You never asked a bro out for a drink? So all those guys whom see drinking at bar stools and chatting with each other are gay?
The issue isn't that they get a beer together, it's in the construction of how it happens. The whole set-up is more like gay men or women would act.
1. Asking a woman for a dude's cell phone number. Not impossible but a little bit weird.
2. Sending a straight dude a winking emoji while telling him about asking for his number. Serious gay vibes.
3. Two straight male acquaintances gossiping about another couple's relationship problems. Would almost never happen.
4. "Such a shame. You seemed like a guy I could have a couple beers with." Sounds like a proposition.
5. "I could use some company." Sounds like a gay pickup line.
Any single one of these things individually is not impossible, but the whole string of them together is noticeable. Two straight dudes who barely know each other could never have that entire interaction. That's what people are picking up on.
If two guys are going out to a bar like that, here's more like how the exchange would go:
"Game is on at 7. Beer?"
"Sure."
"Cool."
If the character IS meant to be bi, then the scene makes some sense. Nothing wrong with that. But if he's not meant to give off that vibe, then the scene is a bit of a red herring.
If I needed to get Axel and Ian together (and not in a gay way), you just have to set up some kind of mutual interest for them. One of them makes a comment during the first photo shoot about the MMA pay-per-view that's coming up over the weekend. Then Axel texts Ian to watch it at the bar. Or Axel is building a website for his photo business, and asks Ian to give some feedback on some piece of writing that is on the site, and offers to buy him a beer for his help.