diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index f4512614..e61e388a 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -31,6 +31,11 @@
 				<artifactId>org.eclipse.jgit</artifactId>
 				<version>4.6.0.201612231935-r</version>
 			</dependency>
+			<dependency>
+				<groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
+				<artifactId>maven-model</artifactId>
+				<version>3.3.9</version>
+			</dependency>
 		</dependencies>
 	</dependencyManagement>
 
@@ -43,6 +48,10 @@
 			<groupId>org.eclipse.jgit</groupId>
 			<artifactId>org.eclipse.jgit</artifactId>
 		</dependency>
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
+			<artifactId>maven-model</artifactId>
+		</dependency>
 
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/PomParser.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/PomParser.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..26072798
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/PomParser.java
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+package org.springframework.cloud.release;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.FileReader;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.Reader;
+import java.lang.invoke.MethodHandles;
+
+import org.apache.maven.model.Model;
+import org.apache.maven.model.io.xpp3.MavenXpp3Reader;
+import org.codehaus.plexus.util.xml.pull.XmlPullParserException;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
+/**
+ * Parses the poms for a given project and populates versions.
+ *
+ * @author Marcin Grzejszczak
+ */
+class PomParser {
+
+	private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(MethodHandles.lookup().lookupClass());
+
+	private static final String STARTER_POM = "spring-cloud-starter-parent/pom.xml";
+	private static final String BOOT_STARTER_ARTIFACTID = "spring-boot-starter-parent";
+	private static final String DEPENDENCIES_POM = "spring-cloud-dependencies/pom.xml";
+
+	private final File projectRootDir;
+	private final String bootPom;
+	private final PomReader pomReader = new PomReader();
+
+	PomParser(File projectRootDir) {
+		this(projectRootDir, STARTER_POM);
+	}
+
+	PomParser(File projectRootDir, String bootPom) {
+		this.projectRootDir = projectRootDir;
+		this.bootPom = bootPom;
+	}
+
+	String bootVersion() {
+		File bootPom = new File(this.projectRootDir, this.bootPom);
+		if (!bootPom.exists()) {
+			throw new IllegalStateException("Pom with boot version is not present");
+		}
+		Model model = this.pomReader.readPom(bootPom);
+		String bootArtifactId = model.getParent().getArtifactId();
+		if (log.isDebugEnabled()) {
+			log.debug("Boot artifact id is equal to [{}]", bootArtifactId);
+		}
+		if (!BOOT_STARTER_ARTIFACTID.equals(bootArtifactId)) {
+			throw new IllegalStateException("The pom doesn't have a boot version");
+		}
+		String bootVersion = model.getParent().getVersion();
+		if (log.isDebugEnabled()) {
+			log.debug("Boot version is equal to [{}]", bootVersion);
+		}
+		return bootVersion;
+	}
+}
+
+class PomReader {
+
+	Model readPom(File pom) {
+		try(Reader reader = new FileReader(pom)) {
+			MavenXpp3Reader xpp3Reader = new MavenXpp3Reader();
+			return xpp3Reader.read(reader);
+		}
+		catch (XmlPullParserException | IOException e) {
+			throw new IllegalStateException("Failed to read file", e);
+		}
+	}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/ProjectCloner.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/ProjectCloner.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 98582a2e..00000000
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/ProjectCloner.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,90 +0,0 @@
-package org.springframework.cloud.release;
-
-import java.io.File;
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.lang.invoke.MethodHandles;
-import java.net.URI;
-
-import org.eclipse.jgit.api.CloneCommand;
-import org.eclipse.jgit.api.Git;
-import org.eclipse.jgit.api.errors.GitAPIException;
-import org.eclipse.jgit.util.FileUtils;
-import org.slf4j.Logger;
-import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
-
-/**
- * @author Marcin Grzejszczak
- */
-class ProjectCloner {
-
-	private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory
-			.getLogger(MethodHandles.lookup().lookupClass());
-
-	private final ProjectCloner.JGitFactory gitFactory;
-
-	private final File basedir;
-
-	ProjectCloner(File basedir) {
-		this.basedir = basedir;
-		this.gitFactory = new ProjectCloner.JGitFactory();
