THE beer brewed to mark the centenary year of the St Monica Trust has been officially launched.
The event took place at Wiper and True, the Bristol-based brewery used to convert the hops grown at the trust’s retirement villages in Westbury on Trym and elsewhere into beer.
The residents hope that sales of it will let others join them in gaining the benefits of gardening, brewing and social connections.
The new brew resulted from sessions run by Hoppiness Brews, a Bristol-based community interest company which is pioneering ways to enrich the lives of older people and people living with dementia by encouraging creativity, outdoor activity and healthy ageing.
More than 150 residents living in the St Monica Trust’s retirement villages and care homes have taken part in planting, nurturing and harvesting the hops used to make the best bitter now being marketed as Hundred Not Out.
The project began with residents holding a ceremony at the St Monica’s Trust Garden House Care Home in Cote Lane to ‘wake’ the hops when they were first planted. The good weather this summer helped to create a bumper harvest, with Wiper and True commenting on the outstanding yield.
Wiper and True will be selling it in their taproom and via its online shop. The beer will also be available to buy in the St Monica Trust’s restaurants and cafes.
Other outlets are also being sought with any profits from sales being reinvested by Hoppiness Brews into expanding its work with care homes, hop gardens and brewing partnerships in Bristol and across the South West.
Among the St Monica Trust sites involved are its retirement villages and homes in Keynsham, Westbury-on-Trym, Sandford and Bedminster, with extra hops coming from care homes in Filton, Redland and Soundwell, and from Alive Activities’ dementia-friendly allotments.