diff --git a/.test-infra/jenkins/job_PreCommit_Java_Examples_Dataflow_Java11.groovy b/.test-infra/jenkins/job_PreCommit_Java_Examples_Dataflow_Java11.groovy
index 05a6b53..ed6ecff 100644
--- a/.test-infra/jenkins/job_PreCommit_Java_Examples_Dataflow_Java11.groovy
+++ b/.test-infra/jenkins/job_PreCommit_Java_Examples_Dataflow_Java11.groovy
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
     gradle {
       rootBuildScriptDir(properties.checkoutDir)
       tasks 'javaExamplesDataflowPreCommit'
-      switches '-PimageJavaVersion=11'
+      switches '-Pdockerfile=Dockerfile-java11'
       switches '-PdisableSpotlessCheck=true'
       switches '-PskipCheckerFramework' // Gradle itself is running under JDK8 so plugin configures wrong for JDK11
       switches '-PcompileAndRunTestsWithJava11'
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/main/groovy/org/apache/beam/gradle/BeamModulePlugin.groovy b/buildSrc/src/main/groovy/org/apache/beam/gradle/BeamModulePlugin.groovy
index 39c10a8..6c611b2 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/main/groovy/org/apache/beam/gradle/BeamModulePlugin.groovy
+++ b/buildSrc/src/main/groovy/org/apache/beam/gradle/BeamModulePlugin.groovy
@@ -1613,7 +1613,7 @@
     // development image at docker.io (see sdks/CONTAINERS.md):
     //
     //    format: apache/beam_$NAME_sdk:latest
-    //    ie: apache/beam_python3.7_sdk:latest apache/beam_java8_sdk:latest apache/beam_go_sdk:latest
+    //    ie: apache/beam_python3.7_sdk:latest apache/beam_java_sdk:latest apache/beam_go_sdk:latest
     //
     // Both the root and tag can be defined using properties or explicitly provided.
     project.ext.containerImageName = {
diff --git a/release/src/main/scripts/publish_docker_images.sh b/release/src/main/scripts/publish_docker_images.sh
index be8ba4a..4767928 100755
--- a/release/src/main/scripts/publish_docker_images.sh
+++ b/release/src/main/scripts/publish_docker_images.sh
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@
 DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT=apache
 DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX=beam_
 
-JAVA_VER=("java8")
 PYTHON_VER=("python3.6" "python3.7" "python3.8")
 FLINK_VER=("1.8" "1.9" "1.10")
 
@@ -49,7 +48,7 @@
 
   echo '-------------------Tagging and Pushing Python images-----------------'
   for ver in "${PYTHON_VER[@]}"; do
-    # Pull verified RC from dockerhub.
+    # Pull varified RC from dockerhub.
     docker pull ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}${ver}_sdk:${RELEASE}_${RC_VERSION}
 
     # Tag with ${RELEASE} and push to dockerhub.
@@ -67,23 +66,21 @@
   done
 
   echo '-------------------Tagging and Pushing Java images-----------------'
-  for ver in "${JAVA_VER[@]}"; do
-    # Pull verified RC from dockerhub.
-    docker pull ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}${ver}_sdk:${RELEASE}_${RC_VERSION}
+  # Pull varified RC from dockerhub.
+  docker pull ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}java_sdk:${RELEASE}_${RC_VERSION}
 
-    # Tag with ${RELEASE} and push to dockerhub.
-    docker tag ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}${ver}_sdk:${RELEASE}_${RC_VERSION} ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}${ver}_sdk:${RELEASE}
-    docker push ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}${ver}_sdk:${RELEASE}
+  # Tag with ${RELEASE} and push to dockerhub.
+  docker tag ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}java_sdk:${RELEASE}_${RC_VERSION} ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}java_sdk:${RELEASE}
+  docker push ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}java_sdk:${RELEASE}
 
-    # Tag with latest and push to dockerhub.
-    docker tag ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}${ver}_sdk:${RELEASE}_${RC_VERSION} ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}${ver}_sdk:latest
-    docker push ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}${ver}_sdk:latest
+  # Tag with latest and push to dockerhub.
+  docker tag ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}java_sdk:${RELEASE}_${RC_VERSION} ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}java_sdk:latest
+  docker push ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}java_sdk:latest
 
