diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/extend/ARGV.rb b/Library/Homebrew/extend/ARGV.rb
index fc3039cc80..8d5ad31996 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/extend/ARGV.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/extend/ARGV.rb
@@ -96,6 +96,10 @@ module HomebrewArgvExtension
     include? '--devel'
   end
 
+  def build_stable?
+    not (build_head? or build_devel?)
+  end
+
   def build_universal?
     include? '--universal'
   end