diff --git a/release/VERSION b/release/VERSION
index 24f60159134a47f44405c6683bae027ce976211e..9a256b1d546a53ff2f78e4ff74f05dced2a5bd69 100644
--- a/release/VERSION
+++ b/release/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-2.56-beta
+2.56a-beta