Flat Branch Pub & Brewery

Large space, both indoors and for the outdoor patio. Street parking plus nearby lots. Interior has a high wood beam ceiling, brick walls, and a concrete floor. Angled bar forms an enclosure, surrounded by tables. TVs above the bar showing sports. Twelve or so taps, with a good selection of standard styles. Full liquor service and wine. View of brewing equipment through glass windows. On site kitchen offers a full menu for food. Well trained and friendly staff. Busy and popular spot near downtown.

Located in downtown Columbia, close to the Mizzou campus. Attractive venue with both indoor and outdoor seating. Fun vibe with both locals and students. The food is well-prepared and tasty and the service is excellent. The beer ranges from average to well above. A place definitely worth visiting.

 

Just a block or two off the main drag in Columbia, this spot features pleasing outdoor and door spaces. Spacious bar area to the left as you enter and the main larger seating area to the right. All sorts of burger and pizzas seem to dominate the food menu...

I enjoyed a super tasty Ed's IPA, and the pleasant atmosphere and friendly staff....might fine place for quality beers and tasty food in a very pleasing atmosphere....professional and friendly staff is always a plea...well worth a visit.

Interior features vaulted ceilings with wood and natural colored walls rising out of tan concrete floors. The space is open, killing some of the sound from across the restaurant. Left side of the restaurant has a large circle bar with friendly and attentive staff. A large patio sits outside for the warmer months. The patio drastically improves the seating capacity. The brewery equipment is housed behind a glass wall on the bar side of the restaurant (which still features its own tables as well). Staff is friendly and fairly quick. Beer selection is nearly all their own beers, with a few distro'd beers in the mix. Their own beers span a wide variety with occasional limited releases being put on tap. The food is excellent. Normally have the pizza, but ordered corn beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day and was blown away by it. The food exceeds the quality of the beer.

 

I've been to this brewery dozens and dozens of times. Open since 1994 it is maybe missouri's oldest craft brewery. Weather permitting sit outside if you can. Inside is usually quite crowdwd. Can be loud especially in bar section. Multiple TVs above and around bar area. Service can be on the slow side. If MU has big sporting event go early or you may not get in. Brewery serves about 12 core beers always. Best IMO are oil change stout and Katy trail pale ale. All are good and true to style. When deviating from their core beers brews can be thin and disappointing. Food selection is very good and all food is excellent. Overall an excellent place to eat and drink in Columbia!

While passing through Columbia, I dropped by this brewpub with my family. On a beautiful early July day, we sat in the outside patio, which was shaded and very enjoyable. The service was prompt, and the place was busy. The inside is dark, with a high ceiling and a large bar at one side of the building. The brewing equipment is on display, and a brewer was hard at work cleaning when we were there.
The beer was, quite simply, excellent. My wife and I both had different samplers, and all of the beers were fabulous. Particularly notable were the American Pale Ale, the Vanilla beer, and a wonderful stout. The menu was diverse, and I had a great pork sandwich with sriracha aioli and radishes. Terrific brewpub and worth a stop.

They have a really good craft beer selection. Had the honey wheat beer with a pizza and it was delicious. Service wasn't the best in the world but that is to expect in a college town sometimes. Want to go back to try more beers and I heard they have good burgers.

 

 

 

Food was really good had the chicken tempura strips as an app.Got the chicken club wrap for my main course both really good! Had the ipa,the pale ale and the specialty bluesberry beers all really good!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My wife and I made a return visit to the brew pub in late May. We were seated immediately in a nice, shady spot in their outdoor patio area. The waitress quickly came and took our drink orders and gave us plenty of time to peruse the menu before ordering.

Food and beer were both great and tasty. My wife got a huge salad (a half-portion would have been better since we couldn't take left overs with us) and I opted for their chicken wings and a Cajun sausage and pasta special, again with very generous portions.

The beer selection was large and extensive as far as styles go. I tried their green chili beer and brown ale, both refreshing and quite tasty.

Excellent atmosphere, service, and food and beverage offerings. Highly recommended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was able to stop by during my latest visit to Columbia.

This is a pretty large and bustling place. We waited about 20 minutes to get a table at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, so I would say they have lots of fans. We had some beers which made the short wait seem shorter.

They have a really nice terrace that seems to be a big draw. There is a large dining room and nice bar room. The bar is a square in the middle of the room with service stations on each end. There are TV’s , so you can keep up with the games.

Service at the bar and table side was very friendly and prompt. Both servers were able to provide some beer insight.

Food was tasty and I thought pretty reasonable priced. They have some specials which are worth checking out. They offer really good homemade “blue” coleslaw. Get it!

Unfortunately the beer was not a huge hit with our party. We started with the Ed’s IPA. It was either old or the lines needed tending. The hops were pretty much MIA and there was a vegetable thing going on that was way out of place. The stout was better and we thought the best beer of the evening was the pepper ale which had a nice pepper aroma but was not overly hot.

I will be back again and will try some more beers.

I had trouble finding the entrance. I didn't know there was a parking lot just past the lush, green bier-garden fence full with vines. The entrance is kind of hidden with a lot of rain lately causing a lot of growth of the greens on the fence. I almost went into the employee entrance on the front of the building facing the parking meters where I parked on 5th street, just off of the main drag, Stadium Blvd.

The place was busy. I heard from a family member that they were always busy which is why I showed up late afternoon Sunday. Granted it was Memorial Day Weekend. I ordered Edy's IPA and some wings. I ordered the Edy's as it was one of the best and most rated IPA. I was surprised to see their glasses were imperial nonics that pour 18oz with a good head. IPA was stale and lacking in hop character, although I did notice after looking at the board that all their styles were British. The hop character was small even for a British ale. The wings came fairly fast, within 10 minutes. They were ok, not very spicy like hot wings usually are. There was a BBQ flavor that took over, but it was like Cookies BBQ sauce, nothing great. They looked dry and they were, but they were fresh and hot.

