diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/download_strategy.rb b/Library/Homebrew/download_strategy.rb
index 924c17f117..467959f213 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/download_strategy.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/download_strategy.rb
@@ -415,10 +415,7 @@ class CurlDownloadStrategy < AbstractFileDownloadStrategy
   def _curl_args
     args = []
 
-    if meta.key?(:cookies)
-      escape_cookie = ->(cookie) { URI.encode_www_form([cookie]) }
-      args += ["-b", meta.fetch(:cookies).map(&escape_cookie).join(";")]
-    end
+    args += ["-b", meta.fetch(:cookies).map { |k, v| "#{k}=#{v}" }.join(";")] if meta.key?(:cookies)
 
     args += ["-e", meta.fetch(:referer)] if meta.key?(:referer)
 
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/test/download_strategies_spec.rb b/Library/Homebrew/test/download_strategies_spec.rb
index 615daa05f9..e8b456d226 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/test/download_strategies_spec.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/test/download_strategies_spec.rb
@@ -215,15 +215,15 @@ describe CurlDownloadStrategy do
       let(:specs) {
         {
           cookies: {
-            coo: "kie",
+            coo: "k/e",
             mon: "ster",
           },
         }
       }
 
-      it "adds the appropriate curl args" do
+      it "adds the appropriate curl args and does not URL-encode the cookies" do
         expect(subject).to receive(:system_command!) { |*, args:, **|
-          expect(args.each_cons(2)).to include(["-b", "coo=kie;mon=ster"])
+          expect(args.each_cons(2)).to include(["-b", "coo=k/e;mon=ster"])
         }
 
         subject.fetch