-	}
-
-	ProjectCloner(File basedir, ProjectCloner.JGitFactory factory) {
-		this.basedir = basedir;
-		this.gitFactory = factory;
-	}
-
-	File cloneProject(URI projectUrl) {
-		try {
-			if (log.isDebugEnabled()) {
-				log.debug("Cloning repo from [{}] to [{}]", projectUrl, this.basedir);
-			}
-			Git git = cloneToBasedir(projectUrl, this.basedir);
-			if (git != null) {
-				git.close();
-			}
-			File clonedRepo = git.getRepository().getDirectory();
-			if (log.isDebugEnabled()) {
-				log.debug("Cloned repo to [{}]", clonedRepo);
-			}
-			return clonedRepo;
-		}
-		catch (Exception e) {
-			throw new IllegalStateException(e);
-		}
-	}
-
-	private Git cloneToBasedir(URI projectUrl, File destinationFolder)
-			throws GitAPIException {
-		CloneCommand clone = this.gitFactory.getCloneCommandByCloneRepository()
-				.setURI(projectUrl.toString() + ".git").setDirectory(destinationFolder);
-		try {
-			return clone.call();
-		}
-		catch (GitAPIException e) {
-			deleteBaseDirIfExists();
-			throw e;
-		}
-	}
-
-	private void deleteBaseDirIfExists() {
-		if (this.basedir.exists()) {
-			try {
-				FileUtils.delete(this.basedir, FileUtils.RECURSIVE);
-			}
-			catch (IOException e) {
-				throw new IllegalStateException("Failed to initialize base directory", e);
-			}
-		}
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * Wraps the static method calls to {@link org.eclipse.jgit.api.Git} and
-	 * {@link org.eclipse.jgit.api.CloneCommand} allowing for easier unit testing.
-	 */
-	static class JGitFactory {
-		CloneCommand getCloneCommandByCloneRepository() {
-			return Git.cloneRepository();
-		}
-	}
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/ProjectRepo.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/ProjectRepo.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a27d32a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/ProjectRepo.java
@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+package org.springframework.cloud.release;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.lang.invoke.MethodHandles;
+import java.net.URI;
+
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.CheckoutCommand;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.CloneCommand;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.Git;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.errors.GitAPIException;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Ref;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.util.FileUtils;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
+/**
+ * Abstraction over a Git repo. Can clonea repo from a given location
+ * and check its branch.
+ *
+ * @author Marcin Grzejszczak
+ */
+class ProjectRepo {
+
+	private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory
+			.getLogger(MethodHandles.lookup().lookupClass());
+
+	private final ProjectRepo.JGitFactory gitFactory;
+
+	private final File basedir;
+
+	ProjectRepo(File basedir) {
+		this.basedir = basedir;
+		this.gitFactory = new ProjectRepo.JGitFactory();
+	}
+
+	ProjectRepo(File basedir, ProjectRepo.JGitFactory factory) {
+		this.basedir = basedir;
+		this.gitFactory = factory;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Clones the project
+	 * @param projectUri - URI of the project
+	 * @return file where the project was cloned
+	 */
+	File cloneProject(URI projectUri) {
+		try {
+			if (log.isDebugEnabled()) {
+				log.debug("Cloning repo from [{}] to [{}]", projectUri, this.basedir);
+			}
+			Git git = cloneToBasedir(projectUri, this.basedir);
+			if (git != null) {
+				git.close();
+			}
+			File clonedRepo = git.getRepository().getDirectory();
+			if (log.isDebugEnabled()) {
+				log.debug("Cloned repo to [{}]", clonedRepo);
+			}
+			return clonedRepo;
+		}
+		catch (Exception e) {
+			throw new IllegalStateException("Exception occurred while cloning repo", e);
+		}
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Checks out a branch for a project
+	 * @param project - a Git project
+	 * @param branch - branch to check out
+	 */
+	void checkout(File project, String branch) {
+		try {
+			if (log.isDebugEnabled()) {
+				log.debug("Checking out branch [{}] for repo [{}] to [{}]", this.basedir, branch);
+			}
+			checkoutBranch(project, branch);
+			if (log.isDebugEnabled()) {
+				log.debug("Successfully checked out the branch [{}]", branch);
+			}
+		}
+		catch (Exception e) {
+			throw new IllegalStateException(e);
+		}
+	}
+
