diff --git a/CHANGELOG-developer.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG-developer.asciidoc
index 6936595f8816..9ca77a603263 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG-developer.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG-developer.asciidoc
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ The list below covers the major changes between 6.3.0 and master only.
 - Fix permissions of generated Filebeat filesets. {pull}7140[7140]
 - Collect fields from _meta/fields.yml too. {pull}8397[8397]
 - Fix issue on asset generation that could lead to different results in Windows. {pull}8464[8464]
+- Remove default version qualifier, you can use `VERSION_QUALIFIER` environment variable to set it. {pull}9148[9148]
 
 ==== Added
 
diff --git a/auditbeat/magefile.go b/auditbeat/magefile.go
index 5100db035331..dd881a6f8d1d 100644
--- a/auditbeat/magefile.go
+++ b/auditbeat/magefile.go
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ func Clean() error {
 // Package packages the Beat for distribution.
 // Use SNAPSHOT=true to build snapshots.
 // Use PLATFORMS to control the target platforms.
-// Use BEAT_VERSION_QUALIFIER to control the version qualifier.
+// Use VERSION_QUALIFIER to control the version qualifier.
 func Package() {
 	start := time.Now()
 	defer func() { fmt.Println("package ran for", time.Since(start)) }()
diff --git a/dev-tools/jenkins_release.sh b/dev-tools/jenkins_release.sh
index 3206ece67339..b8058df73559 100755
--- a/dev-tools/jenkins_release.sh
+++ b/dev-tools/jenkins_release.sh
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ trap cleanup EXIT
 
 # This controls the defaults used the Jenkins package job. They can be
 # overridden by setting them in the environement prior to running this script.
-export BEAT_VERSION_QUALIFIER="${VERSION_QUALIFIER}"
 export SNAPSHOT="${SNAPSHOT:-true}"
 export PLATFORMS="${PLATFORMS:-+linux/armv7 +linux/ppc64le +linux/s390x +linux/mips64}"
 
diff --git a/dev-tools/mage/crossbuild.go b/dev-tools/mage/crossbuild.go
index 4b981c927e36..3a7efad0a316 100644
--- a/dev-tools/mage/crossbuild.go
+++ b/dev-tools/mage/crossbuild.go
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ func (b GolangCrossBuilder) Build() error {
 		)
 	}
 	if versionQualified {
-		args = append(args, "--env", "BEAT_VERSION_QUALIFIER="+versionQualifier)
+		args = append(args, "--env", "VERSION_QUALIFIER="+versionQualifier)
 	}
 	args = append(args,
 		"--rm",
diff --git a/dev-tools/mage/settings.go b/dev-tools/mage/settings.go
index ffaa54991d48..19f1e4829e69 100644
--- a/dev-tools/mage/settings.go
+++ b/dev-tools/mage/settings.go
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ func init() {
 		panic(errors.Errorf("failed to parse SNAPSHOT env value", err))
 	}
 
-	versionQualifier, versionQualified = os.LookupEnv("BEAT_VERSION_QUALIFIER")
+	versionQualifier, versionQualified = os.LookupEnv("VERSION_QUALIFIER")
 }
 
 // EnvMap returns map containing the common settings variables and all variables
@@ -319,7 +319,7 @@ var (
 )
 
 // BeatQualifiedVersion returns the Beat's qualified version.  The value can be overwritten by
-// setting BEAT_VERSION_QUALIFIER in the environment.
+// setting VERSION_QUALIFIER in the environment.
 func BeatQualifiedVersion() (string, error) {
 	version, err := beatVersion()
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/filebeat/magefile.go b/filebeat/magefile.go
index bc31b29c174b..56494a07d41c 100644
--- a/filebeat/magefile.go
+++ b/filebeat/magefile.go
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ func Clean() error {
 // Package packages the Beat for distribution.
 // Use SNAPSHOT=true to build snapshots.
 // Use PLATFORMS to control the target platforms.
-// Use BEAT_VERSION_QUALIFIER to control the version qualifier.
+// Use VERSION_QUALIFIER to control the version qualifier.
 func Package() {
 	start := time.Now()
 	defer func() { fmt.Println("package ran for", time.Since(start)) }()
diff --git a/heartbeat/magefile.go b/heartbeat/magefile.go
index b7d08244051d..78233688487a 100644
--- a/heartbeat/magefile.go
+++ b/heartbeat/magefile.go
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ func Clean() error {
 // Package packages the Beat for distribution.
 // Use SNAPSHOT=true to build snapshots.
 // Use PLATFORMS to control the target platforms.
-// Use BEAT_VERSION_QUALIFIER to control the version qualifier.
+// Use VERSION_QUALIFIER to control the version qualifier.
 func Package() {
 	start := time.Now()
 	defer func() { fmt.Println("package ran for", time.Since(start)) }()
diff --git a/libbeat/version/helper.go b/libbeat/version/helper.go
index b301d0b1639c..5ed206d8a6c0 100644
--- a/libbeat/version/helper.go
+++ b/libbeat/version/helper.go
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ func GetDefaultVersion() string {
 var (
 	buildTime = "unknown"
 	commit    = "unknown"
-	qualifier = "alpha1"
+	qualifier = ""
 )
 
 // BuildTime exposes the compile-time build time information.
diff --git a/metricbeat/magefile.go b/metricbeat/magefile.go
index b9a8f79644b4..f297d26b57a9 100644
--- a/metricbeat/magefile.go
+++ b/metricbeat/magefile.go
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ func Clean() error {
 // Package packages the Beat for distribution.
 // Use SNAPSHOT=true to build snapshots.
 // Use PLATFORMS to control the target platforms.
-// Use BEAT_VERSION_QUALIFIER to control the version qualifier.
+// Use VERSION_QUALIFIER to control the version qualifier.
 func Package() {
 	start := time.Now()
 	defer func() { fmt.Println("package ran for", time.Since(start)) }()
diff --git a/packetbeat/magefile.go b/packetbeat/magefile.go
index bb2f6d924e39..810dd74f7784 100644
--- a/packetbeat/magefile.go
+++ b/packetbeat/magefile.go
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ func Clean() error {
 // Package packages the Beat for distribution.
 // Use SNAPSHOT=true to build snapshots.
 // Use PLATFORMS to control the target platforms.
-// Use BEAT_VERSION_QUALIFIER to control the version qualifier.
+// Use VERSION_QUALIFIER to control the version qualifier.
 func Package() {
 	start := time.Now()
 	defer func() { fmt.Println("package ran for", time.Since(start)) }()
diff --git a/winlogbeat/magefile.go b/winlogbeat/magefile.go
index bc0c349eaf83..0ca1411d2a7b 100644
--- a/winlogbeat/magefile.go
+++ b/winlogbeat/magefile.go
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ func Clean() error {
 // Package packages the Beat for distribution.
 // Use SNAPSHOT=true to build snapshots.
 // Use PLATFORMS to control the target platforms.
-// Use BEAT_VERSION_QUALIFIER to control the version qualifier.
+// Use VERSION_QUALIFIER to control the version qualifier.
 func Package() {
 	start := time.Now()
 	defer func() { fmt.Println("package ran for", time.Since(start)) }()