diff --git a/doc/contributing/releases.md b/doc/contributing/releases.md
index c214f8c97cc5..2570e526e333 100644
--- a/doc/contributing/releases.md
+++ b/doc/contributing/releases.md
@@ -430,6 +430,7 @@ already defined in `src/node_version.h`:
 #define NODE_PATCH_VERSION z
 
 // And for alpha releases:
+#define NODE_VERSION_IS_ALPHA 1
 #define NODE_ALPHA_MAJOR_VERSION a
 #define NODE_ALPHA_MINOR_VERSION b
 #define NODE_ALPHA_PATCH_VERSION c
@@ -445,8 +446,7 @@ be produced with a version string that does not have a trailing pre-release tag:
 <details>
 <summary>Major version release</summary>
 
-Remove the `NODE_ALPHA_MAJOR_VERSION`, `NODE_ALPHA_MINOR_VERSION`, and
-`NODE_ALPHA_PATCH_VERSION` macros.
+Set the `NODE_VERSION_IS_ALPHA` macro value to `0`.
 
 </details>
 
@@ -989,9 +989,9 @@ edit it instead and:
 
 * Increment `NODE_MAJOR_VERSION` by one.
 * Reset `NODE_PATCH_VERSION` and `NODE_MINOR_VERSION` to `0`.
-* Set `NODE_ALPHA_MAJOR_VERSION`, `NODE_ALPHA_MINOR_VERSION`, and
-  `NODE_ALPHA_PATCH_VERSION` back to `0` (`main` should already have this, the
-  release commit will have them removed).
+* Set `NODE_VERSION_IS_ALPHA`, `NODE_ALPHA_MAJOR_VERSION`,
+  `NODE_ALPHA_MINOR_VERSION`, and `NODE_ALPHA_PATCH_VERSION` back to `0`
+  (`main` should already have this).
 * Change `NODE_VERSION_IS_RELEASE` back to `0`.
 
 Amend the current commit to apply the changes:
@@ -1532,8 +1532,7 @@ in the next major release line.
 To mark a release line as stable, the following changes must be made to
 `src/node_version.h`:
 
-* Remove `NODE_ALPHA_MAJOR_VERSION`, `NODE_ALPHA_MINOR_VERSION`, and
-  `NODE_ALPHA_PATCH_VERSION`.
+* Set `NODE_VERSION_IS_ALPHA` to `0`.
 
 #### Generate the notable changes
 
diff --git a/src/node_version.h b/src/node_version.h
index 8c94ce8ec7f3..af6d56caddd5 100644
--- a/src/node_version.h
+++ b/src/node_version.h
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 
 #define NODE_VERSION_IS_RELEASE 0
 
+#define NODE_VERSION_IS_ALPHA 0
 #define NODE_ALPHA_MAJOR_VERSION 0
 #define NODE_ALPHA_MINOR_VERSION 0
 #define NODE_ALPHA_PATCH_VERSION 0
@@ -46,13 +47,13 @@
 
 #ifndef NODE_TAG
 #if NODE_VERSION_IS_RELEASE
-#ifdef NODE_ALPHA_MAJOR_VERSION
+#if NODE_VERSION_IS_ALPHA
 #define NODE_TAG                                                               \
   "-alpha." NODE_STRINGIFY(NODE_ALPHA_MAJOR_VERSION) "." NODE_STRINGIFY(       \
       NODE_ALPHA_MINOR_VERSION) "." NODE_STRINGIFY(NODE_ALPHA_PATCH_VERSION)
 #else
 #define NODE_TAG ""
-#endif  // NODE_ALPHA_MAJOR_VERSION
+#endif  // NODE_VERSION_IS_ALPHA
 #else   // NODE_VERSION_IS_RELEASE
 #define NODE_TAG "-pre"
 #endif  // NODE_VERSION_IS_RELEASE
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-release-changelog.js b/test/parallel/test-release-changelog.js
index 6b8e6ece43af..f35d0dae9f37 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-release-changelog.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-release-changelog.js
@@ -36,6 +36,15 @@ if (lts) {
   assert.notStrictEqual(codename, '');
 }
 
+const alpha = getDefine(versionText, 'NODE_VERSION_IS_ALPHA') !== '0';
+// The alpha tag should only be present if the alpha bit is set.
+const alphaTag = alpha ?
+  `-alpha.${getDefine(versionText, 'NODE_ALPHA_MAJOR_VERSION')}` +
+  `.${getDefine(versionText, 'NODE_ALPHA_MINOR_VERSION')}` +
+  `.${getDefine(versionText, 'NODE_ALPHA_PATCH_VERSION')}` :
+  '';
+assert.strictEqual(process.version, `v${major}.${minor}.${patch}${alphaTag}`);
+
 const changelogPath = `doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V${major}.md`;
 // Check CHANGELOG_V*.md
 {