-    # Cleanup images from local
-    docker rmi -f ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}${ver}_sdk:${RELEASE}_${RC_VERSION}
-    docker rmi -f ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}${ver}_sdk:${RELEASE}
-    docker rmi -f ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}${ver}_sdk:latest
-  end
+  # Cleanup images from local
+  docker rmi -f ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}java_sdk:${RELEASE}_${RC_VERSION}
+  docker rmi -f ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}java_sdk:${RELEASE}
+  docker rmi -f ${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_ROOT}/${DOCKER_IMAGE_DEFAULT_REPO_PREFIX}java_sdk:latest
 
   echo '-------------Tagging and Pushing Flink job server images-------------'
   echo "Publishing images for the following Flink versions:" "${FLINK_VER[@]}"
diff --git a/runners/core-construction-java/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/runners/core/construction/Environments.java b/runners/core-construction-java/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/runners/core/construction/Environments.java
index b3b821f..6944684 100644
--- a/runners/core-construction-java/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/runners/core/construction/Environments.java
+++ b/runners/core-construction-java/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/runners/core/construction/Environments.java
@@ -75,38 +75,6 @@
   public static final String ENVIRONMENT_EMBEDDED = "EMBEDDED"; // Non Public urn for testing
   public static final String ENVIRONMENT_LOOPBACK = "LOOPBACK"; // Non Public urn for testing
 
-  public enum JavaVersion {
-    v8("java8", "1.8"),
-    v11("java11", "11");
-
-    private final String name;
-    private final String specification;
-
-    JavaVersion(final String name, final String specification) {
-      this.name = name;
-      this.specification = specification;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String toString() {
-      return this.name;
-    }
-
-    public String specification() {
-      return this.specification;
-    }
-
-    public static JavaVersion forSpecification(String specification) {
-      for (JavaVersion ver : JavaVersion.values()) {
-        if (ver.specification.equals(specification)) {
-          return ver;
-        }
-      }
-      throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
-          String.format("unsupported Java version: %s", specification));
-    }
-  }
-
   /* For development, use the container build by the current user to ensure that the SDK harness and
    * the SDK agree on how they should interact. This should be changed to a version-specific
    * container during a release.
@@ -114,9 +82,12 @@
    * See https://beam.apache.org/contribute/docker-images/ for more information on how to build a
    * container.
    */
-
   private static final String JAVA_SDK_HARNESS_CONTAINER_URL =
-      getDefaultJavaSdkHarnessContainerUrl();
+      ReleaseInfo.getReleaseInfo().getDefaultDockerRepoRoot()
+          + "/"
+          + ReleaseInfo.getReleaseInfo().getDefaultDockerRepoPrefix()
+          + "java_sdk:"
+          + ReleaseInfo.getReleaseInfo().getSdkVersion();
   public static final Environment JAVA_SDK_HARNESS_ENVIRONMENT =
       createDockerEnvironment(JAVA_SDK_HARNESS_CONTAINER_URL);
 
