Paige Schuster (BS ’08) and her husband, Marcus Christianson (BS ’08), opened Two22 Brew with the intent of giving back to the community. Photo: Wayne Armstrong
What’s the story behind the name of Two22 Brew? It’s not the address of the brewery in Centennial, Colo. — nor does it have anything to do with the alcohol content of any of Two22’s offerings.
Here’s the story: The brewery’s owners — University of Denver grads Paige Schuster (BS ’08) and her husband, Marcus Christianson (BS ’08) — started the business with the intent of giving back to the community, and $2.22 out of every $10 the brewery makes is donated to Colorado nonprofits.
“My dad died in a plane crash when I was 17, so my mom and I had started a family foundation after that to honor his name and his memory,” Schuster says. “We had been looking at ways to expand the foundation and grow the foundation, and I realized I really dislike asking people for money and going out and looking for donations to expand our funds.”
So the family started looking into other options, focusing on charitable companies like TOMS shoes, which donates a pair of shoes for every pair it sells.
“We needed a profitable model that could then expand the nonprofit side,” Schuster explains. She and her husband had studied chemistry and biology at DU and had been homebrewers for years, so a leap into Colorado’s fast-growing craft-beer scene seemed a natural fit.
The couple’s science background certainly helps when it comes to brewing, but when it comes to the teamwork needed to run a successful business, Schuster and Christianson draw on another aspect of their DU experience — athletics. Christianson, who grew up in Minnesota, came to the University as a swimmer, while Loveland, Colo., native Schuster was on the gymnastics team.
“We both had really positive experiences at DU, both athletically and academically,” Schuster says. “Being in the athletic world, you get a really good community base because you already have that bubble of people who are really supportive of what you’re doing.”