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FEATUREThursday 3 December 2015
Hanson hops from singing MMMBop to brewing their own beer
In this photo from left to right, brothers Zac Hanson, Isaac Hanson and Taylor Hanson pose for a photo at Oklahoma City Brewing “We traveled the world
Company, in Oklahoma City. In 18 years the trio went from belting out “MMMBop” to brewing their own Mmmhops beer. as kids and we got turned
on to great beer,” said
(Matthew Swaggart/Hanson Brothers Beer via AP) Isaac Hanson. “At some
point you decide to take
J.M. HIRSCH This photo shows, Hanson Brothers Mmmhops in Concord, NH. In 18 years the trio went from belting something you really like
AP Food Editor out “MMMBop” to brewing their own Mmmhops beer. and turn it into a business
NEW YORK (AP) — The you love.” A few years
problem with getting li- (AP Photo/Matthew Mead) ago — around the same
quored up with the Han- time they launched the
son brothers — yes, the moment. You’ll get there. and Zac Hanson. Meanwhile, 18 years of Hop Jam beer and music
“MMMBop” boys — is that Think... That’s right. You Their music careers have tours and time on the road festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma
you can’t get that tune can now pop open an chugged along pleas- means they’ve sampled — they started playing
out of your head the en- Mmmhops (tagline: From antly since 1997, the year a whole lot of good (and around with making their
tire time you’re talking the Guys That Invented “MMMBop” was seared bad) beer. (You can do own beer. The brothers
to them. Or for days af- Mmmbop). Which is how into our pop ethos. Ca- the math. They are 34, found they not only en-
ter. Apologies for the ear I recently found myself at reers quiet by industry stan- 32 and 30, respectively, joyed the process, but the
worm. a whiskey bar, huddled dards, yet robust enough and are pretty shameless results weren’t so bad, ei-
The only consolation is around a bottle of Jeffer- with a fervent fan core to about how long they’ve ther. So at the end of their
that they’re no longer son Rye with Isaac, Taylor keep the brothers happy. been sipping suds.) 2013 tour, they put off work
boys, which makes the on a new album to focus
whole affair seem less on brewing. Eventually,
icky. Because when you they contracted with Mus-
say to yourself, “I’m going tang Brewing Company in
drinking with Hanson,” the Oklahoma City to make
mental image is of pound- the operation legit and to-
ing back a few with the day Mmmhops — winner
bouncy preteens from of a gold medal from the
those “ba du bop, ba Beverage Tasting Institute
duba dop” music video in 2014 — is available in 16
days. Luckily, like the rest states.
of us, they grew up. And And though the brothers
it turns out, they grew into — now all married and all
really nice guys who not with multiple children —
only are still making music, see their music and beer
they also are pleasantly in a symbiotic relationship,
obsessed with craft beer. they’re not averse to the
So obsessed, in fact, that thrill of one outshining the
they’ve launched their other.
own, a pale ale. Care to “Hey! We won a gold
guess the name? Give it a medal for our beer before
we won a Grammy,” said
Taylor Hanson. “I’ll take
that!”
Despite the name the
beer isn’t overtly hoppy.
Because sometimes the
pun must lead. But snicker
if you will; it’s actually a
pretty good beer: citrusy,
clean tasting and totally
drinkable. The brothers see
it as an entry point to craft
brews, particularly for fans
of their music. An odd cor-
relation? Not really. Craft
brews, the Hanson broth-
ers and their fans all came
of age together. “The fans
literally have grown up
with us,” said Taylor Han-
son.
And they soon may have
more bottles to choose
from. Zac Hanson says
the trio is working on ad-
ditional beers, including
a saison, an amber and
something a bit hoppier.q