@@ -351,10 +322,6 @@
     return capabilities.build();
   }
 
-  public static JavaVersion getJavaVersion() {
-    return JavaVersion.forSpecification(System.getProperty("java.specification.version"));
-  }
-
   public static String createStagingFileName(File path, HashCode hash) {
     String encodedHash = Base64Variants.MODIFIED_FOR_URL.encode(hash.asBytes());
     String fileName = Files.getNameWithoutExtension(path.getAbsolutePath());
@@ -393,13 +360,4 @@
       return env;
     }
   }
-
-  private static String getDefaultJavaSdkHarnessContainerUrl() {
-    return String.format(
-        "%s/%s%s_sdk:%s",
-        ReleaseInfo.getReleaseInfo().getDefaultDockerRepoRoot(),
-        ReleaseInfo.getReleaseInfo().getDefaultDockerRepoPrefix(),
-        getJavaVersion().toString(),
-        ReleaseInfo.getReleaseInfo().getSdkVersion());
-  }
 }
diff --git a/runners/core-construction-java/src/test/java/org/apache/beam/runners/core/construction/EnvironmentsTest.java b/runners/core-construction-java/src/test/java/org/apache/beam/runners/core/construction/EnvironmentsTest.java
index 3e6960e..7d8476d 100644
--- a/runners/core-construction-java/src/test/java/org/apache/beam/runners/core/construction/EnvironmentsTest.java
+++ b/runners/core-construction-java/src/test/java/org/apache/beam/runners/core/construction/EnvironmentsTest.java
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.equalTo;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.hasItem;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.is;
-import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertThat;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
@@ -34,7 +33,6 @@
 import org.apache.beam.model.pipeline.v1.RunnerApi.ParDoPayload;
 import org.apache.beam.model.pipeline.v1.RunnerApi.ProcessPayload;
 import org.apache.beam.model.pipeline.v1.RunnerApi.StandardEnvironments;
-import org.apache.beam.runners.core.construction.Environments.JavaVersion;
 import org.apache.beam.sdk.Pipeline;
 import org.apache.beam.sdk.coders.StringUtf8Coder;
 import org.apache.beam.sdk.options.PipelineOptionsFactory;
@@ -166,17 +164,4 @@
         env1,
         equalTo(components.toComponents().getEnvironmentsOrThrow(ptransform.getEnvironmentId())));
   }
-
-  @Test
-  public void testJavaVersion() {
-    assertEquals(JavaVersion.v8, JavaVersion.forSpecification("1.8"));
-    assertEquals("java8", JavaVersion.v8.toString());
-    assertEquals(JavaVersion.v11, JavaVersion.forSpecification("11"));
-    assertEquals("java11", JavaVersion.v11.toString());
-  }
-
-  @Test(expected = UnsupportedOperationException.class)
-  public void testJavaVersionInvalid() {
-    assertEquals(JavaVersion.v8, JavaVersion.forSpecification("invalid"));
-  }
 }
diff --git a/runners/google-cloud-dataflow-java/build.gradle b/runners/google-cloud-dataflow-java/build.gradle
index 05b3e6c..62efe09 100644
--- a/runners/google-cloud-dataflow-java/build.gradle
+++ b/runners/google-cloud-dataflow-java/build.gradle
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@
   dependsOn ":sdks:java:container:docker"
   finalizedBy 'cleanUpDockerImages'
   def defaultDockerImageName = containerImageName(
-          name: project.docker_image_default_repo_prefix + "java8_sdk",
+          name: project.docker_image_default_repo_prefix + "java_sdk",
           root: "apache",
           tag: project.sdk_version)
   doLast {
diff --git a/runners/google-cloud-dataflow-java/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/runners/dataflow/DataflowRunner.java b/runners/google-cloud-dataflow-java/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/runners/dataflow/DataflowRunner.java
index fcbbe3b..0ba890e 100644
--- a/runners/google-cloud-dataflow-java/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/runners/dataflow/DataflowRunner.java
+++ b/runners/google-cloud-dataflow-java/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/runners/dataflow/DataflowRunner.java
@@ -382,16 +382,16 @@
     }
 
     // Adding the Java version to the SDK name for user's and support convenience.
-    String agentJavaVer =
-        (Environments.getJavaVersion() == Environments.JavaVersion.v8)
-            ? "(JRE 8 environment)"
-            : "(JDK 11 environment)";
+    String javaVersion =
+        Float.parseFloat(System.getProperty("java.specification.version")) >= 9
+            ? "(JDK 11 environment)"
+            : "(JRE 8 environment)";
 
     DataflowRunnerInfo dataflowRunnerInfo = DataflowRunnerInfo.getDataflowRunnerInfo();
     String userAgent =
         String.format(
                 "%s/%s%s",
-                dataflowRunnerInfo.getName(), dataflowRunnerInfo.getVersion(), agentJavaVer)
+                dataflowRunnerInfo.getName(), dataflowRunnerInfo.getVersion(), javaVersion)
             .replace(" ", "_");
     dataflowOptions.setUserAgent(userAgent);
 
@@ -2145,9 +2145,8 @@
   static String getContainerImageForJob(DataflowPipelineOptions options) {
     String workerHarnessContainerImage = options.getWorkerHarnessContainerImage();
 
