In the decades before prohibition, a Pittsburgh-sized city could have had dozens of breweries, most of which served the immediate neighborhood with fresh beer. That way of doing business is making a comeback, and there may not be a better way of the breadth of the region’s beer than by pulling up a bar stool at Squirrel Hill’s Independent Brewing Co.

The original Independent Brewing Co. included smaller breweries, mostly from outside the Pittsburgh city limits; it pooled resources so its members could better compete with Pittsburgh Brewing, which had already turned Iron City into a regional behemoth.

Big Beer still takes up plenty of tap handles, but you won’t find them at the Independent, 1704 Shady Ave. Since re-branding an old sports bar about a year ago, Brothers Matthew and Pete Kurzweg have had a mission similar to that of their namesake: get fresh, local beer into the hands of consumers. When they’re able, they work directly with local brewers, so the Brothers Kurzweg can keep a dozen taps pouring.

The connection to Pittsburgh brewing history is obvious, right down to the old IBC logo that graced beers from Beaver Falls to Monessen a century ago. The brewing industry is returning to those roots, and the Independent Brewing Co. — in its new form — has returned as well.