Flipside Brewing To Mark 4th Anniversary With Bash, Burgers, Exclusive Beers & Balloons

TINLEY PARK, IL — Erik Pizer and his team at Flipside Brewing in Tinley Park are ready to celebrate four years of beers, smashburgers, community and—as he very humbly admits—success.

Pizer has planned an anniversary party for the brewery, set for Saturday, July 25. Pizer opened the brewery at 7144 183rd St. in July 2022, marking his return to the space where he brewed when it was once 350 Brewing.

It's been a grind, with Pizer firing on all gears more often than not. But it's working—and he's ready to celebrate with the people who have helped make his dream a reality.

"It's taken a minute to really convince myself to feel comfortable that we're successful," Pizer told Patch. "It's always hard to see the forest from the trees, the good from the bad.

"... But I do like that I found a way to sit back on these birthday party days, really have a good time and see how much fun everyone's having when they're here. And it's just an incredibly good feeling."

He'll mark the occasion with a customized food menu, a "birthday beer" debut, specialty cocktail, balloon artist and face painting.

The party on Saturday goes all day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and will feature Double Stop—a double IPA version of its popular flagship IPA, Pizer said. Other beers unique to the day include a blueberry lemon radler.

"I'll have a bunch of other fun beers on tap in addition to just the full list that we'll have on all day," Pizer said.

"I have a new Helles that I just tapped, called Wunderhell. It's just a nice German golden lager. I have a sea salt and lime version of that I'll have on tap. I always like to do a grapefruit version of the Double Stop, too."

A recent hit—Flipside Electric Lemonade—that debuted at the Tinley Block Party will also be featured for the big day.

"It's just a big, light blue vodka lemonade, and it's delicious," Pizer said. "It looks cool in a glass and is tasty to drink."

The specialty menu is a fun pivot for Pizer as he looks back on Flipside's first years—during which Flipside has thrived. With efforts to keep things fresh—burgers of the month, an evolving food menu, and new beers released regularly—Pizer has gained many fans.

Flipside has introduced themed trivia nights, and most recently, a Jeopardy! Bar League (Mondays at 7 p.m.). Themed trivia nights—a Harry Potter-themed one at the end of July—have proven regular draws. Paint and sip nights are also on the calendar, inviting customers to pull up a stool and set out a canvas.

They've also become a must-stop for concertgoers headed to Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, and the concert venue has partnered with them on ticket giveaways for upcoming shows. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram for the latest.

It's again a favorite stop on the Tinley Ale Trail Trolley, a weekly circuitous trip to some of Tinley's best watering holes.

But ask Pizer what he's figured out he's doing right, and he'll say he's not sure.

"Like I've said all along with doing the whole brewery thing, having had a couple of different iterations and a couple stops along the way, my list of things I know not to do grows longer every day," he said, laughing. "The list of things that I know to do right is almost nothing. I've just learned to, like, roll with the punches, embrace the chaos, and surround myself with great people."

Pizer strives for a certain vibe at Flipside, and his team has played an integral role in executing that to perfection.

"So, I've got an awesome staff," Pizer said. "Everyone does a great job knowing the vibe and party that we want to have here at Flipside, and they just keep that going so I get to go home sometimes, which is nice.

"But it's just all about having a good time. I just want to make sure everyone has something good to eat, something good to drink, and enjoys themselves one way or another."

On the brewing side, Pizer recently notched two awards in the U.S. Open Beer Championships. Pizer's Monochrome Dream won bronze in the Hazy IPA category, and his traditional English Style Rascal King took gold in the Extra Special Bitter category.

"A beer that's near and dear to my heart," Pizer said, of Rascal King. "It's kind of like an English amber ale. It's real malty, biscuity, with some nice English hop character. Fruity and floral and earthy.

"It's just a really easy-drinking beer and I'm really happy to be recognized for that one."

Additionally, Flipside recently became Cask Marque-certified. The designation means Pizer and Flipside passed rigorous, independent inspections proving they serve high-quality, perfectly conditioned real ale (cask beer). Certified establishments proudly display an iconic plaque outside their venue and guarantee that every pint poured is at the correct temperature, appearance, aroma, and taste.

"We're the first brewery in Illinois and only the second business in Illinois to be certified for this," Pizer said. "There are thousands of accounts in England that have this designation, but only a handful here in the U.S., so it was cool to do that."

Winning these awards has been fun. I really enjoy British beers, so one thing we just did was we became Caskmark certified with our beer engine, which is the traditional hand-pumped way that we're serving English ales on casks.So we're the first brewery in Illinois and only the second business in Illinois to be certified for this. There are thousands of accounts in England that have this designation, but only a handful here in the U.S. So, it was cool to do that

Flipside has also become known as a haven for the artistic and independent artists, regularly hosting artisan markets through the Streetz Artz Alliance. The Flipside Bazaars have become a favorite.

"Small, independent artists come out and share their wares and usually a little art and jewelry and soap and treats and such like that," Pizer said. "So it's usually a good time."

Pizer has embraced social media—Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok—to attract customers. It's become a creative outlet—even if a bit reluctantly—for Pizer.

"I've always said that I'm not a very creative person, except I do that, and I name all of the beers and I write these recipes and I do all these creative things—but I don't think I'm very creative, so I think I just use up my tank," Pizer said, laughing.

He's seen firsthand, though, how social media can boost business. Windy City Burger Social Club founder Anas "Nas" Masoud stopped in to sample Flipside's smashburger—and gave it a glowing review.

"Traditional marketing is just not something we have a budget for—billboards and print ads or mailers or anything like that, so word-of-mouth and all that is what we have, and if word-of-mouth is someone posting on social media and sharing it and it's spreading beyond our current network of followers, it's great," Pizer said. "Forty thousand people saw him say that we had a great cheeseburger."

Flipside's smashburger also made it to the Elite 8 in WGN's Chicago Area's Best Burgers Tournament challenge in the spring, Pizer said.

The food—and the praise that goes along with it—has helped define Flipside as more than "just" a brewery, Pizer said.

"I'm really proud of the food we have here," he said. "I think it's really good. I promote that before the beer most of the time, so that's how strongly I feel about it.

"It's just cool to be recognized by strangers for the things that we're doing, so it feels like we're doing something right. ... I think we've really grown into ourselves as 'a real restaurant.'

"We take reservations now. We have a host stand!"

Pizer has always prided himself on the "feel" of Flipside, as well as the ability to change things up and build on his original vision.

"Some people come in, eat and drink and don't realize that we make the beer here, even though you can see the brewery and tanks and everything off to the side," Pizer said. "I think that's a good sign that we're doing a lot of things right."