Ho, ho, hmm?

They’re all over the Southern map this time of year. Highland Brewing’s Cold Mountain out of Asheville. Nashville’s Fat Bottom’s Noel. SweetWater in Atlanta rolls out what it calls Festive Ale; Houston’s Karbach Brewing releases its Yuletide Confessions; Richmond’s Legends Brewing has Cuvée De Noël, and Abita Brewing down near New Orleans comes out with its more directly named Christmas Ale.

Call them what you will—Christmas ales, winter warmers, holiday beers, winter ales, or variations on the solstice-celebratory theme—’tis the inescapable season for such releases.