Prison Brews

Brewery, Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

305 Ash St
Jefferson City, Missouri, 65101-4002
United States

(573) 635-0678 | map
prisonbrews.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.74
Beers:
25
Ratings:
95
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.88
Reviews:
15
Ratings:
26
pDev:
12.11%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by WhatsNewinBooze:
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Reviewed by WhatsNewinBooze from Colorado

3.55/5  rDev -8.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3
Being from Colorado I guess I am a little spoiled with brew pub experiences, but all and all, I felt that Prison Brews was kind of a let down. The beers were good but not great, the food was okay and the services decent. It's to bad this place has the potenial to be a really good brew pub, however it just falls short. With it being the only place like it in Jefferson City you would think that they would be trying to buld up the micro brew movement but it really just seems like they dont' care to.
Jul 30, 2010
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.89 by not2quick from Missouri

Feb 03, 2023
 
Rated: 3.74 by hoosier222002 from Illinois

Aug 12, 2020
 
Rated: 3.54 by crow from Illinois

Oct 29, 2016
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Reviewed by TravelinTom from Missouri

3.13/5  rDev -19.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 2.25 | food: 4.5
This place is about 65 miles from me. I've been there dozens and dozens of times. Overall excellent food! Neat place inside with great outdoor seating. They offer 6 beers on tap with 3 to 4 that almost never change. They brew very good IPAs, stouts and porters. No imperials. Remaining beers are ok, sometimes on the thin side. Bar and wait staff are friendly and knowledgeable about their beers. Definitely a place to go when going to Jeff city!
Jul 15, 2016
 
Rated: 3.33 by RoseHulmanBeerClub from Indiana

Mar 22, 2016
 
Rated: 3.05 by dub_deuce22 from Missouri

Jan 28, 2016
 
Rated: 3.73 by kylehay2004 from Illinois

Aug 01, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by Beer-Lovin-RAT from Kansas

Jul 13, 2015
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Reviewed by Suds from Missouri

3.49/5  rDev -10.1%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
After taking the family on a tour of the Missouri state Capitol and State Pennetentiary museum, we visited this local brewpub. The small dining area is outfitted with prison bars and memerobelia. The brew tanks are located at the back of the room, which is a little dark. The service was excellent and the food was also solid. The beer selection was nice..we had a sampler of 7 beers...which included two IPAs, a brown, a stout, a Belgian pale, and a honey wheat. The IPAs were excellent, but the brown and stout were not good at all.
Mar 21, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by AndyBeerGuy from Kansas

Nov 18, 2014
 
Rated: 3.8 by ADG2995 from Missouri

Oct 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by thufflife from Missouri

Jul 25, 2014
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Reviewed by MilwaukeeCrusher from Wisconsin

4.14/5  rDev +6.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.75 | selection: 3.75
Brewery situated by the now dormant prison in town. Place had a nice vibe to it and it wasn't overly congested although this was odd hours. Beers were the standard fare of styles, but recall them being very good for their particular styles. Would like to go here again if I am in the area. Did not try any food.
Mar 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Benvarine from Missouri

Feb 09, 2014
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Reviewed by DoubleSimcoe from Pennsylvania

4.04/5  rDev +4.1%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.75
On our way from St Louis to Kansas City, the wife and I decided to stop in Jefferson City and see the mighty capitol and tiny capital of Missouri. Prison Brews was our beer stop- and a very good one indeed.

The prison theme is a little silly/overdone, but the place is spacious and cozy. Plenty of booths, tables and a bar that is the place to be. Super friendly and engaging bartender and excellent service.

Seven taps with house beers and (again) silly names: Go to Jail, Honey Wheat, Prison Town Brown, Oktoberfest, IPA, Death Row Stout. The IPA and Stout were outstanding, and so was a one-off Citra Pale Ale thy were serving.

I found the prices to be ridiculously low, particularly coming from New York City but even compared to St Louis. All around a great time and excellent beers!
Oct 30, 2013
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Reviewed by MTNboy from Germany

2.8/5  rDev -27.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 1.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 2.5
I know that I will have a lot of deviation on this one but the service we got in this establishment was pretty lousy. I went there with my family around 5:00pm on New Year’s Eve. It wasn’t busy at all and there was a hand full of people in there. The first thing out of the hostess’s mouth was we have a ton of reservations tonight you all need to be done by seven. A welcome would have been nice. Got it, it was News Year’s Eve but most the employees looked upset to be there to include the manager. I met him once before at the Oktoberfest at the Public House in Rolla and he came off pompous then. It took forever to get our food. The waitress reached across people to serve others and she did not check on us that much. I would have been Okay with that if she would have been busy but the staff was all hanging out in the corner shooting the breeze. W e also waited on our check for quite some time. I wanted a beer glass and waited on that too. Three different staff members did not know where the glasses were. I walked by the glasses on the way to the bathroom. The food was slightly below average. It was cold when it got to us. Except for the pretzel that was a little under done and doughy. The atmosphere is nice. I liked the jail theme and the set up. You can see the brewing process which is nice. I had the sampler which had 7oz glasses which was also nice and for 7 bucks the price was right. However, I thought the food was overpriced.
Jan 07, 2012
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Reviewed by zeff80 from Missouri