The service was good, the woman who helped me was very attentive. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the clinking of the glasses against the tap nozzle and the sloppy pooring. The head never reached too high, so I guess they felt they could be lax in pooring. It was confirmed when both of my beers had little head. If it were to style this would be acceptable head in parts of southern England.

They also stacked glasses, I could see they had the bars being bussed by some college age students who were also taking the glassware and stacking it roughly, which was apparent when I got my second beer which was a nitro stout that has very small bubbles that show all the nucleation points around the bulge of the nonic affecting the appearance of the beer. I'm guessing the stacking comes from always being busy. They have a large bier-garden and a lot of seats inside, so they can hold a lot of people. They even have a nice complete circle bar that's raised up.

The wait is apparent as people with a party were waiting and my family member said they liked the food, but they are always busy was a complaint. That did ring true in my experience there.

This place is hopping, even on a day with tropical storm type of humidity! Due to nearly every spot being taken, my date and I ended up sharing a chair at the bar, which I did not complain about! The patio seating has beautiful plants and vines creating a private getaway, inside has that classic brewery warehouse look, with just a little more shine and newness.

The staff clearly enjoy working here and their attitude rubs off on the customers, the general vibe is cheerful and lively. It is obvious that the bartenders and servers are proud of their exceptional quality and specialty items.

We shared several samplers, the Oil Change Oatmeal Stout and the Green Chili Beer especially stood out to me. I was wary of the Green Chili variety at first, but it was quite remarkable and unusual. Their Brown Ale was sweet and delicious...hell, everything we tried was good!

The food was fantastic! The green chili chicken fingers made from the green chili beer batter will forever be praised and lauded as one of this earth's greatest culinary creations.

I want to go back!

Stopped over this place on the way to St. Louis from KC.

I had been here once before and thought it was a gem. Sat outside on a wonderful cool and breezy Fall Sunday. The place was crowded and busy but still everything flowed perfectly.

The patio area is nice and cozy with tons of vegetation covering the are and giving it a private feel.

I tried their IPA and got a growler of their APA. Their IPA is nice and citrusy with some fresh grassy hops to it. This place has a great feel, great service, great food and the beers are well crafted.

I guess you couldn't ask for much more in a small town like Columbia. But coming from Chicago this place severely lacked. It was really crowded when I went, and it was on a wednesday evening at like 6pm. Strange. I hung out at the bar while I waited and tried the chilli beer. Not my cup of tea whatsoever. Selection wasn't too bad, I've seen much much worse. All the tap beers are listed on a chalkboard near the bar. I also tried the Irish Red. Not bad.

Food was very 'meh' for me. Not only am I becoming a beer snob, I've long been a food snob. This place was a basic college joint: burgers, wings, etc. None of the options were exceptional. But considering the location, this was pretty good.

Not a bad experience away from home, but it just felt way to 'collegey' for me. But for a small town like this, it's a good option. Check it out if in the area, but I wouldn't make a special trek.

Flat Branch is sort of a staple for anyone that lives in Columbia or in the surrounding areas. The restaurant is ALWAYS packed even though it has a large indoor and outdoor space (probably the nicest patio in town), which suggests that they do very good business! We go to Flatbranch every couple of months (even with a 1 year old). The food is average, but what I like about it is that they don't charge you an arm and a leg and you get large portions. The beer is average at best, some selections are better than others, but nothing that a beer geek would be overwhelmed by. I typically order the Green Chili Beer when I 'm, but it's not a great beer...just one I've enjoyed time to time. Their Oil Change stout won a silver medal this past year at GABF.

Have been to Flat Branch several times since coming to Columbia. The food has been up and down but is generally average bar food with a few stand outs here and there. This place stays packed for lunch and dinner, so plan ahead if you are going, especially if there are any major functions going on in town. They do several house beers and have a wide variety on tap. Most beers are average to not so good, but I am not a huge fan of english yeasts and they tend to use the same english yeast strain in all their beers. As such, their better beers tend to be english styles.

I stopped in for a late lunch on a Friday during a trip from Kansas City to St. Louis. The atmosphere is great. They have a dining area that is separate from the bar and would be great for a business lunch, as well as a large open bar. My visit was during the summer when school was not in session, but I can only imagine that this is the place to go on a football Saturday to watch the game on one of their large flat screen TVs. The place itself is a well renovated old warehouse that overlooks a park. It also features a spacious beer garden that I'm sure is a local favorite during the summer.

As far as the beer is concerned, I had the $6 sampler and bought a growler of the Rye Porter to take with me. I found all of the beers to be average. There was nothing offensive or spectacular about any of them really, with the exception of the Rye Porter which was delicious.

I had great service, but the place wasn't very busy. The staff was courteous and helpful, but did not seem to know an awful lot about their beers, just the talking points they had been given.

The selection was great compared to my expectations. They had all their regular beers and several seasonals, about 10 total. They had everything you would expect; a wheat, a pale, an IPA, a brown, and a stout as well as an unexpected Chili beer, and as I mentioned earlier several seasonals to keep things interesting.

As far as the food is concerned, I may not be the best judge. I was there for a late lunch and had been planning on eating at a brewery all day so my heart was set on a bacon cheeseburger and fries. It was delicious, and exactly what I wanted.

The prices were on par with my expectations as well. Being in Columbia, they can't charge as much as they could if they were in a bigger city. The prices were reasonable, and in line with what they provided.

Overall, I enjoyed my visit to Flat Branch Pub and Brewery very much, and would recommend it to anyone traveling from Kansas City to St. Louis as a great way to break up what is otherwise a rather boring stretch of road.