Eris: Groundbreaking Chicago Brewery & Cidery

Katy Pizza and Michelle Foik photo courtesy of Eris

Michelle Foik had always wanted to have her own restaurant and work in beer industry. She and her co-founder Katy Pizza realized their dream by converting a former Masonic Temple-turned- Korean church into a brewery. In 2018, they opened the first-female owned cidery in the city of Chicago, called Eris Brewery and Cider House.

Laying the Foundation

Before opening Eris, Foik learned from multiple experiences in the restaurant and beverage industries. Her parents owned a hotel and restaurant in the Wisconsin Dells, Foik explained. After college, she began her career at Goose Island Beer Company, working in several roles including General Manager in Wrigleyville, the home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Then she moved to Revolution Brewing, another Chicago based brewery, and then turned to the world of cider at Virtue Cider and Wandering Aengus Ciderworks.

While working at Virtue, Foik realized, “people don't really know what cider is; people assume cider is going to be sugary.” They assume that they just won’t like it. But at Virtue, she said, “we made some really complex blends, and they were fantastic,” inspired by French, English and Spanish style ciders. At that point, Foik saw that there was a big boom in cider in Chicago, so every cidery wanted to get into the market. But that’s where Foik and Pizza saw an opportunity: there was no tasting market, no place for Chicagoans to try cider.

“We really wanted to bring people and show them that cider doesn't need to be sweet. Some styles can be sweet, but you can go with really dry stuff, that’s balanced and tastes good,” Foik explained, “That was the mission: let's find a place where people can be educated and taste the cider itself before purchasing it.”

When asked what opportunities she found for women in the brewery and cidery industries, Foik said, “There are opportunities because we are a minority-owned business. During COVID, we were able to get grants.” She noted that she’s often asked about challenges and responded, “There were no challenges. I’m sorry, I don’t feel that way. We’re doing the same things a guy would do.” While she noted that there weren’t many women in these industries previously, in the past ten years, she’s seeing more female brewers and women in other positions.

Foik continued, “There’s only a couple of us that are actually owners when it comes down to it. I have married friends and divorced friends that run breweries…when I’m speaking to a group of people, especially if they are all women, I ask the question, ‘How many of you guys like to drink beer?’ People raise their hands. I say, ‘How many of you guys like cider?’ They raise their hands. I go, ‘How many of you guys want to own a brewer or cider house?’ and nobody raises their hand. It’s not because we can’t do it. It’s just that nobody thinks about it.”

Finding Opportunity

So the two co-founders worked on convincing people to invest in their company. Many of the investors and folks around them assumed that they would build a brewery, especially with Foik’s brewing background and Kay’s husband’s background in hops and beer. Foik pointed out that the Chicago beer market is a bit crowded and competitive; there’s 120 micro-breweries in the city of Chicago, not including those in Illinois. On the other hand, Chicago's cider scene had two cideries back when Foik and Pizza were amping up their work to make Eris a reality. Now, there's at least four cideries, including Eris, who all fill different niches.

They decided to name it Eris, after the Goddess of Chaos, best known for throwing the apple of discord that was the spark of the Trojan War. Foik explained it best that the name “is really kind of awesome. Because it is a chaotic building. Katy and I both have chaotic lives.”

Opening Eris

Eris Building in Chicago photo courtesy of Eris

When the co-founders saw the building, they knew it was the right one. Of all the possible locations they toured, “This is the only building we walked into that we just saw it. We saw the vision. You walked into the Korean church at that time, and you saw the altar, and you saw the pews. And I'm just like, ‘Oh, my God, that altar is the kitchen. The pews are going to be where the dining room is.”

Thanks to their thoughtful renovations, Eris received the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation award from Landmark Illinois for adaptive use of the building. Inside you'll find traces of the Masons, who used the building prior to the Korean church. There’s giant Masonic safes and memorabilia. Part of their renovation work was building the expansion upfront with the goal of getting to full capacity in five years. Unlike most other breweries, the co-founders purchased all the equipment upfront and installed it into the building. So when it is time to expand their production, they will have everything already planned. Five years later they are almost at full-capacity; they just installed a 5,500 gallon tank.

Eris line of canned ciders — Eris line of ciders photo credit Stout Creative

But then the pandemic hit in 2020 and Eris had to change their business plans, Foik said. With the shutdown, their restaurant was closed and they had to figure out how to sustain themselves. That’s how they found themselves canning their ciders and working with a wholesaler to distribute their ciders into independent liquor stores. Eventually, they’d expand into Trader’s Joes, Jewel, Target, Whole Foods, and more. They also converted the parking lot into a patio, which helped relieve the financial stress from COVID, Foik noted.

While their canned cider can be found in grocery stores, liquor stores, and restaurants, there are some flavors that are only available at the brewpub.

In addition to the brewery and cidery, they have a brewpub that caters to all palettes from vegan, gluten-free, and carnivore.

Hops and Bubbles

Eris does brew beer; in fact, when they first opened in 2018, they sent their Hazy Indian Pale Ale “Foiken Haze” took Bronze at the Great American Beer Festival. “We weren't trying to be a brewery,” Foik said, “Our brewer was fantastic….But really our focus was on ciders and our ciders were out there in the market. But you don’t send ciders to GABF because they are not a category.”

Their number one bestseller flagship cider is the Pedestrian, which is “like biting into a Granny Smith,” Foik said, “it might be a little acidic, might be a little sour.” Their second bestseller fluctuates between the seasonal Strawberella, a strawberry and rhubarb cider, and Van Van Mojo, a Blueberry hard cider with Mosaic hops. That cider is great for folks who may worry that cider would be too sweet. Foik said of customers that they may think “ I like hoppy beers. I don't like cider but if you put hops in there maybe I'll try the hops blueberry.”

With respect to their popular beers, Eris typically has several on tap. Something in the Air is a copper-colored hoppy IPA. There’s the Aye Bae Bae, which is a barrel aged stout that has a tobacco weed or dark chocolate taste. Then there is their Happy Pils, which is a light hoppy beer.

Foik credited Joe Flores, their cidermaster and brewmaster, came from Lagunitas Brewing Company for their delicious drinks along with Jimmy Beyer and Mark Beery who help Flores and are focusing more on beer while Flores focuses on cider.

When asked about the future, Foik said that they’ll be looking to be more health-conscious. More people are measuring calories, especially with alcohol. She said that people ask about nutritional values. “I'm seeing lower ABV is popular,” she noted, “I think there's still room for innovation, I think there's still room for coming up with different flavor profiles.”

With what Eris already has on the market, we can’t wait to see what they’ll come up with next.