diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/extend/ENV/shared.rb b/Library/Homebrew/extend/ENV/shared.rb
index fb25328cf7945..02d424dee07b5 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/extend/ENV/shared.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/extend/ENV/shared.rb
@@ -348,7 +348,7 @@ def fetch_compiler(value, source)
     COMPILER_SYMBOL_MAP.fetch(value) do |other|
       case other
       when GNU_GCC_REGEXP
-        other
+        other.to_sym
       else
         raise "Invalid value for #{source}: #{other}"
       end