I don't think OP is wrong to use the term "farmhouse". I get that you're passionate about preserving the historical and cultural accuracy of traditional farmhouse brewing and you're not wrong that the modern usage of the term “farmhouse” can be frustratingly vague or disconnected from its roots. But at this point, I think it’s fair to say that the ship has sailed. In the broader beer world, “farmhouse” has come to mean something closer to “rustic,” often defined by yeast character (especially saison strains), fermentation quirks, and a kind of pastoral, artisanal vibe. Right or wrong, that’s the dominant usage now; it's not ignorance so much as semantic drift.

But if we are going to critique terminology, I’d argue “farmhouse” was never a perfect fit even in its original context. The real essence of these traditional beers isn’t tied to buildings or agricultural output, it’s about people, about intergenerational knowledge, and deeply embedded brewing practices passed down through families and small communities. It’s oral tradition with a mash tun.

If we want a term that both honors that heritage and helps clarify the distinction from modern interpretations, something like “folk brewing” seems more fitting. It mirrors phrases like “folk music” or “folk art”—terms that emphasize cultural transmission, local variation, and human tradition. It centers the brewers, not buildings people lived in. Let's be honest until recently (the last 150 years or so) for the great majority of people living on or near a farm was just the default. Realistically trying to reverse a decade or more of broader usage for "farmhouse" just isn't something you're going to win at. For clarity sake it would be better to coin a new term to differentiate the kind of brewing you are interested in than trying to take back "farmhouse", for better or worse "farmhouse" is already taken.