diff --git a/lib/jwt/version.rb b/lib/jwt/version.rb
index ddc4eb58..f7d31db4 100644
--- a/lib/jwt/version.rb
+++ b/lib/jwt/version.rb
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ module VERSION
     # tiny version
     TINY  = 0
     # alpha, beta, etc. tag
-    PRE   = 'dev'.freeze
+    PRE   = 'beta1'.freeze
 
     # Build version string
     STRING = [MAJOR, MINOR, TINY, PRE].compact.join('.')