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This is one of the exclusive topics we’re covering here in our newsletter as part of the broader 2026 Beer Branding Trends Report. 

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One of the biggest shifts in beer over the last few years is how breweries use style names.

Once a technical — even gatekeeping — term, style names are now becoming something more fluid. In today’s market, we believe they should be used more as a positioning tool. And for breweries willing to loosen their grip on beer geek vernacular, this presents a major opportunity.

Let’s explore what this shift looks like — and how you can use it to your advantage.

(Above, Top): Rather than explaining what a Kölsch is, St. Elmo simply calls theirs “Carl.” It’s familiar, approachable, and it works — Carl is one of their best sellers.

(Above, bottom): Kona shifted their flagship away from “Golden Ale” and leaned into “Liquid Aloha.” Which style designation do you think grabs someone faster in the beer aisle?

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TTB Accuracy vs. Consumer Understanding

This isn’t about deception or calling your Stout a Pilsner (don’t do that). It’s about clarity.

If you’re brewing a Kölsch, but your customer doesn’t know what that means, you’re better off calling it a “Pale Golden Beer.” Or go personality-forward — “Easy Drinking Beer.” Or zag completely and call it Carl.

These aren’t inaccurate. They’re more approachable. They meet your customers where they are.

For a classic non-beer example, consider which sounds more appetizing: Patagonian Toothfish or Chilean Sea Bass?

Same fish. Better name. Same beer. Better chance it sells.

This mirrors another big shift: Leading with flavor. If it tastes like blueberries, say so. Don’t hide behind specs — sell the experience.

(Above): Molson Coors released Blue Moon Light Sky — a light flagship extension — back in 2020. In 2024, they revised this to a much simpler tag, Blue Moon Light. This overlaps with another exclusive we're sending out on light flagship extensions, but I think the name implication is important here as well. Adding an additional Sub Brand name pushed too far from the parent brand (and I'm guessing didn't result in enough pull). And "Light" in this case, is the perfect style name. 

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Consumer Occasion Matching

One of the best ways to approach style naming today is through the lens of occasion.

When and where is someone drinking this beer? And how can you name or describe it in a way that makes that instantly clear?

That’s why we’ve seen the rise of cues like “crushable,” “porch beer,” “after-work lager” and “weekender.” They’re not styles — they’re positioning tools. They work because they help people visualize a moment.

The same Kölsch could be positioned three different ways:

– “Heritage Kölsch” for beer nerds

– “Pale Golden Beer” for casual drinkers

– “Easy-Drinking Porch Beer” for summer hangs 

When in doubt, lead with how the beer fits into someone’s life — and let the style follow (or fade into the background).

(Above, Top): Instead of calling out style, Swifty and Emergency Drinking Beer lean on vague-but-vivid designators like “Refreshing Beer” and “All Purpose Blend.” Technically meaningless, but instantly clear.

(Above, Bottom): Is Cold Drinking Beer a golden ale, or a cream ale, or a lager, or… No. It's a Cold Drinking Beer. Or, just 'beer" if we have to get technical. Read a deep dive case study on how we built this fun brand here. 

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The Lager Look — And Why Everyone’s Copying It

Lager isn’t just a style anymore — it’s a brand. It signals something cold, crisp, easy to drink, maybe nostalgic and definitely familiar.

That’s why more breweries are borrowing from lager’s language and design canon to position non-lagers the same way. Cream Ales, Golden Ales, Blonde Ales — often packaged and positioned like light lagers without calling out the style at all. Instead, you’ll see names like Cold Drinking Beer, Pub Beer or simply “Beer.”

Visually, the cues are consistent: white or off-white backgrounds, retro script, minimal layouts, metallic accents, and pops of red or gold. If it looks like an old-school domestic, people know what to expect — even if it isn’t technically a lager.

This is where naming and package design have to work together. If you want someone to crush a beer after mowing the lawn, the can should communicate that at a glance — not after someone reads the fine print.

We’re also seeing the same move in language, where style fades and vibe takes over:

– Refreshing Beer (Swiftly)

– Light Beer (St. Elmo)

– Pub Beer (10 Barrel)

– Cold Drinking Beer (Virginia Beer Co.)

– Ice Cold Beer (Left Field)

– Summerfest (Sierra Nevada)

And beyond that, familiar borrowed words — Premium, Classic, Heritage, American, Gold, Domestic, Industrial, Beer — all shorthand for comfort and context.

This isn’t about being clever. It’s about being clear.

(Above): "Nostalgic Regional:" Lager's de facto visual vocabulary. 

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IPA vs. Hazy: A Split on the Horizon?

In the early days of the craft boom, “IPA” meant something very specific: West Coast, hoppy, bitter, clear. It was a style with edges. You knew what you were ordering, and so did the brewery.

Then Hazies arrived and blew everything up. 

IPA became less a style and more a container. Bitterness dropped. Clarity vanished. The category widened to the point where “IPA” stopped functioning as a useful signal altogether. 

Today, the range between a resinous West Coast and a soft, opaque Hazy is so vast that the shared name feels almost useless.

What’s interesting now is the quiet correction underway. Clear, bitter West Coast IPAs are clawing back space — not as throwbacks, but as an intentional counterpoint to years of softness. 

At the same time, breweries keep stretching the IPA label even further with Juicy IPAs, Easy IPAs, Cold IPAs (and on and on). The result is a category under real semantic strain.

This strain points toward an eventual split. “Hazy” already does the work IPA no longer can. It signals appearance, mouthfeel and flavor instantly, without explanation. (And maybe more importantly, is crucial to bringing new consumers to the table.)

If that continues, Hazy doesn’t need IPA attached at all. It can stand on its own as a distinct style — leaving IPA free to mean something specific again: Clear, bitter and unapologetically sharp.

(One can only hope.)

New Categories, New Rules

If you’re inventing a new product or category — Half & Half beers, hop water, THC seltzers — traditional style names don’t help.

Here, positioning becomes everything. You get to write the rules. Clarity is key.

Give people something they understand immediately — then deliver on that promise.

(Above): The THC-infused beverage space is wide open right now and rife for this sort of treatment. Similar to the Kona Big Wave example from above, would you rather drink a THC-infused Hard Seltzer or a "Leisure Drink?" (I know what I'm reaching for.)

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Style Names and Seasonality

A name can box you in. If sales spike in summer but tank in fall, maybe it’s not the beer — maybe it’s the word “Summer Ale.”

This is another place where you can guide expectations with language. If your flagship feels like a summer crusher but you need it to carry into fall, don’t lock yourself into a seasonal name. Choose a neutral style or descriptor that stretches across months.

(Above): Sumer Ales. You can find similarly-positioned spring and winter beers on the market as well. 

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Wrapping up

Here’s your takeaway: Meet people where they are.

Don’t be precious. Don’t be cutesy. Don’t be esoteric. And don’t make people work to understand what you’re offering. 

Keep it short, simple, direct and familiar. Especially in retail, you only have a second to communicate what a beer is — and when or why someone should want it.

Style names are part of that equation. Use them not as rigid definitions, but as flexible tools to tell the right story.