diff --git a/lib/mail/version.rb b/lib/mail/version.rb
index 9aea4eb14..c7639e959 100644
--- a/lib/mail/version.rb
+++ b/lib/mail/version.rb
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ module VERSION
     MAJOR = 2
     MINOR = 8
     PATCH = 0
-    BUILD = nil
+    BUILD = "1.rc1"
 
     STRING = [MAJOR, MINOR, PATCH, BUILD].compact.join('.')