diff --git a/build.gradle.kts b/build.gradle.kts
index 4cfee42b7..5dcc9466d 100644
--- a/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/build.gradle.kts
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+val javacRelease: String by project
+
 plugins {
   java
   `maven-publish`
@@ -50,7 +52,7 @@ sourceSets {
 }
 
 tasks.compileJava {
-	options.release.set(8)
+	options.release.set(Integer.parseInt(javacRelease))
 }
 
 tasks.withType<Jar> {
diff --git a/gradle.properties b/gradle.properties
index 92dd41656..585006db2 100644
--- a/gradle.properties
+++ b/gradle.properties
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
+javacRelease = 8
 version = 1.2022.1-SNAPSHOT