John's Marketplace: A Utopia of Beverage Exploration

Good day, folks, connoisseurs, and fellow bloggers! This marks my first post on this Foreign Bev platform, and this is quite a way to start out this exploration. This past weekend, I went to John's Marketplace on Powell Blvd. and 35th Place. I had previously been to the location in Multnomah Village, very long ago, but I had never been to the bigger, and far superior location on Powell. Oh boy, was I pleasantly surprised by the wonders of this bev spot. 

As I entered, I was immediately overwhelmed with the vast selection they had. I was not overwhelmed in a bad way, let’s not get it twisted. I was amazed and, dare I say thunderstruck? On top of that, they had a fully operational bar and tap, with a bartender. Of course, I went at around 12:30 in the afternoon, so I was not going to the store to have a drink. The color arrangement was what really struck me about John's Marketplace. Each can, bottle, and keg--whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic--had so much color going on. Although there are no specific bevs that are made by John's Marketplace, their selection and eye for style was really impressive. Although the store was relatively empty when I arrived, I could tell that this was a friendly space for connoisseurs such as myself. There was so much selection, and the space was so vast, I could have easily spent an hour in that store. However, even a connoisseur has to attend to other duties and tasks throughout their day. I had to limit my visit to about twenty to thirty minutes, which was unfortunate. Having said that, there will be many trips to John’s after this one. 

I made three purchases during my excursion: one non-alcoholic soda, and two pint-sized beer cans. Don't worry, I am of age, so these purchases were completely legal. The Cola Baladin is an Italian soda, made with no preservatives or food coloring. I looked forward to examining the flavor profile. It turns out, the flavor profile was fantastic. It was good on its own and could also work well as a mixer for cocktails. It basically tasted like fancy Coca Cola. The beer on the left is an Orcanaut Hazy Pale Ale, made by Hopworks, a company whose products I generally enjoy. The design of the orca really drew me in for this one. The taste and flavor was pretty middle of the road, but not bad by any means. Nothing to write home about, though. Finally, the beer on the right is an Iron Maiden lager. I am a massive fan of Iron Maiden, a British heavy metal band from the 80s, so this was an easy purchase. This bev was easily my favorite of the three that I bought. The light yet vibrant flavor base was so exquisite and unique that I came back to John’s Marketplace a few days later, and bought a whole six pack of the Iron Maiden beer. I wish the clerk who had rang me up was working that night, but alas, he was not. If I owned a bar, that Iron Maiden lager would be in the draft/tap list without a doubt. 

In terms of my interactions with the employees, they were quite sparse, as each employee was quite busy, either checking inventory, running the register, or working the bar. I have worked retail and in food before, and when I’m busy, I am not one who wants to interact with customers that heavily. I kept to myself much of the time, as there were only about two or three other customers who were present when I was there. However, I did chat briefly with the clerk at the register. I asked him if he had tried any of the bevs that I was acquiring, and said that he had been meaning to try the Cola Baladin for some time. However, he told me that the Iron Maiden lager was a popular purchase, and that he was a big fan of the flavor profile, as well as the branding. We both bonded over our shared enjoyment of Iron Maiden's music. I added that my dad is a big Iron Maiden fan, and put me on to their music as a kid. Although this conversation was short, it resonated with me, as I was able to find common ground with somebody who I had never met before and whose position makes it so that we would likely never speak in real life. I left the store with a smile on my face. 

Overall, it was a lovely experience at John's Marketplace on Powell and 35th. In terms of incorporating ideas from our class, social cues felt really important in my journey to this beverage location. I immediately understood that the workers were busy, given their body language and expressions. This is something that cannot be achieved through a form of interpersonal media, such as Zoom. The interpersonal relationship felt more complete by understanding the workers' positions, as well as my conversation with the gent at the register. Because the clerk was not wearing a mask, I could see his facial expressions and reactions so clearly. As I mentioned my fandom for Iron Maiden, his face lit up because he was a fan, too. This is not to say I advocate for the lifting of the mask mandate, I am just saying that it added to understanding social cues much more easily. This first experience was a great start to this blog, and hopefully similarly enjoyable journeys will be had in the coming weeks. More content to come very soon, my friends. My next stop is Rocket Fizz in downtown Portland, which should at least be an interesting if not informative experience for connoisseurship. Stay tuned, fellow connoisseurs!

---