diff --git a/easybuild/easyblocks/__init__.py b/easybuild/easyblocks/__init__.py
index dbd03779f7..5eec3996b5 100644
--- a/easybuild/easyblocks/__init__.py
+++ b/easybuild/easyblocks/__init__.py
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
 # recent setuptools versions will *TRANSFORM* something like 'X.Y.Zdev' into 'X.Y.Z.dev0', with a warning like
 #   UserWarning: Normalizing '2.4.0dev' to '2.4.0.dev0'
 # This causes problems further up the dependency chain...
-VERSION = '5.0.0.dev0'
+VERSION = '5.0.0beta1'
 UNKNOWN = 'UNKNOWN'