Tuesday 27th of September 2011 06:39:08 PM

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This is my 96th brewery visited. My wife and I stopped her on our way home to Denver and we were very pleased. The service is a little different having to order your pizza before you sit down which kinda forces you to decide what you want fast. Once we did get seated our sampler platter of beer was brought out very promptly. They had nine beers at the time and it looks to be that they have 12+ beers. Each one we tasted was great. Especially the Piney 2X IPA. Pizza was also great. Being a wood oven fired pizza we thought it would take a little while to get our pizza, but just as it was with our beer, it was really fast and made to order. We asked for no mushrooms and got exactly no mushrooms! The atmosphere was good though small. I could imagine on a weekend night people spilling out the door drinking their beer on the sidewalk. But in a small town such as this its probably the norm. All around this place was a very good experience and if ever we are in the area again we will visit.

Tuesday 27th of July 2010 09:58:54 PM

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Amica's is a brewpub gem hidden in the South Central mountain town of Salida, along the upper Arkansas River (don't miss the FIBArk celebration every June). Amica's occupies a former mortuary just off the main drag (F St.) and has great ambience, from the hanging bicycle (not like New Belgium's) to the murals on the walls. The calzones, thin-crust pizza and panini are outstanding as are the very fresh salads. Wait staff apparently has very low turnover, is super friendly and really knows the menu. Now for the best part: the beer. Mike LaCroix, the brewmaster, doesn't get the name recognition like at the larger Front Range breweries, but he consistently comes up with outstanding beers, running a standard line up of 3-4 plus another 2-3 rotating taps with such favorites as Nigel's Rather Large Ale and Loyal Duke Scottish Ale. Don't miss Amica's!

Tuesday 2nd of June 2009 09:36:50 PM

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May 2009. Downtown Salida was surprisingly busy for a Thursday evening, had to drive around a few blocks for a parking spot. The beer was excellent, their IPA was great, and the strong ale, "Heavy Handed," was also great. I would score the American IPA at 45 points: beautiful sweet flower/grapefruit aroma,good looking dark amber and off-white head, balanced hopflavor with substantial malt body/sweetness, medium body and a nice finish bitter but not harsh. Staff was professional and helpful, beer knowledge was not tested. We were split on assessment of food, but generally agreed that the pizzas were good quality, just split on which ones were liked/disliked. Looking forward to our next visit.