diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index e401486..cac28b3 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ LABEL maintainer="Alexander Trost <galexrt@googlemail.com>"
 # You can specify these in docker-compose.yml or with
 #   docker build --build-args "ZULIP_GIT_REF=git_branch_name" .
 ARG ZULIP_GIT_URL=https://github.com/zulip/zulip.git
-ARG ZULIP_GIT_REF=master
+ARG ZULIP_GIT_REF=1.9.0-rc1
 
 SHELL ["/bin/sh", "-xc"]
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ebf7495..1a3c983 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -8,11 +8,11 @@ This is a container image for running [Zulip](https://zulipchat.com)
 ([Github](https://github.com/zulip/zulip)) in
 [production][prod-overview]. Image available from:
 
-* [**Quay.io**](https://quay.io/repository/galexrt/zulip) (`docker pull quay.io/galexrt/zulip:1.8.1-0`)
-* [**Docker Hub**](https://hub.docker.com/r/galexrt/zulip) (`docker pull galexrt/zulip:1.8.1-0`)
+* [**Quay.io**](https://quay.io/repository/galexrt/zulip) (`docker pull quay.io/galexrt/zulip:1.9.0-rc1-0`)
+* [**Docker Hub**](https://hub.docker.com/r/galexrt/zulip) (`docker pull galexrt/zulip:1.9.0-rc1-0`)
 
-Current Zulip version: `1.8.1`
-Current Docker image version: `1.8.1-0`
+Current Zulip version: `1.9.0-rc1`
+Current Docker image version: `1.9.0-rc1-0`
 
 ## Overview
 
@@ -343,14 +343,14 @@ section.
    `volumes` lines in `docker-compose.yml`
    e.g. `/opt/docker/zulip/postgresql/data/`.
 
-1. Pull the new image version, e.g. for `v1.8.1` run: `docker pull
-quay.io/galexrt/zulip:v1.8.1`.
+1. Pull the new image version, e.g. for `1.9.0-rc1` run: `docker pull
+quay.io/galexrt/zulip:v1.9.0-rc1-0`.
 
 2. Edit your `docker-compose.yml` to point to the new image version,
 e.g.:
 ```yml
 zulip:
-  image: "quay.io/galexrt/zulip:1.8.1-0"
+  image: "quay.io/galexrt/zulip:1.9.0-rc1-0"
 ```
 
 3. You can execute the upgrade by running:
@@ -383,7 +383,7 @@ you can find using `docker ps`)
 
 ```
   zulip:
-    # image: "quay.io/galexrt/zulip:1.8.1-0"
+    # image: "quay.io/galexrt/zulip:1.9.0-rc1-0"
     build:
       context: .
       args:
@@ -394,7 +394,7 @@ you can find using `docker ps`)
 
 You can set `ZULIP_GIT_URL` to any clone of the zulip/zulip git
 repository, and `ZULIP_GIT_REF` to be any ref name in that repository
-(e.g. `master` or `1.8.1` or
+(e.g. `master` or `1.9.0-rc1` or
 `445932cc8613c77ced023125248c8b966b3b7528`).
 
 2. Run `docker-compose build zulip` to build a Zulip Docker image from
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 2eac3a9..9143676 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -25,13 +25,13 @@ services:
     volumes:
       - "/opt/docker/zulip/redis:/var/lib/redis:rw"
   zulip:
-    image: "quay.io/galexrt/zulip:1.8.1-0"
+    image: "quay.io/galexrt/zulip:1.9.0-rc1-0"
     build:
       context: .
       args:
         # Change these if you want to build zulip from a different repo/branch
         ZULIP_GIT_URL: https://github.com/zulip/zulip.git
-        ZULIP_GIT_REF: master
+        ZULIP_GIT_REF: 1.9.0-rc1
     ports:
       - "80:80"
       - "443:443"
diff --git a/kubernetes/zulip-rc.yml b/kubernetes/zulip-rc.yml
index 20c9d23..ec619c0 100644
--- a/kubernetes/zulip-rc.yml
+++ b/kubernetes/zulip-rc.yml
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ spec:
           - name: postgresql-persistent-storage
             mountPath: /var/lib/postgresql
       - name: zulip
-        image: quay.io/galexrt/zulip:1.8.1-0
+        image: quay.io/galexrt/zulip:1.9.0-rc1-0
         resources:
           limits:
             cpu: 100m