# Stern Pinball's Brewcade Hopping with Mikerphone Brewing

**Source:** Stern Pinball  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2023-01-31  
**Duration:** 5m 42s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGPA2_l8EjU

---

## Analysis

Stern Pinball partners with Microphone Brewing, a music-themed brewery in Elk Grove Village near Stern's headquarters, to host pinball machines and events. The brewery owner Mike discusses his passion for music and beer, the venue's music-themed decor and beer labels, and plans to host a James Bond pinball launch party with tournament and special prizes. Multiple staff and family members express enthusiasm about pinball's social appeal and the Insider Connected leaderboard feature.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Microphone Brewing is located down the street from Stern Pinball in Elk Grove Village — _Mike (brewery owner) states direct proximity and Stern staff had visited before partnership_
- [HIGH] Microphone Brewing now hosts four pinball machines: Led Zeppelin, Star Wars Mandalorian, Godzilla, and James Bond — _Multiple speakers confirm the four machines and their titles_
- [HIGH] All machines at Microphone feature Insider Connected leaderboard functionality — _Mike explicitly states 'They all have the Insider Connected feature'_
- [HIGH] James Bond pinball launch party will be hosted at Microphone Brewing with tournament and prizes — _Mike states 'We will be doing the James Bond official launch party here with a tournament as well'_
- [MEDIUM] Pinball installation has attracted new customer demographics to the brewery — _Mike reports 'We've seen an audience flocking here that wasn't here before, coming to play pinball and also trying our beer as well'_

### Notable Quotes

> "The minute you turn those lights on, it's just a new energy in here. We've seen an audience flocking here that wasn't here before, coming to play pinball and also trying our beer as well."
> — **Mike (Microphone Brewing owner)**
> _Demonstrates tangible business impact of pinball installations on venue traffic and customer acquisition_

> "We will be doing the James Bond official launch party here with a tournament as well. We got some really cool prizes. We got a fantastic game. We're even gonna do some beer specials too."
> — **Mike (Microphone Brewing owner)**
> _Confirms James Bond pinball official launch event at Microphone venue with integrated beer and gaming experience_

> "There's a little inside competition with the staff here with the pinball machines. You know, I'll come in one day and then one of my bartenders—she'll be up on the leaderboard."
> — **Mike (Microphone Brewing owner)**
> _Demonstrates social engagement and competitive motivation created by Insider Connected leaderboard feature among staff_

> "I just recently got into pinball with my husband, so we saw this was happening here at Microphone. Learning how to play pinball better, my daughter—she has the high score at her house."
> — **Female family member**
> _Shows pinball's multi-generational appeal and ability to attract family-oriented players to venues_

> "I love it. Bring some pinball and bring some great beer—who's not going to be happy with that?"
> — **Female family member**
> _Encapsulates the synergy between pinball venue experience and craft beer consumption as entertainment pairing_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Microphone Brewing | company | Music-themed craft brewery in Elk Grove Village near Stern Pinball headquarters; recently partnered with Stern to host pinball machines and events |
| Mike | person | Owner/founder of Microphone Brewing; background in music industry licensing and marketing; created brewery inspired by dual passions for music and beer |
| Stern Pinball | company | Headquartered near Elk Grove Village; partnership with Microphone Brewing for machine placement and James Bond launch event |
| James Bond | game | Stern pinball machine; official launch party planned at Microphone Brewing with tournament, prizes, and beer specials |
| Star Wars Mandalorian | game | Stern pinball machine installed at Microphone Brewing; player comments on theme appeal |
| Led Zeppelin | game | Stern pinball machine installed at Microphone Brewing |
| Godzilla | game | Stern pinball machine installed at Microphone Brewing |
| Elk Grove Village | event | Location of Microphone Brewing and Stern Pinball headquarters; setting for partnership and James Bond launch event |
| Insider Connected | product | Stern Pinball's leaderboard and connectivity feature; implemented on all four machines at Microphone Brewing |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Location partnerships and venue strategy, James Bond pinball launch and promotional events, Insider Connected leaderboard engagement
- **Secondary:** Pinball's appeal to new and family players, Craft brewery and entertainment venue integration
- **Mentioned:** Music-themed branding and cultural integration

