Grand Island's 37th State, Seven Twisters brewers at Craft Brew & Sausage Fest

While Grand Island has no commercial brewery of its own yet, there are brewers working toward that goal. One such operation that will be at the Sept. 12 Craft Brew & Sausage Fest is 37th State Brewing Co. and Seven Twisters Cider Co., a joint effort of home-town brewers aiming to open a brewery in Downtown Grand Island. 
Jonathan Knerr is the head brewer for 37th State Brewing, and Tyler Krecklow is the head Cider Maker at Seven Twister Cider Company.  Both brewers started out with home brew kits and a hobby quickly turned into a skill. Today the duo bounce recipe ideas off each other quite regularly, said Sarah Krecklow, who is married to Tyler and who will be handling marketing, paperwork and logistical duties that come from running two separate fermentations under one roof.
"We want to bring great craft beer and cider to an area of the state that is now a 'craft beer desert,'" the team said in an email to the Brew Fest. "We also want to be a part of making the Grand Island Downtown area a vibrant destination once again."
That's something the two brewers have in common with the Craft Brew & Sausage Fest, which is held to raise funds for preservation, restoration and enhancement of one of Grand Island's most important historical landmarks: the Liederkranz, the cornerstone of city's downtown.  
The two brewers's passion for history also manifests in their respective names. Seven Twisters Cider Company name in tribute to the devastating June 3rd, 1980 storm (the so-called "Night of the Twisters") that changed so many Grand Island lives as well as the landscape of the town. And 37th State gets its name from Nebraska being the 37th state to join the union.
"We take great pride in both names reflecting affinity for our state and our local community," the partners said.  
Where Seven Twisters Cider will bring its craft brews of hard cider to the brew fest,  37th State will brew craft beers. Seven Twisters's Tyler Krecklow started with cider because of his wife's gluten allergy. As he became more skilled he started playing around with mimicking beer styles in his cider.
"[The] GI Brew Fest is important to us because it is in our hometown, it is also the first real beer fest being held in Grand Island," Knerr and Krecklows said. "We couldn't think of a better way to spend a fall Saturday afternoon then with the community we hope to soon call home for our brewery."
We are excited at the prospect of