4/5  rDev +3.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
The prison motif on the inside of Prison Brews is pretty good. They are going with a theme and sticking with it. I like the prison bars around the elevated bar area and the "gas chamber" sign above the hallway to the bathrooms. Like the idea of bocce ball courts on the patio, too. The beers were all good to great. I really liked their IPA and Java Stout. Very well done. Their sampler deal is amazing. Try 7 beers for $7 and the best part is that they are 7oz samples. I've never seen samples bigger than 5oz and even that is rare. The service was pretty good. It slowed down as it got more crowded. I have to give them kudos for filling a growler from another brewpub (ie. not their own growlers only). Selection had some nice variety with two "gateway" beers and other options for hop heads and stout lovers. The food was pretty good. Wood fired pizzas were tasty and the have tasty fries, too. The brat merely got an okay review from my father-in-law. All in all, it is a pretty good place with some nice brews. I hope it continues to do well.
Apr 27, 2011
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Reviewed by BrewTat from Missouri

4.9/5  rDev +26.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
Well, Brewnix it seems they must have addressed all your complaints. We stopped by there last night and, based on your review, I didn't have high hopes.

We were greeted and seated right away. Our server came right over and took our drink orders. I ordered the sampler and it arrived within 5 minutes and as each beer was placed on the table she gave us a rundown on each style. The beers were all clean and well made.

- The cream ale was light as expected. If any fermentation issues were going to show themselves it would be in this beer, but none could be detected. There was a slight mineral taste, but not too noticeable.
- The wheat was an American style, not outstanding, but well made and to style.
- The pale ale was brewed to style, and pretty good with a good balance of hops.
- The brown was one of their best beers - very malty with just the right balance of hops.
- The porter was a little disappointing for me, but porter is a pretty broad category. I would say this tended to be more of a brown porter and I prefer a robust porter, so my opinion of it is more a personal bias. I suspect there was a little smoked malt in the grain bill. I don't care much for smoked beers, but it was so subtle that it added some interest to the beer and had me wondering if it was really a smoked malt flavor or not. Again, a well made beer.
- The milk stout was way too thin to be a stout, but the lactose was there in the right proportion. I'd really enjoy this beer if there was more body.
- The APA was a pretty good beer. The only problem I could see was it seemed a little too grassy. That could just be the hop variety used or leaving them in too long if it was dry-hopped.
- The IPA was my favorite. It's definitely a West Coast style balanced toward the hops. Very tasty and drinkable.

The food was solid and good. We had the beer bread and cheese plate with our sampler. The bread and garlic spread were excellent but the cheese was nothing special. I had a pizza which was well cooked. The crust was mostly crispy and it had a good amount of toppings. My wife had a chicken sandwich with onion rings. The sandwich was fine and the onion rings were excellent. One thing that bothered me was the server had to check be make sure they still had onion rings. This was about 7pm, and being out of something like onion rings would have seriously affected my opinion of them. I mean really, cut some more onions and make some more batter. The prices were reasonable. We had the sampler, the food above and two pints of beer and the total bill was about $46.

Prison Brews is a very solid brew pub with no problems that I saw. Good beer, good food, and a friendly and competent staff. I'll be stopping by whenever I go through Jeff City.
Dec 06, 2009
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Reviewed by hwwty4 from Missouri

4.05/5  rDev +4.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
I have visited this place a couple times and figured it was about time to review it. First off, if you don't know Jefferson City, this place is a bit hard to get too. The first time I visited, I ended up getting lost through the winding one way streets of Jefferson City. The subsequent times have been a little easier but I still always make a couple of wrong turns. Also its located on kind of the outskirts of down town Jeff City on the end of a street. From the front, the place looks a little unassuming but when you enter you really get the vibe of the place. Prison bars as you walk in, the history of the old building being used as a prison, and a huge bar await you. We normally just skirt the inside and move straight for the Bocce ball courts outside if its nice enough. This the best part about the place. Bring a couple friends, drink some brews and play Bocce. Its great. If it wasn't for the courts, this place would just be ho-hum in terms of atmosphere.

The service is always impeccable. Like I said earlier, we always sit outside and on a couple occasions are the only ones out there. The waitresses always come and see if you need anything. They go out of there way to make sure you're comfortable. The selection has always been ok. They have a brown, an IPA (more of an English PA in my opinion), a cream ale and a couple others. The beer is decent brewpub quality. Nothing exciting or remarkable but always quality. The food is good. We always just order a couple appitizers and its pretty traditional pub fare. Besides the growlers, whcih are like 18 bucks, this place is pretty reasonable. If your in Jeff City, this would be a place to definitely make high on your priorities.
May 21, 2009
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Reviewed by Beavis from Missouri

4.55/5  rDev +17.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5
I visited the PrisonBrews three times now, and have been pleased each time. I'm jealous it's in Jefferson City and not Rolla, Missouri.

