Bend Retirees Have Lots of Fun Brewing

Forget bingo and bridge.

A Bend retirement home is setting a new precedent, with beer.

Wednesday was “Brew Day” at Aspen Ridge Retirement Community in Bend, and for some residents like Paul Jaleski, it can’t get much better.

“This is a whole new process,” Jaleski said. “Something I’ve never been aware of before, and in this area up here with all the micro-breweries — we’re from Arizona, and they don’t have that down there.”

With help from the Central Oregon Home Brewers Association and a few brewmasters, more than a dozen seniors helped with the hops, yeast, barley and water.

“It’s really exciting,” said resident Margaret Nicoll. “We’re actually doing something.”

Something that’s become somewhat of a trend — some retired seniors aren’t happy sitting inside and playing cards any more.

Rather than being entertained..they want to be engaged.

“We take trips,” Jaleski said. “We have a trip today to Prineville Reservoir. We go up to the mountain and go dancing, and so it’s not just doing bingo all the time. This is an entirely new learning deal, life-long learning — and this is part of it right here.”

Organizers say this is a part of expanding on educational activities.

“The idea is taking things you or I would want to do, and there is no difference in what they want to do,” said Communications Director Mallory Jenkins. “It’s the same thing, so whatever you do in college or whatever you would do in your own personal life is what we should be doing here.”

The group’s final product: a chocolate stout that Aspen Ridge is entering in this year’s Spring Fling and Oktoberfest in the fall.

“It means we are going ahead, not backwards — and I mean, after all, who doesn’t drink a beer?” Nicoll said.

Aspen Ridge is still deciding on what to name its home beer label. The chocolate porter batch should be done and bottled in about a month.