Manzanita Brewing’s new name

From day one, the first image visitors to the tasting room at Manzanita Brewing Company’s associated with the Santee operation was its namesake lumber. The twisted tree was painted on the walls, and front and center in the company’s logo. It worked well as a symbol for the East County hotspot, even after they moved to a larger tasting room and brewery in 2012.

But, last winter, as owner Jeff Trevaskis and his staff readied to open a distilling arm and contemplated expansion into numerous new states, they started to think the timing might be right for a name change. The result is the new handles, Twisted Manzanita Ales and Twisted Manzanita Spirits.

“We wanted to unify our logos and focus on our tree. People always ask us what Manzanita stands for or if we make cider due to the alternate meaning of Manzanita,” says Trevaskis, referring to cider made from berries from the Manzanita tree. “By clearly focusing on the uniquely beautiful and twisted Manzantia tree, we are making it clear what our logo represents. Manzanita will always focus on making great beer, but adding the ‘Twisted’ just helps define our image.”

The change will become effective on February 21, and the plan is to make it as seamless as possible. Helping with that is a complete redesign of the companies’ website and a new Twitter account for Twisted Manzanita Spirits. Other than, everything should remain the same.