Libation Station

This was only a bit out of the way on our drive to Asheville. The beer selection was quite good, but it was disappointing that so few single bottles were for sale. It gets a little expensive to buy 4 or 6 packs to try obscure local brews. The liquor store next door that sells the high ABV brews had a more impressive selection, inuding some rarities.

Beer and smoke shop while driving through Tennessee on the way to Asheville. Pretty standard stuff. Decent stop if you are searching for local beer.

A beer and smoke shop with a growler station. Their specialty seems to be cigars and local/regional beers. The staff did not warn us that TN law does not allow them to sell over 6% so we did not know to go next door for the high gravity beers.

Stopped by after RBWG. First time I’d been here in a couple of years and things have certainly changed. They are in the building next door with a sizeable cigar operation which added a strong smell I didn’t appreciate. Fewer singles, but the growler selection seems bigger, and prices on fills were solid. Solid growler selections as well. Service was still pretty solid.

Old rating follows. Tennessee has messed up beer laws, so the low gravity stuff is here with the high gravity stuff next door in a different but associated business, which is convenient. Lots of beers here. Locals, and a few midwestern beers not available in Virginia is nice. Large selection of singles, and good prices. The guy working was nice. Decent parking. I’ve heard this is the best shop in the area, and I can’t imagine that to be untrue. If you’re travelling I-26 definitely make this a stop. 3/8/13/NA/NA/16/80

Visited after RBWG. This place was apparently renovated not too long ago, so old reviews should be read with that in mind. Libation Station’s a beer store that also doubles as a cigar shop. The 250 or so beers on offer were mostly limited to 6 packs with only a modest selection of singles. There’s a growler station too. There was a ridiculous amount of Rogue and Abita available for whatever reason. A few interesting regional beers featured, but probably not enough to get me to visit again in the near future. Service was very kind, prices were solid. Overall, this is a useful place if you’re in a pinch for some quality beer. However, don’t expect to be blown away by the selection.

Two separate building - most of the beer is on the left, but there are some hi gravity beers in the :liquor" building on the right. In the beer building, most of what was available was in 4- or 6-packs, although there was one cooler in the back left near the growler fill station that had a selection of singles. Most of the beers I wanted were not sold as singles, though, oh well. Interesting local & regional growlers. Decent prices.

Stopped in on the way through from Asheville to Abingdon and were pleasantly surprised. Nice and clean shop, pretty good selection, enthusiastic staff, and decent prices. Bonus that they do growler pours, singles, and sixers. Found some things we don’t get in VA.

(Visited 01/2013): Libation Station is on Roan Street on the north side of Johnson City, not too far off I-26 and next to Plaza Package. There is a decent-sized parking lot in front of the building.

The inside features coolers on the left, shelves throughout and a wall of taps in the rear where growler fills take place. Above the taps is a large digital readout of what beers they carry. In the back there is a cigar lounge as well.

Libation Station’s 27 taps consist of mostly domestic microbreweries (like Brooklyn) plus a couple macros. On the shelves are several hundred bottled offerings, including some regional beers from Highland, Depot Street and Yazoo. Several Ashville breweries represented as well, including growlers from Craggie.

Service on a slow weekday afternoon was good. The guy behind the counter knew the beers and made recommendations.

Overall this shop is better than anything I expected to find in JC, so I would definitely stop again.

Best beer store in JC, but that’s kinda like being the coolest spot in hell. Nice to have somewhere to fill a growler when Depot St isn’t open, but considering the number of taps, not a lot of a-list beers. I don’t buy many bottles here. Most everything is $1 to $3 more than in NC.