+	private Git cloneToBasedir(URI projectUrl, File destinationFolder)
+			throws GitAPIException {
+		CloneCommand command = this.gitFactory.getCloneCommandByCloneRepository()
+				.setURI(projectUrl.toString() + ".git").setDirectory(destinationFolder);
+		try {
+			return command.call();
+		}
+		catch (GitAPIException e) {
+			deleteBaseDirIfExists();
+			throw e;
+		}
+	}
+
+	private Ref checkoutBranch(File projectDir, String branch)
+			throws GitAPIException {
+		Git git = this.gitFactory.open(projectDir);
+		CheckoutCommand command = git.checkout().setName(branch);
+		try {
+			return command.call();
+		}
+		catch (GitAPIException e) {
+			deleteBaseDirIfExists();
+			throw e;
+		} finally {
+			git.close();
+		}
+	}
+
+	private void deleteBaseDirIfExists() {
+		if (this.basedir.exists()) {
+			try {
+				FileUtils.delete(this.basedir, FileUtils.RECURSIVE);
+			}
+			catch (IOException e) {
+				throw new IllegalStateException("Failed to initialize base directory", e);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Wraps the static method calls to {@link org.eclipse.jgit.api.Git} and
+	 * {@link org.eclipse.jgit.api.CloneCommand} allowing for easier unit testing.
+	 */
+	static class JGitFactory {
+		CloneCommand getCloneCommandByCloneRepository() {
+			return Git.cloneRepository();
+		}
+
+		Git open(File file) {
+			try {
+				return Git.open(file);
+			}
+			catch (IOException e) {
+				throw new IllegalStateException(e);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/Versions.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/Versions.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..45ec55b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/Versions.java
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+package org.springframework.cloud.release;
+
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+/**
+ * Represents versions taken out from Spring Cloud Release pom
+ *
+ * @author Marcin Grzejszczak
+ */
+class Versions {
+
+	String boot;
+	String build;
+	Map<String, String> projects = new HashMap<>();
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/PomParserTests.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/PomParserTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cf175c8f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/PomParserTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+package org.springframework.cloud.release;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.net.URISyntaxException;
+
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import static org.assertj.core.api.BDDAssertions.then;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.BDDAssertions.thenThrownBy;
+
+/**
+ * @author Marcin Grzejszczak
+ */
+public class PomParserTests {
+
+	File springCloudReleaseProject;
+
+	@Before
+	public void setup() throws IOException, URISyntaxException {
+		this.springCloudReleaseProject = new File(ProjectClonerTests.class.getResource("/projects/spring-cloud-release").toURI());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void should_throw_exception_when_boot_pom_is_missing() {
+		PomParser parser = new PomParser(new File("."));
+
+		thenThrownBy(parser::bootVersion)
+				.isInstanceOf(IllegalStateException.class)
+				.hasMessageContaining("Pom with boot version is not present");
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void should_throw_exception_when_boot_version_is_missing_in_pom() {
+		PomParser parser = new PomParser(this.springCloudReleaseProject, "pom.xml");
+
+		thenThrownBy(parser::bootVersion)
+				.isInstanceOf(IllegalStateException.class)
+				.hasMessageContaining("The pom doesn't have a boot version");
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void should_populate_boot_version() {
+		PomParser parser = new PomParser(this.springCloudReleaseProject);
+
+		String bootVersion = parser.bootVersion();
+
+		then(bootVersion).isEqualTo("1.5.1.BUILD-SNAPSHOT");
+	}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/ProjectClonerTests.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/ProjectClonerTests.java
index 7c64aa23..2a793227 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/ProjectClonerTests.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/release/ProjectClonerTests.java
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package org.springframework.cloud.release;
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.net.URISyntaxException;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
 
