Dec. 18 will mark the 12th anniversary of the District of Columbia’s legal recognition of same-sex marriages, and D.C.’s City-State Brewing Co. plans a day of free wedding ceremonies at its taproom to recognize the date.
City-State is also releasing “Equal Marriage” dark wheat beer to mark the occasion.
The brewery’s general manager, Gene Barnett, will officiate the weddings as a “civil celebrant,” a title D.C. grants with an application and a fee.
The same-sex weddings will be conducted in 15-minute intervals between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Couples will need to have their marriage certificate. For same-sex D.C. residents, the application can be submitted online and it costs $35. They will also need to sign up for their ceremony online.
Couples will also get pints of Equal Marriage beer, which City-State said is 5.5% alcohol by volume beer with notes of chocolate, coffee, clove and bananas.
On Dec. 18, 2009, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty signed a bill passed by the D.C. Council recognizing same-sex marriage, and marriages began in March 2010.
City-State Brewing founder James Warner, a former U.S. Senate staffer and Peace Corp volunteer, opened his brewery and taproom at 705 Edgewood Street NE in June after more than seven years of planning and fundraising. It is in a former freight rail depot near the Rhode Island Metro station.