diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 9335e89..ed4dd85 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -39,6 +39,10 @@ jobs:
           env:
             discovery.type: single-node
             plugins.security.disabled: true
+        - image: opensearchproject/opensearch:2.13.0
+          env:
+            discovery.type: single-node
+            DISABLE_SECURITY_PLUGIN: true
         ruby:
         - 2.7
         - 3.0
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index bfb7260..58584e1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -11,7 +11,20 @@
 * Added `SearchFlip::Connection#get_cluster_settings` and
   `#update_cluster_settings`
 
-## v3.8.0.
+## v3.9.0
+
+* Allow to configure the elasticsearch version no matter which elasticsearch
+  version is actually in use. The version information is needed to support
+  version dependent features. Please note that manually configuring the version
+  is usually not need as the version by default is determined by sending one
+  request to elasticsearch.
+
+```ruby
+SearchFlip::Config[:version] = { number: "8.1.1" }
+SearchFlip::Config[:version] = { number: "2.13", distribution: "opensearch" }
+```
+
+## v3.8.0
 
 * Support Opensearch 1.x and 2.x
 
diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index b1c1c0f..6fafb84 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -14,6 +14,6 @@ gem "factory_bot"
 gem "rake"
 gem "rspec"
 gem "rubocop"
-gem "sqlite3"
+gem "sqlite3", "~> 1.4"
 gem "timecop"
 gem "webmock"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f9dc41e..ad23d57 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -98,6 +98,16 @@ Available config options are:
 * `auto_refresh` tells SearchFlip to automatically refresh an index after
   import, index, delete, etc operations. This is e.g. useful for testing, etc.
   Defaults to false.
+* `version` allows to configure the elasticsearch version no matter which
+  elasticsearch version is actually in use. The version information is needed to
+  support version dependent features. Please note that manually configuring the
+  version is usually not need as the version by default is determined by sending
+  one request to elasticsearch.
+
+```ruby
+SearchFlip::Config[:version] = { number: "8.1.1" }
+SearchFlip::Config[:version] = { number: "2.13", distribution: "opensearch" }
+```
 
 ## Usage
 
diff --git a/lib/search_flip/connection.rb b/lib/search_flip/connection.rb
index abeeeb0..415e7ef 100644
--- a/lib/search_flip/connection.rb
+++ b/lib/search_flip/connection.rb
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ def initialize(options = {})
     # @return [String] The Elasticsearch distribution
 
     def distribution
-      @distribution ||= SearchFlip::JSON.parse(version_response.to_s)["version"]["distribution"]
+      @distribution ||= SearchFlip::Config.dig(:version, :distribution) || SearchFlip::JSON.parse(version_response.to_s)["version"]["distribution"]
     end
 
     # Queries the cluster settings from Elasticsearch
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ def update_cluster_settings(cluster_settings)
     # @return [String] The Elasticsearch version
 
     def version
-      @version ||= SearchFlip::JSON.parse(version_response.to_s)["version"]["number"]
+      @version ||= SearchFlip::Config.dig(:version, :number) || SearchFlip::JSON.parse(version_response.to_s)["version"]["number"]
     end
 
     # Queries and returns the Elasticsearch cluster health.
diff --git a/lib/search_flip/version.rb b/lib/search_flip/version.rb
index 96dfc3c..42931ba 100644
--- a/lib/search_flip/version.rb
+++ b/lib/search_flip/version.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 module SearchFlip
-  VERSION = "4.0.0.beta14"
+  VERSION = "4.0.0.beta16"
 end
diff --git a/spec/search_flip/connection_spec.rb b/spec/search_flip/connection_spec.rb
index 7a62e26..5136e83 100644
--- a/spec/search_flip/connection_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/search_flip/connection_spec.rb
@@ -5,12 +5,28 @@
     it "reutrns the distribution" do
       expect([nil, "opensearch"]).to include(SearchFlip::Connection.new.distribution)
     end
+
+    it "returns the distribution from the config when given" do
+      SearchFlip::Config[:version] = { distribution: "distribution" }
+
+      expect(SearchFlip::Connection.new.distribution).to eq("distribution")
+    ensure
+      SearchFlip::Config.delete(:version)
+    end
   end
 
   describe "#version" do
     it "returns the version" do
       expect(SearchFlip::Connection.new.version).to match(/\A[0-9.]+\z/)
     end
+
+    it "returns the version from the config when given" do
+      SearchFlip::Config[:version] = { number: "1.2.3" }
+
+      expect(SearchFlip::Connection.new.version).to eq("1.2.3")
+    ensure
+      SearchFlip::Config.delete(:version)
+    end
   end
 
   describe "#cluster_health" do