Two blocks south of the former Missouri State Penitentiary stands an unassuming brick building. Over the decades, it served as a dairy and a blacksmith shop, but today, it’s the home of Prison Brews, Jefferson City’s only microbrewery and restaurant with a wood-fired pizza oven. Prison Brews opened in April, 2008.
 |
Above: Specialty pizzas are baked at 700 degrees in a wood-fired oven.
Below: The bar is separated from the dining area by steel bars. With its proximity to the old State Penitentiary, Prison Brews adopts a jailhouse theme in its casual decor. Michael Snell photos |
 |
“When we decided we wanted a microbrewery in Jefferson City, we looked at several different locations, but we always came back to the east end,” said owner Debbie Brown, because they wanted to be close to the redevelopment that was beginning to take place around the old prison. “And we thought the prison theme would be a fun thing to do.”
Brown took full advantage of that theme throughout. A wall of gray steel bars separate the bar seating from main dining area, and hallway signs point the way to the gas chambers–more commonly known as bathrooms–and historic photos dress the walls.
“I think the stained glass is one of the neatest features we have,” said Brown, pointing to a round window depicting a convict in prison stripes hoisting a pint. Local artist Lorie Smith created this window and several others for the restaurant’s opening.
Prison Brews dishes up a mouthwatering array of pizzas from their wood-fired pizza oven. The oven is kept at 700 degrees, which crisps up the thin crusts of their hand-tossed pizzas.
“We can cook five to seven pizzas in approximately seven minutes,” said Brown. “Our pizza is special because we use only seasoned hardwood such as oak, which gives the pizza a unique ‘smoked’ flavor.”
Their best selling pizza is the Meat Lovers, a concoction of apple bacon, spicy sausage, ground beef and pepperoni slathered on a bed of tomato sauce.
The kitchen specialties are sweet potato fries, fried green beans, Prison Break Burger, and cranberry-walnut salad.
Brown says their best seller out of the kitchen is “our Fryer Basket with a mix of fried green beans, mushrooms, and pepper jack cheese sticks. And of course, our best seller from the brewery is our ‘I Ain't Your Honey Wheat’ beer,” an American-style hefeweizen, and one of their lighter beers.
Rod Dothage has been the brewer at Prison Brews since its inception. He assures that the only thing about his beer that’s inspired by the prison is the names.
“I hope they don’t taste like prison beer,” he joked. There are seven handcrafted beers brewed on the premises on tap at all times, including rotating seasonal offerings. An Oktoberfest was released last month, and a pumpkin ale is slated for a November release.
This region of Missouri is new to craft brewing, so he is concentrating on making their current menu of beers as good as he possibly can. But “in the future I’d like to try something a little funkier, a little more unusual.”
Other beers include: Go to Jail Ale, a light cream ale; Prison Town Brown, an English-style ale that Dothage describes as a little malty, sweet, and not bitter; American Pale Ale, a medium-bodied ale made from Centennial hops; Big House IPA, a big beer made from three varieties of hops; and the seasonal Pretty Boy Peach.
Music of every genre is available on weekends, but Monday through Wednesday are bocce league nights at Prison Brews. “It’ really full in the outdoor seating and bar area,” said Dothage, “and people are having a good time.”
Bocce (pronounced BOW-chee in this part of Missouri) is a bit like lawn bowling, but played on bare dirt in narrow long courts. The goal of the team sport is to roll the bocce balls closer to the target than the opposing team. Brown’s best friend suggested that she incorporate the bocce courts because they previously had to drive to St. Louis to play.
“It’s a fun thing to do, and Jefferson City had never seen anything like it,” said Brown.
Sally Snell is a contributor from Lawrence, Kan.
Before you go
Prison Brews is located at 305 Ash St., in Jefferson City, Mo. For more information, contact (573) 635-0678 or www.prisonbrews.com.
To visit Jefferson City, first stop by your nearest AAA service office for maps, reservations, TripTiks® and TourBook® guides. List of offices to serve you. Order free information about Missouri through online Reader Service at http://midwest.ai-dsg.com.
 |
Wood-fired pizza and a cold beer: A perfect pairing at Prison Brews in Jefferson City. Michael Snell photo |
What’s Cooking at Prison Brews
Rustic Beer Bread & Cheese
Fresh bread prepared daily with our own ale, sharp cheddar, dill and our spent grains served with assorted cheeses. Great with our beer sampler $4.99
Sweet Potato Fries
A large portion of sweet potato fries sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar served with chipotle ketchup $5.59
Fryed Basket
Enjoy our fried green beans, fried mushrooms, and fried pepper jack cheese sticks
$8.99
Vegetarian Pizza
Green peppers, red onion, mushrooms and black olives with a tomato sauce $7.99
Greek Pizza
Black olives, artichokes, roma tomatoes and feta cheese with an oregano vinaigrette $9.99
Four Cheese
Mozzarella, provolone, parmesan and feta cheese $6.99
Wild Mushroom
Portabella and button mushrooms with a tomato sauce $9.99
Meat Lovers
Spicy sausage, ground beef, pepperoni and apple bacon with a tomato sauce $9.99
