On the Road: John's Grocery

Why; pray-tell, am I writing about a grocery store in a beer blog? Well, John's Grocery in Iowa City isn't your ordinary grocery store. It's actually one of the best beer stores in all of Iowa. I stumbled across John's almost three years ago on a trip to Illinois. This month I was headed through Iowa again and just had to make a return trip.

John's is best described as a cramped maze that has everything under the sun. To get to the beer, you have to do a bit of wandering. It's kept way in the back. About half of it is in a tight walk in cooler. The rest is on shelves in a just as tight air conditioned room. Because the space is so limited, John's uses every spare inch of it. Beer is shelved from floor to ceiling and the variety is tremendous. If my budget were unlimited, I could have driven away with a car load of Midwest beers that have yet to wander to Colorado. Import selection was also great, with quite a few beers I'd never seen before.

When all was said and done, I left with about a case of beer. If you're ever in Iowa City, John's is a must visit.

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