When considering the history of beer it is very important to note the general tendency in the time period you specify. After cooling techniques and mass transportation were implemented in the wake of the Industrial revolution, there occurred a monopolization of the beer market. As production was no longer a necessarily local product, some large players started to gobble up the beer market. This meant that many smaller breweries disappeared and large, industrial breweries like Heineken and Carlsberg cornered the market.

For beers to have a 'cool' naming convention, and why these type of names are becoming popular today, it is often the case of a smaller, what we'd call 'craft' type brewery.

In Belgium, in the interbellum, there was a resurgence of smaller breweries, which found a peak after WW2. This resurgence was based on, and fortified the Belgian cultural self-identification with brewing and beer culture.

Now, on naming conventions in beer: During the 3d annual conference of linguistics, that took place in Belgium, Dirk Geeraerts gave a opening address on Beer and semantics, that was meant as a light-hearted way to open the conference and pay homage to Belgian beer culture. This was revised into an article in the 1999 publication 'Issues in cognitive linguistics.

Geeraerts identifies a couple of recurring naming conventions in Belgian beers:

• Beer as a prestigious entity (wine terminology, references to royal figures/historical persons ed.)
• Beer as a link to traditional culture of the pre-industrial era
• Beer as an aspect of local identity
• Beer as a source of pleasure
• Beer as an adventure at the edge of the accepted norms

The latter two conventions contain most of the beer names that would fall in the 'cool' naming category. Beer as a source of pleasure is subdivided in a 'carpe diem' and a 'heavenly pleasures' category, containing names like Bacchus, Engeltjesbier (Angels beer), Lekkerbek (a gourmand or person who (over)indulges in food/drink).

Beer as a transgression contains names that:

• Transgress religious norms (Duvel, Judas, Verboden Vrucht (Forbidden Fruit)
• Transgress social norms (Piraat (Pirate), Deugniet (Lit. A person that is no-good), Stouterik (Lit. Naughty person))
• Associate with virility and force (Bink (Lit. Strong guy), Straffe Hendrik (Also a form of saying 'Strong guy'), De Soldaat (The soldier))
• Associate with strong bodily effects ( Delirium Tremens (A disease caused by alcohol abuse), Houten Kop (Lit. Wooden Head, a metaphor for a hangover), Katerke (Lit. Small male cat, also a metaphor for a hangover), Killer pils and Mort Subite (Swift death).

With the craft beer explosion in America, many brewers took inspiration from Belgian beers, not only for the rich diversity in taste, but also of their colorful naming convention.

Sources:

Meussdoerffer, Franz G. "A comprehensive history of beer brewing." Handbook of brewing: Processes, technology, markets (2009): 1-42.

Poelmans, Eline, and Johan FM Swinnen. "A brief economic history of beer." The economics of beer. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2011): 3-28.

Geeraerts, Dirk "Beer and semantics" in: De Stadler, Leon, and Christoph Eyrich, eds. Issues in cognitive linguistics: 1993 proceedings of the International Cognitive Linguistics Conference. Vol. 12. Walter de Gruyter, 1999: 252-270.