diff --git a/django/__init__.py b/django/__init__.py
index 1b7c96bffd..100003afeb 100644
--- a/django/__init__.py
+++ b/django/__init__.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-VERSION = (1, 7, 0, 'alpha', 2)
+VERSION = (1, 7, 0, 'beta', 1)
 
 
 def get_version(*args, **kwargs):