Atmosphere is great, although as small as the building is they will need to expand eventually, due to the quality of their service and product.

I had the sampler, and the beer that easily outshined all others was their IPA. Excellent. The third time I visited, they actually had, I think, 2 pale ales and 1 IPA on tap, in addition to their other beers (alot of 'pale ale' styles). They also had a Maibock, which was very nice. Don't try the Bighouse IPA along with the woodoven pizza - you will eat/drink too much if you do.

I intend to get our local HB club (MASH) up there to visit sometime this year-IMO this place easily rivals nearby Flatbranch Brewery (I'd go to PB over FB).
Apr 22, 2009
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Reviewed by straightjacket24 from Missouri

4.4/5  rDev +13.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Very nice brew pub.

My friends and I were in town on business and stopped in for a bite and a drink. The beer sampler is great. You get all seven beers for $7, that is awesome. They had a pumpkin, honey-wheat, winter, brown, pale, IPA, and a milk stout. The beers were excellent. I dont typically like pumpkin brews but this one was quite nice. Couldn't have more than one though. The milk stout was also very good, it was probably my favorite. Very smooth

If you are in town it is definitley a place to check out. Nice atmosphere, good food and quality craft brews all at a reasonable price
Feb 09, 2009
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Reviewed by BCK from Missouri

4.28/5  rDev +10.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Being a local here in Jefferson City that trekked to Flat Branch in Columbia way to much, I am thankful that Prison Brews came along, saves me gas money when I want a growler. They built and put this really nice Brewpub in an older building on the East Side of Jefferson City that is trying to rebuild itself and kudos to them for doing that, they did a great job renovating the building!

Each and every time I go into PB, the service is top notch and the beers are just as good. The wait staff knows about their beer as much as they do their food, which is not always that common.

Food is nicely priced and above average when it comes to Pub food, I love the open face steak sandwich as well as their Pizza.

Hopefully more people go and help drink the Pumpkin, so we can get something new on tap though. :) I believe that next is going to be a Milk Stout if I am not mistaken.
Dec 06, 2008
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Reviewed by revolution from Wisconsin

4.33/5  rDev +11.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Very impressed with Prison Brews!

Went there on Friday, for the first time, for happy hour...went back for a growler of IPA on Saturday..., went back later Saturday night to refill the growler for Sunday.

The group I was with shared the sampler on Friday. I was blown away that these outstanding beers were made right there in Jeff City. I thought the IPA was excellent. The oatmeal stout and porter were also very good. The pale ale and brown ale were very smooth. They have good reason to be confident in their brews, and the fact that they don't sell any "other beers" (aka BL and ML) is truly awesome. I'm excited about the opportunity for the local community to expand their palates. You've gotta love drinking quality, local craft brews.

They have a full menu, though we only tried the soft pretzels. This was a good snack as we sampled the beers. There is also a wood-burning oven, which was producing some tasty-looking
pizzas.

They've taken the prison theme seriously, with iron bars, chain-linked fence, prison-themed stained-glass windows, and creatively named beers, such as the Big House IPA. It is a welcoming, fun atmosphere, and the Bocce Ball courts are sweet.

Cheers to Prison Brews! Look forward to many more pints.
Jul 01, 2008
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Reviewed by sphmiel from Missouri

4.18/5  rDev +7.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
We were in Jefferson City for the high school state track and field championships, and stopped in saturday mid-afternoon. although the neighborhood has seen better days, it is truly only few blocks from the prison.

We were pleasantly surprised by the inside, very open and comfortable. Friendly wait-staff who knew the brews and food. The wings were spicy with a sweet base, satisfying my son, the reuben sandwich was very traditional without being excessively large, which made my wife happy, and the wood-fired pizzas were great.

The beer sampler is a great treat - it was the seven available drafts, and included honey-wheat, a golden ale, amber ale, brown ale, pale ale, porter, and stout (no IPA this afternoon). All were tasty, true to style, good session beers. The Amber was my favorite, nice malts with just enough hops to balance it.

A welcome addition to Jefferson City, especially for those of us who visit infrequently.
May 28, 2008
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Reviewed by MOShepp from Missouri

4.2/5  rDev +8.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
This place just opened in Jeff City and it was desperately needed. They brew six beers of all different styles and also have growlers to go. I had the sampler of all six and they were better than I thought they would be, they were all very drinkable, my favorite was the IPA style.

The food was very good, my wife and I had the onion rings and it comes with this spicy,smokey ketchup, it sounds wierd talking about ketchup, but it's awesome, the rings were great too. I had an opened face K.C. strip sandwich that was pretty good. My wife had the pork tenderloin, if you like sage(which I do) then go for it otherwise it might not be for you. They have a brick fire pizza oven and I'll try that next time (looked good).

The atmospher is like a prison with prison cells to eat in. We were on the patio and it has two large bocce ball courts which is a neet and unexpected pub activity.

The service was good, I left the sampler glasses in order and my server could tell me wich was wich since I couldn't remember the names. I will go again.
May 05, 2008
Prison Brews in Jefferson City, MO
Brewery rating: 3.74 out of 5 with 95 ratings