diff --git a/tools/gulp/tasks/publish.ts b/tools/gulp/tasks/publish.ts
index 6c65a3eb666..0cf92199b6d 100644
--- a/tools/gulp/tasks/publish.ts
+++ b/tools/gulp/tasks/publish.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ const argv = minimist(process.argv.slice(3));
 task('publish', sequenceTask(
   ':publish:whoami',
   ':publish:build-releases',
+  'validate-release:check-remote-tag',
   'validate-release:check-bundles',
   ':publish',
   ':publish:logout',
@@ -52,8 +53,8 @@ task(':publish', async () => {
   if (!version.match(validVersionRegex)) {
     console.log(red(`Error: Cannot publish due to an invalid version name. Version "${version}" ` +
       `is not following our semver format.`));
-    console.log(yellow(`A version should follow this format: d.d.d, d.d.d-beta.x, d.d.d-alpha.x, ` +
-        `d.d.d-rc.x`));
+    console.log(yellow(`A version should follow this format: X.X.X, X.X.X-beta.X, X.X.X-alpha.X, ` +
+        `X.X.X-rc.X`));
     return;
   }
 
diff --git a/tools/gulp/tasks/validate-release.ts b/tools/gulp/tasks/validate-release.ts
index 1c8a266865a..b6ba651401a 100644
--- a/tools/gulp/tasks/validate-release.ts
+++ b/tools/gulp/tasks/validate-release.ts
@@ -4,10 +4,16 @@ import {join} from 'path';
 import {green, red} from 'chalk';
 import {releasePackages} from './publish';
 import {sync as glob} from 'glob';
+import {spawnSync} from 'child_process';
 import {buildConfig, sequenceTask} from 'material2-build-tools';
 
+const {projectDir, projectVersion, outputDir} = buildConfig;
+
+/** Git repository URL that has been read out from the project package.json file. */
+const repositoryGitUrl = require('../../../package.json').repository.url;
+
 /** Path to the directory where all releases are created. */
-const releasesDir = join(buildConfig.outputDir, 'releases');
+const releasesDir = join(outputDir, 'releases');
 
 /** RegExp that matches Angular component inline styles that contain a sourcemap reference. */
 const inlineStylesSourcemapRegex = /styles: ?\[["'].*sourceMappingURL=.*["']/;
@@ -17,6 +23,18 @@ const externalReferencesRegex = /(templateUrl|styleUrls): *["'[]/;
 
 task('validate-release', sequenceTask(':publish:build-releases', 'validate-release:check-bundles'));
 
+task('validate-release:check-remote-tag', () => {
+  // Since we cannot assume that every developer uses `origin` as the default name for the upstream
+  // remote, we just pass in the Git URL that refers to angular/material2 repository on Github.
+  const tagCommitSha = spawnSync('git', ['ls-remote', '--tags', repositoryGitUrl, projectVersion],
+    {cwd: projectDir}).stdout.toString().trim();
+
+  if (!tagCommitSha) {
+    throw Error(red(`Cannot publish v${projectVersion} because the release is not ` +
+    `tagged on upstream yet. Please tag the release before publishing to NPM.`));
+  }
+});
+
 /** Task that checks the release bundles for any common mistakes before releasing to the public. */
 task('validate-release:check-bundles', () => {
   const releaseFailures = releasePackages
diff --git a/tools/package-tools/build-release.ts b/tools/package-tools/build-release.ts
index f3fc35f3dff..1f44b1f4b6b 100644
--- a/tools/package-tools/build-release.ts
+++ b/tools/package-tools/build-release.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import {copyFiles} from './copy-files';
 import {createEntryPointPackageJson} from './entry-point-package-json';
 import {inlinePackageMetadataFiles} from './metadata-inlining';
 import {createMetadataReexportFile} from './metadata-reexport';
+import {insertPackageJsonVersionStamp} from './package-version-stamp';
 import {createTypingsReexportFile} from './typings-reexport';
 import {replaceVersionPlaceholders} from './version-placeholders';
 
@@ -48,6 +49,8 @@ export function composeRelease(buildPackage: BuildPackage) {
   copyFiles(sourceDir, 'package.json', releasePath);
 
   replaceVersionPlaceholders(releasePath);
+  insertPackageJsonVersionStamp(join(releasePath, 'package.json'));
+
   createTypingsReexportFile(releasePath, './typings/index', name);
   createMetadataReexportFile(releasePath, './typings/index', name, importAsName);
 
diff --git a/tools/package-tools/package-version-stamp.ts b/tools/package-tools/package-version-stamp.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..fab20422f7a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/package-tools/package-version-stamp.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+import {writeFileSync} from 'fs';
+import {spawnSync} from 'child_process';
+import {buildConfig} from './build-config';
+
+/**
+ * Inserts the a version stamp, which consists of the current commit SHA and the current
+ * branch name, into the specified package.json file.
+ *
+ * This makes it easy to quickly verify the exact snapshot from which the release originated.
+ */
+export function insertPackageJsonVersionStamp(packageJsonPath: string) {
+  const packageJson = require(packageJsonPath);
+
+  packageJson['releaseGitCommitSha'] = getCurrentCommitSha();
+  packageJson['releaseGitBranch'] = getCurrentBranchName();
+  packageJson['releaseGitUser'] = getCurrentGitUser();
+
+  writeFileSync(packageJsonPath, JSON.stringify(packageJson, null, 2));
+}
+
+/** Returns the commit SHA for the current git HEAD of the project. */
+function getCurrentCommitSha(): string {
+  return spawnSync('git', ['rev-parse', 'HEAD'], {cwd: buildConfig.projectDir})
+    .stdout.toString().trim();
+}
+
+/** Returns the name of the currently checked out branch of the project. */
+function getCurrentBranchName(): string {
+  return spawnSync('git', ['symbolic-ref', '--short', 'HEAD'], {cwd: buildConfig.projectDir})
+    .stdout.toString().trim();
+}
+
+/** Returns the name and email of the Git user that creates this release build. */
+function getCurrentGitUser() {
+  const userName = spawnSync('git', ['config', 'user.name'], {cwd: buildConfig.projectDir})
+    .stdout.toString().trim();
+
+  const userEmail = spawnSync('git', ['config', 'user.email'], {cwd: buildConfig.projectDir})
+    .stdout.toString().trim();
+
+  return `${userName} <${userEmail}>`;
+}