diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/utils.rb b/Library/Homebrew/utils.rb
index cc146222b9..cd3a5fa49c 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/utils.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/utils.rb
@@ -251,6 +251,7 @@ module MacOS extend self
       when /^gcc/ then :gcc
       when /^llvm/ then :llvm
       when "clang" then :clang
+      else :gcc # a hack, but a sensible one prolly
     end
   end