diff --git a/beets/mediafile.py b/beets/mediafile.py
index 4982dee58..9f9f76e44 100644
--- a/beets/mediafile.py
+++ b/beets/mediafile.py
@@ -512,5 +512,9 @@ class MediaFile(object):
 
     @property
     def bitrate(self):
-        return self.mgfile.info.bitrate
+        if self.type == 'flac':
+            return self.mgfile.info.sample_rate * \
+                   self.mgfile.info.bits_per_sample
+        else:
+            return self.mgfile.info.bitrate
 
diff --git a/test/test_mediafile.py b/test/test_mediafile.py
index cecc5cba4..a28ef3187 100755
--- a/test/test_mediafile.py
+++ b/test/test_mediafile.py
@@ -186,6 +186,7 @@ read_only_correct_dicts = {
 
     'full.flac': {
         'length': 1.0,
+        'bitrate': 705600,
     },
 
     'full.m4a': {