diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/crystal/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/crystal/default.nix
index 83975fcc809a..5aaf4914c2a5 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/crystal/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/crystal/default.nix
@@ -96,7 +96,6 @@ let
         "docs"
         "release=1"
       ],
-      hasEpochFile ? true, # Available since 1.13.0 https://github.com/crystal-lang/crystal/pull/14574
     }:
     stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
       pname = "crystal";
@@ -165,16 +164,17 @@ let
         '';
 
       # Defaults are 4
-      preBuild =
-        ''
-          export CRYSTAL_WORKERS=$NIX_BUILD_CORES
-          export threads=$NIX_BUILD_CORES
-          export CRYSTAL_CACHE_DIR=$TMP
-          export MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=10.11
-        ''
-        + lib.optionalString hasEpochFile ''
+      preBuild = ''
+        export CRYSTAL_WORKERS=$NIX_BUILD_CORES
+        export threads=$NIX_BUILD_CORES
+        export CRYSTAL_CACHE_DIR=$TMP
+        export MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=10.11
+
+        # Available since 1.13.0 https://github.com/crystal-lang/crystal/pull/14574
+        if [[ -f src/SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH ]]; then
           export SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH="$(<src/SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH)"
-        '';
+        fi
+      '';
 
       strictDeps = true;
       nativeBuildInputs = [
@@ -299,12 +299,12 @@ rec {
     };
   };
 
+  # When removing this version, also remove checks for src/SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH existence
   crystal_1_11 = generic {
     version = "1.11.2";
     sha256 = "sha256-BBEDWqFtmFUNj0kuGBzv71YHO3KjxV4d2ySTCD4HhLc=";
     binary = binaryCrystal_1_10;
     llvmPackages = llvmPackages_15;
-    hasEpochFile = false;
   };
 
   crystal_1_14 = generic {