diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb b/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
index 91fae5fea6..1236eaa2fd 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
@@ -761,7 +761,6 @@ class Formula
 
   def prepare_patches
     active_spec.add_legacy_patches(patches)
-    return if patchlist.empty?
 
     patchlist.grep(DATAPatch) { |p| p.path = path }