Residents at a Bristol-based charity are brewing their own beer to celebrate 100 years of caring.
The Hoppiness Project will see residents from the St Monica Trust brew a centenary beer from hops grown at their retirement villages and care homes. Residents of all abilities, especially those who are living with dementia, will take part in a series of sessions where they will grow, tend and harvest the hops. As well as touring local breweries and marketing the finished product, residents will celebrate the end of the project with a traditional wassailing.
The Hoppiness Project is a collaboration between the St Monica Trust, Alive Activities and local brewers. The trust’s innovation design manager, Sean Davey, said: “100 years of St Monica Trust seemed like something worth raising a glass to, and what better way to do that with than our own centenary beer, co-produced from beginning to end with our residents.
Alive Activities project manager, Guy Manchester, said: “Hoppiness was inspired by a care home resident who said he’d like to “grow beer” as part of a gardening group we were running. We soon realised that it had the potential to be a perfect tool to provide meaningful, engaging activities for care home residents.”
The St Monica Trust first opened its doors to residents in 1925 on Cote Lane. Today, the trust operates five retirement villages and four care homes.