Iowa's Backpocket Brewing is opening a taproom in Johnston this fall, its founder Jacob Simmons announced Thursday.

The taproom will feature beers brewed at its original Coralville location, plus a restaurant, retro arcade and duckpin bowling alley. It will be located in the Johnston Town Center, a new, mixed-use development at Merle Hay Road and Northwest 62nd Street that city leaders hope will become a downtown-like gathering place for the suburb. 

Called Backpocket Pin and Pixel, the taproom's centerpiece will be a retro arcade with games like pinball, Skee-Ball and Pac-Man, and six lanes of duckpin bowling. A more compact version of the traditional game, its lanes are shorter, the balls are smaller and lighter and there is no requirement to rent shoes.

According to duckpinbowl.com, "it's bowling but with pins that look like ducks and balls you can throw while holding a beer."

More:Twisted Vine Brewery to begin pouring craft beer in the Des Moines' Market District this summer

This will be the second taproom for Backpocket, which is marking its 10th year in  business in June. Its Dubuque location also has an arcade and events room, but a smaller food menu and no bowling. 

Backpocket, specializing in German-inspired craft brews, distributes its core beers to stores and restaurants in all of Iowa's 99 counties. But the taproom will give craft beer enthusiasts access to all of its offerings and an "ever-changing lineup of new releases," many of which never make it to the Des Moines metro, Simmons said. 

He said an extensive search led the company to Johnston Town Center, a 20-acre area that includes a new City Hall and The Yard, a large green space that serves as a town square, hosting farmers' markets and other events. It also has a splash pad that converts into an ice skating rink in winter.

Envisioned around The Yard are specialty shops, dining options, office space and a hotel.

More:Waterloo-based SingleSpeed Brewing Co. plans a location in Des Moines' Market District

The 8,000-square-foot Backpocket will have five glass walls that open like garage doors onto the 3,000-square-foot patio overlooking that gathering space. 

"It's a community center. And that’s what we’ve always envisioned our taproom to be, a gathering space where people can get together and have a good time," Simmons said. "It’s just a shared vision."

Construction began about two months ago. Backpocket is expected to open in October.

The announcement comes on the heels of Waterloo-based SingleSpeed Brewing Co. saying it was beginning renovation of a former tire shop at 303 Scott Ave., in the planned Market District development, for its first Des Moines location. 

Underway in Sherman Hill are construction of a location of Big Grove Brewery, another Iowa City-area beer maker, in the former Crescent Chevrolet building, and a yet-unnamed brewery at 732 18th St. Big Grove also recently announced it is building a taproom in Cedar Rapids.

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The renowned Toppling Goliath brewery in Decorah told the Des Moines Register last year it also plans a Des Moines location, though it hasn't announced where. And Twisted Vine Brewery, formerly of West Des Moines, is set to open its new location at 112 S.E. Fourth St.in the Market District in June. 

Kim Norvell covers growth and development for the Register. Reach her at knorvell@dmreg.com or 515-284-8259. Follow her on Twitter @KimNorvellDMR.