 import org.eclipse.jgit.api.CloneCommand;
 import org.junit.Before;
@@ -10,7 +11,9 @@ import org.junit.Rule;
 import org.junit.Test;
 import org.junit.rules.TemporaryFolder;
 
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.fail;
 import static org.assertj.core.api.BDDAssertions.then;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.BDDAssertions.thenThrownBy;
 
 /**
  * @author Marcin Grzejszczak
@@ -20,38 +23,69 @@ public class ProjectClonerTests {
 	@Rule public TemporaryFolder tmp = new TemporaryFolder();
 	File springCloudReleaseProject;
 	File tmpFolder;
-	ProjectCloner projectCloner;
+	ProjectRepo projectRepo;
 
 	@Before
 	public void setup() throws IOException, URISyntaxException {
 		this.tmpFolder = this.tmp.newFolder();
 		this.springCloudReleaseProject = new File(ProjectClonerTests.class.getResource("/projects/spring-cloud-release").toURI());
 		TestUtils.prepareLocalRepo();
-		this.projectCloner = new ProjectCloner(this.tmpFolder);
+		this.projectRepo = new ProjectRepo(this.tmpFolder);
 	}
 
 	@Test
 	public void should_clone_the_project_from_a_given_location() throws IOException {
-		this.projectCloner.cloneProject(this.springCloudReleaseProject.toURI());
+		this.projectRepo.cloneProject(this.springCloudReleaseProject.toURI());
 
 		then(new File(this.tmpFolder, ".git")).exists();
 	}
 
-	@Test(expected = IllegalStateException.class)
-	public void should_throw_exception_when_there_is_no_repo()
-			throws IOException, URISyntaxException {
-		this.projectCloner.cloneProject(ProjectClonerTests.class.getResource("/projects/").toURI());
+	@Test
+	public void should_throw_exception_when_there_is_no_repo() throws IOException, URISyntaxException {
+		thenThrownBy(() -> this.projectRepo.cloneProject(ProjectClonerTests.class.getResource("/projects/").toURI()))
+				.isInstanceOf(IllegalStateException.class)
+				.hasMessageContaining("Exception occurred while cloning repo");
 	}
 
-	@Test(expected = IllegalStateException.class)
+	@Test
 	public void should_throw_an_exception_when_failed_to_initialize_the_repo() throws IOException {
-		new ProjectCloner(this.tmpFolder, new ExceptionThrowingJGitFactory()).cloneProject(this.springCloudReleaseProject.toURI());
+		thenThrownBy(() ->  new ProjectRepo(this.tmpFolder, new ExceptionThrowingJGitFactory()).cloneProject(this.springCloudReleaseProject.toURI()))
+				.isInstanceOf(IllegalStateException.class)
+				.hasMessageContaining("Exception occurred while cloning repo")
+				.hasCauseInstanceOf(CustomException.class);
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void should_check_out_a_branch_on_cloned_repo() throws IOException {
+		File project = this.projectRepo.cloneProject(this.springCloudReleaseProject.toURI());
+		this.projectRepo.checkout(project, "vCamden.SR3");
+
+		File pom = new File(this.tmpFolder, "pom.xml");
+		then(pom).exists();
+		then(Files.lines(pom.toPath()).anyMatch(s -> s.contains("<version>Camden.SR3</version>"))).isTrue();
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void should_throw_an_exception_when_checking_out_nonexisting_branch() throws IOException {
+		File project = this.projectRepo.cloneProject(this.springCloudReleaseProject.toURI());
+		try {
+			this.projectRepo.checkout(project, "nonExistingBranch");
+			fail("should throw an exception");
+		} catch (IllegalStateException e) {
+			then(e).hasMessageContaining("Ref nonExistingBranch can not be resolved");
+		}
 	}
 
 }
 
-class ExceptionThrowingJGitFactory extends ProjectCloner.JGitFactory {
+class ExceptionThrowingJGitFactory extends ProjectRepo.JGitFactory {
 	@Override CloneCommand getCloneCommandByCloneRepository() {
-		throw new RuntimeException("foo");
+		throw new CustomException("foo");
+	}
+}
+
+class CustomException extends RuntimeException {
+	public CustomException(String message) {
+		super(message);
 	}
 }
\ No newline at end of file