diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 71382677c5..b5b9ed9f90 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ set_property(CACHE MAX_LOGGING_LEVEL PROPERTY STRINGS 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10)
 add_definitions(-DMAX_LOGGING_LEVEL=${MAX_LOGGING_LEVEL})
 
 if (NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
-  set (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "RELEASE")
+  set (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "Release")
 endif()
 
 if (NOT $ENV{P4C_VERSION} STREQUAL "")