diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/irb.rb b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/irb.rb
index e2a29d71b0..845747c25c 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/irb.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/irb.rb
@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@ module Homebrew extend self
     else
       ohai "Interactive Homebrew Shell"
       puts "Example commands available with: brew irb --help"
-      exec "irb", "-I#{HOMEBREW_REPOSITORY}/Library/Homebrew", "-rglobal", '-rformula', '-rkeg'
+      require 'formula'
+      require 'keg'
+      require 'irb'
+      IRB.start
     end
   end
 end