diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/utils.rb b/Library/Homebrew/utils.rb
index 9f68554e7f..4fa07af9a1 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/utils.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/utils.rb
@@ -388,6 +388,10 @@ def exec_browser(*args)
   browser ||= OS::PATH_OPEN if defined?(OS::PATH_OPEN)
   return unless browser
 
+  if ENV["HOMEBREW_DISPLAY"]
+    ENV["DISPLAY"] = ENV["HOMEBREW_DISPLAY"]
+  end
+
   safe_exec(browser, *args)
 end
 
diff --git a/bin/brew b/bin/brew
index c9640a3091..edf2dded7f 100755
--- a/bin/brew
+++ b/bin/brew
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ HOMEBREW_LIBRARY="$HOMEBREW_REPOSITORY/Library"
 # Whitelist and copy to HOMEBREW_* all variables previously mentioned in
 # manpage or used elsewhere by Homebrew.
 for VAR in AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY BINTRAY_USER BINTRAY_KEY \
-           BROWSER EDITOR GIT NO_COLOR PATH VISUAL
+           BROWSER DISPLAY EDITOR GIT NO_COLOR PATH VISUAL
 do
   # Skip if variable value is empty.
   [[ -z "${!VAR}" ]] && continue