Spoetzel Brewery's Shiner Frost

Not sure why I'm just now getting to this beer, but I'm hoping this goes well with my brisket and sausage from Leon's in Galveston.

Pours a clear, deep yellow to amber with a nice fizzy white head that stays well with decent carbonation. Nice malty smell. Very slight hops smell in there somewhere. Not distinct.

You know, this tastes a great deal like a bock, and not just because it has a hint of the Shiner Bock taste to it, but it has a solid malt that fades pretty quickly to a crisp bitterness that never overpowers it or makes you forget that it's mostly malt. Nice and mild with kind of a peppery finish, it goes very well with my BBQ.

Independence Brewing Company's Stash IPA

Pours a deep amber, slightly hazy, with a huge tan head that stays forever. Smells great as it pours, too. Nice and grassy, with the malt present, but clearly secondary.

This is very similar to Great Divide's barleywine, just scaled back as an IPA should be. Big grassy bitterness with a nice, smooth body and with the malt providing more body than taste. Not sweet, it's slightly sharp.

Very nice beer. I'm glad to see that they're thinking through this and their stout more than their regular offerings. This is probably the best IPA in Texas, in fact.