diff --git a/dev-tools/scripts/smokeTestRelease.py b/dev-tools/scripts/smokeTestRelease.py
index 06895c9ad7ea..3721581b1186 100755
--- a/dev-tools/scripts/smokeTestRelease.py
+++ b/dev-tools/scripts/smokeTestRelease.py
@@ -626,6 +626,14 @@ def verifyUnpacked(java, artifact, unpackPath, gitRevision, version, testArgs):
       java.run_java17('./gradlew --no-daemon jar -Dversion.release=%s' % version, '%s/compile.log' % unpackPath)
       testDemo(java.run_java17, isSrc, version, '17')
 
+    if java.run_alt_javas:
+      for run_alt_java in java.run_alt_javas:
+        print("    run tests w/ Java ?? and testArgs='%s'..." % testArgs)
+        run_alt_java('./gradlew --no-daemon test %s' % testArgs, '%s/test.log' % unpackPath)
+        print("    compile jars w/ Java ??")
+        run_alt_java('./gradlew --no-daemon jar -Dversion.release=%s' % version, '%s/compile.log' % unpackPath)
+        testDemo(run_alt_java, isSrc, version, '??')
+
     print('  confirm all releases have coverage in TestBackwardsCompatibility')
     confirmAllReleasesAreTestedForBackCompat(version, unpackPath)
 
@@ -636,6 +644,9 @@ def verifyUnpacked(java, artifact, unpackPath, gitRevision, version, testArgs):
     testDemo(java.run_java11, isSrc, version, '11')
     if java.run_java17:
       testDemo(java.run_java17, isSrc, version, '17')
+    if java.run_alt_javas:
+      for run_alt_java in java.run_alt_javas:
+        testDemo(run_alt_java, isSrc, version, '??')
 
   testChangesText('.', version)
 
@@ -911,7 +922,7 @@ def crawl(downloadedFiles, urlString, targetDir, exclusions=set()):
         sys.stdout.write('.')
 
 
-def make_java_config(parser, java17_home):
+def make_java_config(parser, java17_home, alt_java_homes):
   def _make_runner(java_home, version):
     print('Java %s JAVA_HOME=%s' % (version, java_home))
     if cygwin:
@@ -920,11 +931,15 @@ def _make_runner(java_home, version):
                  (java_home, java_home, java_home)
     s = subprocess.check_output('%s; java -version' % cmd_prefix,
                                 shell=True, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT).decode('utf-8')
-    if s.find(' version "%s' % version) == -1:
+    # TODO: Print actual version when provided version is None
+    if version is not None and s.find(' version "%s' % version) == -1:
       parser.error('got wrong version for java %s:\n%s' % (version, s))
+
     def run_java(cmd, logfile):
       run('%s; %s' % (cmd_prefix, cmd), logfile)
+
     return run_java
+
   java11_home =  os.environ.get('JAVA_HOME')
   if java11_home is None:
     parser.error('JAVA_HOME must be set')
@@ -932,12 +947,18 @@ def run_java(cmd, logfile):
   run_java17 = None
   if java17_home is not None:
     run_java17 = _make_runner(java17_home, '17')
+  run_alt_javas = []
+  if alt_java_homes:
+    for alt_java_home in alt_java_homes:
+      run_alt_java = _make_runner(alt_java_home, None)
+      run_alt_javas.append(run_alt_java)
 
-  jc = namedtuple('JavaConfig', 'run_java11 java11_home run_java17 java17_home')
-  return jc(run_java11, java11_home, run_java17, java17_home)
+  jc = namedtuple('JavaConfig', 'run_java11 java11_home run_java17 java17_home run_alt_javas alt_java_homes')
+  return jc(run_java11, java11_home, run_java17, java17_home, run_alt_javas, alt_java_homes)
 
 version_re = re.compile(r'(\d+\.\d+\.\d+(-ALPHA|-BETA)?)')
 revision_re = re.compile(r'rev-([a-f\d]+)')
+
 def parse_config():
   epilogue = textwrap.dedent('''
     Example usage:
@@ -958,6 +979,8 @@ def parse_config():
                       help='Version of the release, defaults to that in URL')
   parser.add_argument('--test-java17', metavar='java17_home',
                       help='Path to Java17 home directory, to run tests with if specified')
+  parser.add_argument('--test-alternative-java', action='append',
+                      help='Path to alternative Java home directory, to run tests with if specified')
   parser.add_argument('--download-only', action='store_true', default=False,
                       help='Only perform download and sha hash check steps')
   parser.add_argument('url', help='Url pointing to release to test')
@@ -984,7 +1007,7 @@ def parse_config():
   if c.local_keys is not None and not os.path.exists(c.local_keys):
     parser.error('Local KEYS file "%s" not found' % c.local_keys)
 
-  c.java = make_java_config(parser, c.test_java17)
+  c.java = make_java_config(parser, c.test_java17, c.test_alternative_java)
 
   if c.tmp_dir:
     c.tmp_dir = os.path.abspath(c.tmp_dir)