diff --git a/.docker/release b/.docker/release
index 700cb2fc56e5f34a81204feb68b7feaf59a9bc86..dae22aad639c2e7e249b2ee22cbc7073ec0bca5b 100755
--- a/.docker/release
+++ b/.docker/release
@@ -10,15 +10,8 @@ if [ $# -ne 1 ]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
-# check tag exists
-TAG=$(git tag -n | awk '{print $1}' | grep -o "^v${VERSION}\$")
-if [ -z $TAG ]; then
-  echo "FAIL: could not find version 'v${VERSION}' in git tags"
-  exit 2
-fi
-
 # build
-git checkout ${VERSION}
+git checkout master
 docker-compose build fda-metadata-db
 docker-compose build --parallel