D.C.’s Red Bear Brewing Co. serves up quality, diversity and Woof! Hard Seltzer
Craft beer holds a special place in the heart of just about every community — and especially in the Bear community!
Let’s face it — Bears love their beer. Bears also love diversity. And one LGBTQ-owned brewing company in Washington, DC knows this.
Red Bear Brewing Co. has been calling DC home since 2019, and has become the go-to place for craft beer, great food and entertainment in the city’s NoMa neighborhood. Self-identified gay owners, Bee, Cameron Raspet, and Bryan Van Den Oever, are committed to their core values — Quality, Adventure, Conscientiousness, Community, Diversity and YOU — which is made abundantly clear when you walk into the their establishment.
The venue, which is decked out in Pride and Black Lives Matter flags and a sign that reads “Diversity is Delicious,” manages to bring all facets of their DC community together, regardless of race, sexual identity, gender identity, for fun, excitement, adventure and BEER! It’s clear that Red Bear Brewing is doing something great, and with the word “Bear” in the title, what else do you expect?
The company has recently started reaching out to other LGBTQ outlets in the city to pitch something new, refreshing and exciting — Woof! Hard Seltzer. Red Bear’s Woof! Seltzer is the company’s new line of hard seltzers, intended to be “a little cheeky” with a name that no Bear or Bear-lover would ever mind saying — WOOF!
“We wanted something light to contrast with our heavier beers,” says head brewer, Bee, when asked about their expansion into the world of hard seltzers in MetroWeekly last month.
Served in colorful 12 ounce cans designed by artist Alice Packard, Woof! contains only 4.1% alcohol content, contains only 90 calories per can, and is gluten-free — all of which serves as a stark contrast to Red Bear’s beers.
“It’s summery,” says Van Den Oever, the marketing and events director. “We want you to be able to enjoy it poolside in the afternoon.”
But, don’t worry — Even though summer is just about over and fall is knocking on our doors, you can still enjoy Woof! In the colder months if you please. This fall, Red Bear plans to introduce two new flavors of Woof!, swapping out the current Blood Orange Ginger and Prickly Pear for something with a bit more of an autumn or wintery vibe.
“I personally want to do a pumpkin spice hard seltzer,” says Van Den Oever to MetroWeekly, to which Bee immediately scoffs. However, Bee eventually replies, “I am open to it. Part of the joy of doing a project like Red Bear is that we have the ability to experiment and do fun things. So why not?”
So, who knows? We may get a Woof! Pumpkin Spice flavor. But, for now, one thing is certain. These guys have been very busy. As MetroWeekly reports, “this summer’s spike in sales has registered as a relieving counterbalance to the prior 15 months’ struggle and uncertainty”, even if the beginning of the pandemic last year proved to be a bit stressful for the guys.
“It was rough, but we persevered,” says Van Den Oever. “If we weren’t a strong team, we would be done. But we made it through.”
Now, the team is gearing up for a busy fall. Though the guys are planning to soon reveal their fall Woof! flavors, they are also working to replenish their standard tap offerings.
“August is going to be kind of a catch up for us because we’ve been so low on our normal brands. We’re trying to really just fill our menu back out,” Bee says.
Well, we can’t wait to see what’s in store for Red Bear Brewing Co. and Woof! Hard Seltzer!
Red Bear Brewing Co. is located 209 M St. NE., Washington, DC. Visit their website, at www.redbear.beer, for more information.
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