diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index edf67d88..0e6eaa52 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ jobs:
       - run:
           name: Generate version number for this release
           command: |
-            echo "export VERSION=$(git describe)-b${CIRCLE_BUILD_NUM}" >> ${BASH_ENV}
+            echo "export VERSION=${CIRCLE_BRANCH/release-/}-b${CIRCLE_BUILD_NUM}" >> ${BASH_ENV}
       - run:
           name: Set version number and ensure lower case
           command: |