Name: Maximus
Brewery: Lagunitas Brewery (Petaluma, Calif.)
Style: Imperial IPA
Price: $9.99 per 6-pack
ABV: 8.2
IBU: 59
Final Grade: B
Score: 39

It’s been so long since I had an IPA.

This winter has been nothing but malt. Dunkel, doppelbock, porter, stout. Hops to the back, bread in the driver’s seat and roast riding shotgun. A streak of seasonable New England spring weather (50s, partly sunny, always threatening snow) had me longing for citrus. This is where Lagunitas delivers with Maximus.

Who among us has not fantasized about a life of world travel, meeting new people in exotic locales, living life as a writer while getting into adventures? Well, Ed Valenta is trying to live the dream.

Name: Our Own Bavarian-Style Doppel Weizen
Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Co. (Petaluma, Calif.)
Style: Weizenbock
Price: $6.50 per 22 oz. bottle
ABV: 9
IBU: 32.2
Final Grade: C
Score: 32

German weizen yeasts are amazing, capable of producing an interesting arrangement of flavors to rival most Belgian strains. Lagunitas brewers surely know this. And so, when a friend sent them a Bavarian yeast, I can only imagine how giddy they were to put it to use.

If only they’d used it to make a better beer.

Name: Yule Smith Holiday Ale (Summer version)
Brewery: Alesmith Brewing Company (San Diego, Calif.)
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.5 (website says 9.5%, but my bottle says 8.5)
IBU: ??
Final Grade: A-minus
Score: 42

It’s the second week of November, we’re tumbling toward the holidays and damned if I didn’t forget that I’ve got a Yule Smith Holiday Ale in the cabinet.

The “holiday,” however, was July 4. A generous gift from Emily Sauter, author of the PintsandPanels.com blog, this beer from Alesmith Brewing is part of a twice-annual holiday offering. Imperial IPA for the summer and, around Christmastime, they’ll release an Imperial Red Ale.

Since the winter offering will be served up soon, I figured it was time to taste this one.

This is where the whole beer judge thing is starting to F– with me.