GROVE CITY, Pa. - It was twelve years ago this month when a piece of Erie history, the old Jackson Koehler Eagle Brewery at 21st and State Streets, came crashing down. Its smokestack -- an iconic figure of the city's midtown skyline -- was demolished.

Fast-forward to 2018, and the Koehler Brewing Company is back. This time a little over an hour south of Erie in Grove City. Brothers Bruce and Bryan Koehler are at the helm.

"Growing up, Koehler beer is what our family drank," said Bryan Koehler, who lives in Grove City.

"We had an emotional attachment to it," added Bruce Koehler, of Cranberry Twp., Butler County. "I can't think of a better... couple of guys to bring it back."

The Koehler Brothers grew up near Pittsburgh, but spent a lot of time in Erie. Their grandparents lived in Millcreek. Their grandmother worked at the former Millcreek Sportsman's Club, coincidentally what's now the Millcreek Brewing Company.

"Our second home was really in Erie," Bryan said.

"I remember passing the old plant when it was operating," Bruce said.

While the brothers don't know if they're related to Jackson Koehler himself, it's that emotional attachment that led them to revive the Koehler name. Their grove city location pays homage to Erie and the old brewery in several ways. On the outside, the brewpub offers a rustbelt backdrop, sitting in the shadows of the former Cooper-Bessemer manufacturing plant. Inside, the pub is decked out with countless collector's items, including old Koehler signs; Bruce even keeps his collection of Koehler bottles and cans at the brewery.

The trademark on that famous "wave" logo had expired. But that was part of the attachment for the Koehler brothers, so Bruce registered it and it's now it's on their own bottles.

But what he didn't like, were the classic Koehler slogans. So he made up his own.

"I couldn't believe it, that 'When the occasion calls for great taste' hadn't been taken by a wine company or someone, which is great," he said. "Fortunately, now it's a registered trademark."

As for the beer itself, the Koehler brothers have obtained some of the old recipes for the "three fine brews," and are basing some of their brews off of that.

"They came from people that worked at the brewery, that hung onto the recipes so we've been able to acquire some of those," Bryan said.

"We largely base the recipe of our (pilsner) off the recipe from the original Koehler beer," Brewmaster Adam Crabtree said.

But one look at their draft list is proof that they're also keeping up with the times. So to blend the past with the present, the Koehlers have employed Crabtree, who wasn't even born, when the old stuff was being produced. Crabtree, 30, is modernizing those classic beers.

"We had to update them because some of the products that were available in the 70s aren't available anymore," Crabtree said. "There have been some huge advances in malting."

"We intended to make sure the brand lived on for what it was," Bryan said.

But when the brothers told us they didn't collect all of those signs themselves, we wanted to know where they got them. They told us Ray Barber is the guy. One look inside his Millcreek home and it looks like a Koehler museum.

"Bruce (Koehler) found me about three years ago when I was having a garage sale and I put it on Craigslist," Barber said.

Barber is a self-proclaimed Erie beer historian. He's collected Koehler for 25 years, buying so much that the second floor and his basement are loaded with the stuff. He even has some of the original parts of the brewery -- some of that is on display at the Brewerie at Union Station.

But on Barber's shelves now, his newest additions: a sign and six-pack from Bruce and Bryan, the start of a new Koehler collection.

"That was the name most Erie people knew for Erie for beer," Barber said, "so to see the wave logo and everything, it's kind of like it's coming home."

It could be some time before Barber and the rest of us here in Erie can pour a new "Koehler collar" ourselves. The Koehler brothers opened just about six months ago. But one of their top goals is getting their beer back to Erie -- the city where it all began. Their license allows them to open additional pub locations.

"We get some old-timers in here and every one of them has a different story about Koehler beer," Bryan said.

"We spent a lot of time in Erie," Bruce said, "so you could call it home."