocket, playing the Joplin classic and other ice cream truck tunes, carries not frozen desserts but ice-cold beer brewed by Olympia’s Headless Mumby Brewing Co.

The Rocket has made a big splash both in person and on social media, where fans of the brewery are asking when the truck will come to their neighborhood, and people are describing the truck as “cute” and even “adorable.”

The whole thing happened on a whim, said Keith Ciani, Mumby’s co-owner and head brewer.

He and co-owner Alex Maffeo, who opened the brewery in 2018, bought the mail truck from state surplus last summer and decorated it, inspired by Well 80’s decorated delivery truck.

They added a public address system over which they’d say hello or play siren sounds just for fun.

“One day, Alex and I were driving around in the Rocket, and we decided to turn on ice-cream music on YouTube,” Ciani told The Olympian. “People started taking their phones out and recording us, and we were like, ‘We should probably get out more often and do this.’ ”

It was a pandemic-perfect idea for the brewery, named the Washington Beer Awards’ Best Very Small Brewery in 2019.

“When all this happened, we didn’t jump right into home delivery,” he said. “We didn’t quite have the staff to do it.”

But when they realized they could do it ice cream truck style, the guys ventured out, touring Olympia neighborhoods on Saturdays with coolers full of fresh beer.

“It has gone away better than we thought,” he said. “People get excited. I’m surprised how much attention it’s gotten online, and some other breweries have mentioned that they want to look into that model.”

So popular has the Rocket been that Ciani doesn’t expect to stop bringing brews to thirsty neighborhoods when restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus come to an end.

“We’ll keep it going as long as we can,” he said.

It’s easy to imagine drinkers clamoring for a cold one on a hot summer day — just like the kids couldn’t wait for the ice cream.

While there’s no ice cream on board, the truck does offer frozen treats on occasion.

“When it’s hot, we give out Otter Pops,” Ciani said.

Hop Rocket

• What: Olympia’s Headless Mumby Brewing Co. is selling “crowlers” — 32-ounce cans of its beer — from a former mail truck that plays ice-cream truck tunes as it visits Olympia neighborhoods.
• When: 2-5 p.m. or so Saturdays
• Where: Look and listen for the Rocket in the South Capitol and Wildwood neighborhoods on Saturday, May 23. For future dates, check social media.
• More information: http://www.facebook.com/headlessmumbybrewing/, http://www.instagram.com/headlessmumbybrewing/

This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 5:45 AM.