diff --git a/internal/pipe/brew/brew.go b/internal/pipe/brew/brew.go
index 7c633e2c16c..7baebdd0531 100644
--- a/internal/pipe/brew/brew.go
+++ b/internal/pipe/brew/brew.go
@@ -26,8 +26,20 @@ var ErrNoArchivesFound = errors.New("no linux/macos archives found")
 // for linux or windows.
 var ErrMultipleArchivesSameOS = errors.New("one tap can handle only archive of an OS/Arch combination. Consider using ids in the brew section")
 
+// ErrEmptyTokenType indicates unknown token type
+var ErrEmptyTokenType = errors.New("no token type found")
+
 // ErrTokenTypeNotImplementedForBrew indicates that a new token type was not implemented for this pipe
-var ErrTokenTypeNotImplementedForBrew = errors.New("token type not implemented for brew pipe")
+type ErrTokenTypeNotImplementedForBrew struct {
+	TokenType context.TokenType
+}
+
+func (e ErrTokenTypeNotImplementedForBrew) Error() string {
+	if e.TokenType != "" {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("token type %q not implemented for brew pipe", e.TokenType)
+	}
+	return "token type not implemented for brew pipe"
+}
 
 // Pipe for brew deployment
 type Pipe struct{}
@@ -165,7 +177,10 @@ func doRun(ctx *context.Context, brew config.Homebrew, client client.Client) err
 	case context.TokenTypeGitLab:
 		repo = brew.GitLab
 	default:
-		return ErrTokenTypeNotImplementedForBrew
+		if string(ctx.TokenType) == "" {
+			return ErrEmptyTokenType
+		}
+		return ErrTokenTypeNotImplementedForBrew{ctx.TokenType}
 	}
 
 	var gpath = buildFormulaPath(brew.Folder, filename)
@@ -226,7 +241,8 @@ func dataFor(ctx *context.Context, cfg config.Homebrew, tokenType context.TokenT
 
 		if cfg.URLTemplate == "" {
 			switch tokenType {
-			case context.TokenTypeGitHub:
+			// we keep GitHub as default for now, in line with releases
+			case context.TokenTypeGitHub, "":
 				cfg.URLTemplate = fmt.Sprintf(
 					"%s/%s/%s/releases/download/{{ .Tag }}/{{ .ArtifactName }}",
 					ctx.Config.GitHubURLs.Download,
@@ -241,7 +257,7 @@ func dataFor(ctx *context.Context, cfg config.Homebrew, tokenType context.TokenT
 					ctx.Config.Release.GitLab.Name,
 				)
 			default:
-				return result, ErrTokenTypeNotImplementedForBrew
+				return result, ErrTokenTypeNotImplementedForBrew{tokenType}
 			}
 		}
 		url, err := tmpl.New(ctx).WithArtifact(artifact, map[string]string{}).Apply(cfg.URLTemplate)
diff --git a/internal/pipe/brew/brew_test.go b/internal/pipe/brew/brew_test.go
index cd21bbab907..92000072bf9 100644
--- a/internal/pipe/brew/brew_test.go
+++ b/internal/pipe/brew/brew_test.go
@@ -643,6 +643,41 @@ func TestRunPipeNoUpload(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
+func TestRunEmptyTokenType(t *testing.T) {
+	folder, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "goreleasertest")
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	var ctx = context.New(config.Project{
+		Dist:        folder,
+		ProjectName: "foo",
+		Release:     config.Release{},
+		Brews: []config.Homebrew{
+			{
+				GitHub: config.Repo{
+					Owner: "test",
+					Name:  "test",
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	})
+	ctx.Git = context.GitInfo{CurrentTag: "v1.0.1"}
+	var path = filepath.Join(folder, "whatever.tar.gz")
+	_, err = os.Create(path)
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	ctx.Artifacts.Add(&artifact.Artifact{
+		Name:   "bin",
+		Path:   path,
+		Goos:   "darwin",
+		Goarch: "amd64",
+		Type:   artifact.UploadableArchive,
+		Extra: map[string]interface{}{
+			"ID":     "foo",
+			"Format": "tar.gz",
+		},
+	})
+	client := &DummyClient{}
+	assert.Equal(t, ErrEmptyTokenType, doRun(ctx, ctx.Config.Brews[0], client))
+}
+
 func TestRunTokenTypeNotImplementedForBrew(t *testing.T) {
 	folder, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "goreleasertest")
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
@@ -659,6 +694,7 @@ func TestRunTokenTypeNotImplementedForBrew(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		},
 	})
+	ctx.TokenType = context.TokenTypeGitea
 	ctx.Git = context.GitInfo{CurrentTag: "v1.0.1"}
 	var path = filepath.Join(folder, "whatever.tar.gz")
 	_, err = os.Create(path)
@@ -675,7 +711,7 @@ func TestRunTokenTypeNotImplementedForBrew(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	})
 	client := &DummyClient{}
-	assert.Equal(t, ErrTokenTypeNotImplementedForBrew, doRun(ctx, ctx.Config.Brews[0], client))
+	assert.Equal(t, ErrTokenTypeNotImplementedForBrew{TokenType: "gitea"}, doRun(ctx, ctx.Config.Brews[0], client))
 }
 
 func TestDefault(t *testing.T) {