“Brooks, a pure heart, saw humans differently than most,” said Brooks’s mother, KrisAnne Christenson. “His values weren’t about wealth or prestige. They were about acceptance, inclusion, and friendships.” 

Brooks was a Sioux Falls native who passed away suddenly from pneumonia due to Covid in the summer of 2021. 

Sister MarieClaire recalls one of her last memories seeing her brother before he fell ill. It was May 2021, and she had just returned home to her parents’ house after completing her second year of law school at the University of South Dakota. 

“Brooks was over at my parents’ in the basement working on brewing a Kölsch beer,” she said. “He was using the upstairs stove as well, so he was traveling up and down the steps brewing away. He had been working on perfecting the beer for a while, so it was common to come home and see him there in action.” 

When he wasn’t brewing, MarieClaire says he would be scribbling ideas on paper, like name possibilities for his Kölsch, what his thoughts were on different craft beers, and more. 

WORLD TRAVELER

Brooks was known to travel, and would explore different brews in each country, whether it was Europe, South America, Asia, or Africa. His brother Jon believes his love for Kölsch came from Germany

While what she described was a common sight in the Christenson household, this particular day was different. 

“When I saw Brooks brewing that day in mid-May, I didn’t realize it would be one of the last days I would see him well,” she said. “He became sick with Covid shortly thereafter, and pneumonia followed closely behind.”

She continued, “After he passed, it was really difficult for us all. He was, and still is, such a key part of our family and who we are. There was a deep loneliness without him.”

Brooks and MarieClaire were very close, and most recently he had been supporting her over the phone as she went through the trials and tribulations of law school. He could commiserate, as he graduated with his law degree from USD, along with his father and fellow alumni, Bob, and brother, Jon.

“We talked all of the time, and now that phone line was silent,” said MarieClaire. “Law school is not easy, so Brooks was often a sounding board for me, as he understood the stress and demand.”

“The highlight was realizing Brooks lefts something behind that could bring people of all backgrounds together And create community.”

-Jon Christenson on the beer release and live poetry readings event.

“I had great Friends and Professors that welcomed me back to school in the fall with open arms and provided immense support as I navigated the grief.” – MarieClaire Christenson

When she returned to law school the fall after his passing, MarieClaire says she struggled with the loss of Brooks and balancing that loss with her class workload. She gives credit to friends and professors for helping her navigate her grief. 

“The law school dean, Neil Fulton, often uses the phrase, ‘Welcome Home’ when referring to the law school,” said MarieClaire. “I personally find that phrase to be very accurate.” 

That same fall, MarieClaire was chatting with Katey Ulrich, the director of admissions and marketing at the USD School of Law. In a serendipitous moment, Ulrich told her she was going to open XIX Brewing Company with USD associate professor of public administration Ed Gerrish. 

“I chimed in that I thought that was cool and told her my brother had been home brewing before he passed away,” said MarieClaire. “It was just a moment of wanting to share a positive memory of my brother.” 

Fast forward to a year later, the wheels kept turning, and MarieClaire was bothered that Brooks’s beer was left unfinished. 

“Brooks wanted his beer picked up by a brewery, and he worked so hard on creating the label and the beer during his life, so I hated to think of it being incomplete,” she said. 

“Brooks Himself became totally hooked on Badger clark, just like his dad.” -Krisanne Christensen

After talking it through and getting the green light from her family, MarieClaire and Bob drove to Vermillion to pitch the idea to Ulrich and Gerrish. They were “in.” 

“Katey and Ed have been great to work with, and they have done such a great job of honoring Brooks’ legacy,” said MarieClaire.

Putting XIX’s final touches on it, Badger Beer: Sun & Saddle had a beer release party and live poetry reading February 17 of 2024. 

Jon describes the event like an “indoor block party.” 

“There was a lot of socializing, poetry reading, and board games. It was not all about beer,” he said.

In honor of Brooks, the beer was a collaboration with the Badger Clark Foundation, which is a non-profit supporting poetry and the arts in the name of South Dakota’s first poet laureate, Badger Clark. 

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SAVE THE DATE

The Badger Clark Foundation was the lead donor to South Dakota’s Public Broadcasting’s production of Poet Among the Pines, the Badger Clark documentary that was nominated for a Northwest Regional Emmy Award. A showing of the documentary will take place April 29 at the Sioux Falls State Theatre, which is also sponsored by the foundation.

Clark’s first collection of poems, Sun and Saddle Leather, has always been influential to Brooks and the entire Christenson family. 

“Brooks knew about Badger Clark from a young age,” recalled KrisAnne. “He heard his dad periodically reciting Badger’s poetry from Sun and Saddle growing up.” 

According to KrisAnne, one of Bob’s first assignments in his freshman English class was to search for an author at the I.D. Weeks Library at USD. He found Sun and Saddle Leather on the shelf and “was hooked ever since.” 

Badger Beer is available at XIX Brewing Company on tap or can be purchased in bottles. The label is Brooks’s original design collaboration with Shon Roti of 9th Street Design in Sioux Falls. 

The Christensons hope to continue to carry on Brooks’s legacy by growing the beer’s distribution statewide, having a portion of proceeds benefitting the Badger Clark Foundation. But until then, MarieClaire says they are blessed to have a Vermillion brewery leading the charge. 

“As Dean Fulton has said, USD is home,” she said. “We are happy to have Brooks’s beer being served at ‘home.’” 

For more information, visit BADGERCLARK.COM+