diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 8b9dea59dc5796b06c058a67371c65d684c34d84..3b3e723172caef2ca393835c19c5d3ac796523b7 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.6.1a
+0.6.1b
diff --git a/synapse/__init__.py b/synapse/__init__.py
index 2195ad3177e4f04cfb96e4da480a8b4aca05472e..e7e27b06ec8a17754dca8578a80650cc2bc79cd9 100644
--- a/synapse/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/__init__.py
@@ -16,4 +16,4 @@
 """ This is a reference implementation of a synapse home server.
 """
 
-__version__ = "0.6.1a"
+__version__ = "0.6.1b"