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Consistently enthusiastic commentary from all speakers about the partnership, pinball experience, and customer response. Multiple speakers express genuine excitement about gameplay, leaderboard competition, and the combined beer/pinball venue experience. No criticism or concerns raised.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Stern Pinball using local brewery partnerships and official game launch events to drive venue foot traffic and player engagement through Insider Connected leaderboard features and tournament play (confidence: high) — James Bond official launch party at Microphone Brewing with tournament structure; Insider Connected leaderboard creating staff competition and social engagement
- **[event_signal]** James Bond pinball official launch event planned at Microphone Brewing venue with integrated tournament and promotional tie-ins (confidence: high) — Mike explicitly confirms 'James Bond official launch party here with a tournament as well' with 'really cool prizes' and 'beer specials'
- **[market_signal]** Pinball machines with Insider Connected features demonstrably attracting new customer demographics to entertainment venues beyond traditional arcade/bar locations (confidence: high) — Mike reports new audience traffic to Microphone Brewing directly attributable to pinball machine installation; family members newly interested in pinball; multi-generational play patterns
- **[venue_signal]** Stern Pinball actively pursuing location partnerships in entertainment venues beyond traditional arcades to expand addressable market and casual player base (confidence: medium) — Proximity partnership between Stern headquarters and Microphone Brewing; Stern staff already patrons of brewery; four-machine installation with Insider Connected features; official event hosting capability

---

## Transcript

welcome to Mikerphone Brewing. The name microphone came from my two passions in life: music and beer. I was working in the music industry doing music licensing and then music marketing, and in the background I wanted a hobby. It started off in my basement at my house, but being a marketing person, I knew that I had to have a name and a label with it. So my name is Mike, microphone. Mikerphone Brewing became about the microphone. It was established on flavor, so our big flagship beers are microphone check one two, which has now become our staple double dry hop double IPA with Citra hops. And then we kind of go to the more extreme beer, imperial smells like bean spirit, but it's an imperial breakfast stout. I love the maple flavor and the coffee flavor, and they do different variants of it all the time. So anytime they come up with a new one, I'm always really excited about it. And so those are kind of like our big flagship beers. But over time, you know, things evolve and we've evolved. And we found that a lot of lighter beers are tracking both the newer drinkers and the older drinkers. I've had 2500 different beers from around the world. I've been to beer festivals in other countries, and microphone is absolutely my favorite brewery. I love the branding here. I think it's really cool that they really lean into the music theme. So if you visit microphone here in Elk Grove Village, you will be immersed in music the minute you walk in the doors. A lot of the stuff you'll see on the walls from signed guitars and signed posters are stuff that I collected working in the industry back in the day. It's kind of that immersing world of here's the music industry in a brewery format. Beyond just the decor of microphone, having all music influence, our labels, our beer names are all inspired by music as well. Yeah, our labels are a lot of fun, and one of our beers smells like bean spirit. Obviously, that's a play on Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," but you know, instead of a baby on the label, we have a coffee bean. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," that was a fun name. Yeah, this is something we like to do here. We have a lot of fun with that, and I think people respond really well to that too. So the beauty of where microphone is located here in Elk Grove Village is that we're down the street from Stern Pinball. And so I was like, I should reach out and be like, we should partner up and link up. And they're like, "Oh, we've been there numerous times already drinking your beer." So we have four pinball machines in here now. The minute you turn those lights on, it's just a new energy in here. We've seen an audience flocking here that wasn't here before, coming to play pinball and also trying our beer as well. The vibe in the tasting room has definitely changed. The games are really cool, and I love Star Wars, so Mandalorian called to me. I always have to come to work with some singles so I can play. We're super thrilled that we will be doing the James Bond official launch party with a tournament as well. We got some really cool prizes. We got a fantastic game. We're even gonna do some beer specials too. I just recently got into pinball with my husband. So we saw this was happening here at microphone, learning how to play pinball. My daughter, she has the high score at her house. She wants to get her name up on this leaderboard tonight. I just love all the fun with my family and beating all of them. It was really fun for me, and I can't really explain it. I just love it. Bring him some pinball and bring them some great beer. Who's not gonna be happy with that? I love it. We have four different pinball machines here at microphone. We've got the Led Zeppelin, we've got the Star Wars Mandalorian, we've got Godzilla, and now we've got the new James Bond. The beauty of all of them, they all have the Insider connected feature, and that'll connect you into the game and then get your name up on the leaderboard. There's a little inside competition with the staff here with the pinball machines. You know, I'll come in one day, and then one of my bartenders, you know, she'll be up on the leaderboard. "No, she can't do that!" And so I got to start playing. And there's a lot of Pride Pinball involved that goes with that. So I think coming out to these, you know, one-off tournament events, it puts in our feather in the cap, if you will. So Mikerphone Brewing is a super inclusive environment. We Are Pinball, allowing families, we're allowing dogs, we do a monthly bingo, we do game nights. My husband and I love coming to microphone because of the ever-changing brews on tap. Oh yeah, I love microphone. I come here anytime I can. I just love designing all these labels and having fun with my dad. It's still a pinchy moment every time I wake up, you know? Like, it's been a journey. We're incorporating the soundtrack to our lives through beer, and I hope you guys get to come out and try and experience it and be a part of it. And we can't do this without you, and so I'm very fortunate for that.

_(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v3)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: d2d19f97-b1aa-4e8a-a635-ae0043539a25*