-    Environments.JavaVersion javaVersion = Environments.getJavaVersion();
     String javaVersionId =
-        (javaVersion == Environments.JavaVersion.v8) ? "java" : javaVersion.toString();
+        Float.parseFloat(System.getProperty("java.specification.version")) >= 9 ? "java11" : "java";
     if (!workerHarnessContainerImage.contains("IMAGE")) {
       return workerHarnessContainerImage;
     } else if (hasExperiment(options, "beam_fn_api")) {
diff --git a/sdks/java/container/Dockerfile b/sdks/java/container/Dockerfile
index 95f20cd..b637384 100644
--- a/sdks/java/container/Dockerfile
+++ b/sdks/java/container/Dockerfile
@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@
 #  See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 ###############################################################################
-ARG java_version
-FROM openjdk:${java_version}
+
+FROM openjdk:8
 MAINTAINER "Apache Beam <dev@beam.apache.org>"
 
 ARG pull_licenses
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
 # copy an extra LICENSE file then remove it.
 COPY target/LICENSE target/go-licenses/* /opt/apache/beam/third_party_licenses/golang/
 RUN rm /opt/apache/beam/third_party_licenses/golang/LICENSE
-RUN if [ "${pull_licenses}" = "false" ] ; then \
+RUN if [ "$pull_licenses" = "false" ] ; then \
     # Remove above license dir if pull licenses false
     rm -rf /opt/apache/beam/third_party_licenses ; \
    fi
diff --git a/sdks/java/container/Dockerfile-java11 b/sdks/java/container/Dockerfile-java11
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d85e85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sdks/java/container/Dockerfile-java11
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+###############################################################################
+#  Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+#  or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+#  distributed with this work for additional information
+#  regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+#  to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+#  "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+#  with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+#  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+#  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+#  WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+#  See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+###############################################################################
+
+FROM openjdk:11
+MAINTAINER "Apache Beam <dev@beam.apache.org>"
+
+ARG pull_licenses
+
+ADD target/slf4j-api.jar /opt/apache/beam/jars/
+ADD target/slf4j-jdk14.jar /opt/apache/beam/jars/
+ADD target/beam-sdks-java-harness.jar /opt/apache/beam/jars/
+
+# Required to run cross-language pipelines with KafkaIO
+# TODO May be removed once custom environments are supported
+ADD target/beam-sdks-java-io-kafka.jar /opt/apache/beam/jars/
+ADD target/kafka-clients.jar /opt/apache/beam/jars/
+
+ADD target/linux_amd64/boot /opt/apache/beam/
+
+# Add golang licenses. Because the go-license directory may be empty if
+# pull_licenses is false, and COPY fails if there are no files,
+# copy an extra LICENSE file then remove it.
+COPY target/LICENSE target/go-licenses/* /opt/apache/beam/third_party_licenses/golang/
+RUN rm /opt/apache/beam/third_party_licenses/golang/LICENSE
+RUN if [ "$pull_licenses" = "false" ] ; then \
+    # Remove above license dir if pull licenses false
+    rm -rf /opt/apache/beam/third_party_licenses ; \
+   fi
+
+ENTRYPOINT ["/opt/apache/beam/boot"]
diff --git a/sdks/java/container/build.gradle b/sdks/java/container/build.gradle
index 042dcf6..bdd073f 100644
--- a/sdks/java/container/build.gradle
+++ b/sdks/java/container/build.gradle
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@
   dockerDependency library.java.kafka_clients
 }
 
+def dockerfileName = project.findProperty('dockerfile') ?: 'Dockerfile'
+
 task copyDockerfileDependencies(type: Copy) {
   from configurations.dockerDependency
   rename "slf4j-api.*", "slf4j-api.jar"
@@ -86,22 +88,18 @@
   renderers = [new JsonReportRenderer()]
 }
 
