First Brewery Fully Owned by LGBTQ Individuals to Open in DC

D.C. will soon have its first 100 percent gay-owned brewery in Red Bear Brewing Company which is opening in district’s No Ma neighborhood in February next year.

Adjacent to REI and La Colombe at 209 M St.NE, the new brewery will be serving West Coast-style beers on 24 tap lines. Owned by Cameron Raspet, Van Den Oever and Simon Bee, who’re friends from Seattle, the brewery will be the first one in D.C. to be fully owned by LGBTQ individuals.

Van Den Oever has worked in healthcare earlier, Simon Bee was into property management, and Cameron Raspet was a Boeing flight test engineer before the trio quit their jobs and moved to D.C. to set up Red Bear Brewing.

“There’s a stigma that brewery culture is just straight white bearded guys. That’s starting to change, and we’re part of that change,” said co-owner Van Den Oever who’s a military veteran. “We felt like we had a greater opportunity here in Washington — bringing our West Coast style to the East Coast.”

According to DCist, the name The Red Bear Brewing Company is derived from the group’s Northwest roots, and also from their identities as “red-haired, bearded guys”.

Licensed as a brewpub, Red Bear Brewing will also be serving food at their bar.