diff --git a/django/__init__.py b/django/__init__.py
index ca4f4d16a8..78c7271efd 100644
--- a/django/__init__.py
+++ b/django/__init__.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 from django.utils.version import get_version
 
-VERSION = (1, 8, 0, 'final', 0)
+VERSION = (1, 8, 1, 'alpha', 0)
 
 __version__ = get_version(VERSION)