-def imageJavaVersion = project.hasProperty('imageJavaVersion') ? project.findProperty('imageJavaVersion') : '8'
 docker {
   name containerImageName(
-          name: "${project.docker_image_default_repo_prefix}java${imageJavaVersion}_sdk",
+          name: project.docker_image_default_repo_prefix + "java_sdk",
           root: project.rootProject.hasProperty(["docker-repository-root"]) ?
                   project.rootProject["docker-repository-root"] :
                   project.docker_image_default_repo_root,
           tag: project.rootProject.hasProperty(["docker-tag"]) ?
                   project.rootProject["docker-tag"] : project.sdk_version)
-  dockerfile project.file("./Dockerfile")
+  dockerfile project.file("./${dockerfileName}")
   files "./build/"
-  buildArgs([
-    'pull_licenses': project.rootProject.hasProperty(["docker-pull-licenses"]) ||
-                     project.rootProject.hasProperty(["isRelease"]),
-    'java_version': imageJavaVersion,
-  ])
+  buildArgs(['pull_licenses': project.rootProject.hasProperty(["docker-pull-licenses"]) ||
+                     project.rootProject.hasProperty(["isRelease"])])
 }
 
 task pullLicenses(type: Exec) {
diff --git a/sdks/python/apache_beam/examples/kafkataxi/README.md b/sdks/python/apache_beam/examples/kafkataxi/README.md
index aba8fde..11b15f0 100644
--- a/sdks/python/apache_beam/examples/kafkataxi/README.md
+++ b/sdks/python/apache_beam/examples/kafkataxi/README.md
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@
 ```sh
 export DOCKER_ROOT="Your Docker Repository Root"
 ./gradlew :sdks:java:container:docker -Pdocker-repository-root=$DOCKER_ROOT -Pdocker-tag=latest
-docker push $DOCKER_ROOT/beam_java8_sdk:latest
+docker push $DOCKER_ROOT/beam_java_sdk:latest
 ```
 
 For portable Flink/Spark in local mode, instead of above command just build the
@@ -184,6 +184,6 @@
   --num_workers $NUM_WORKERS \
   --job_name $JOB_NAME \
   --bootstrap_servers $BOOTSTRAP_SERVER \
-  --sdk_harness_container_image_overrides ".*java.*,${DOCKER_ROOT}/beam_java8_sdk:latest" \
+  --sdk_harness_container_image_overrides ".*java.*,${DOCKER_ROOT}/beam_java_sdk:latest" \
   --experiments=use_runner_v2
 ```
diff --git a/website/www/site/content/en/contribute/release-guide.md b/website/www/site/content/en/contribute/release-guide.md
index d10fbf8..13c800a 100644
--- a/website/www/site/content/en/contribute/release-guide.md
+++ b/website/www/site/content/en/contribute/release-guide.md
@@ -575,7 +575,7 @@
           ```
           - For Java SDK images, there should be around 200 dependencies.
           ```
-          docker run -it --entrypoint=/bin/bash apache/beam_java${ver}_sdk:${RELEASE}_rc{RC_NUM}
+          docker run -it --entrypoint=/bin/bash apache/beam_java_sdk:${RELEASE}_rc{RC_NUM}
           ls -al /opt/apache/beam/third_party_licenses/ | wc -l
           ```
   1. Publish staging artifacts
diff --git a/website/www/site/content/en/documentation/runtime/environments.md b/website/www/site/content/en/documentation/runtime/environments.md
index 93ecbae..0089722 100644
--- a/website/www/site/content/en/documentation/runtime/environments.md
+++ b/website/www/site/content/en/documentation/runtime/environments.md
@@ -116,8 +116,8 @@
 
 To examine the containers that you built, run `docker images` from anywhere in the command line. If you successfully built all of the container images, the command prints a table like the following:
 ```
-REPOSITORY                         TAG                 IMAGE ID            CREATED           SIZE
-apache/beam_java8_sdk              latest              16ca619d489e        2 weeks ago        550MB
+REPOSITORY                          TAG                 IMAGE ID            CREATED           SIZE
+apache/beam_java_sdk               latest              16ca619d489e        2 weeks ago        550MB
 apache/beam_python2.7_sdk          latest              b6fb40539c29        2 weeks ago       1.78GB
 apache/beam_python3.5_sdk          latest              bae309000d09        2 weeks ago       1.85GB
 apache/beam_python3.6_sdk          latest              42faad307d1a        2 weeks ago       1.86GB