Twisted Manzanita Ales & Spirits was founded on the idea that great beer is crafted with both passion and creativity. Since their humble 3 barrel brew house beginnings in 2010, Twisted Manzanita Ales & Spirits has grown to become a successful brewery and distillery today.

50 Campfires caught up with founder and CEO Jeff Trevaskis at the Twisted Manzanita Brewery Tasting Room in Santee, CA to chat about what sets their brews apart, and the colorful history of Twisted Manzanita Ales & Spirits.

50 CAMPFIRES: Tell us a little about your brewery, the types of beers that you brew, and what you feel makes your brewery unique.

TREVASKIS: We brew a wide range of beers, But our Core Ales are well appreciated for being just what they say the are… a Blonde, Red, Brown, Pale, IPA and our Famous DBL IPA–we are unique.

What is your most popular/flagship beer? What makes it great?

Double Chaotic! What Makes it great, that double dry Hoppy for huge hop aroma include pine, tangerine and grapefruit great taste that San Diego is known for and its ABV is 9.7% with a smooth full body taste in the mouth.

Riverwalk Blonde on the lighter body with a crisp finish, fantastic to drink doing just about anything with an ABV of 5.4% makes great for the active lifestyle or just mowing the lawn.

We love hearing stories about how breweries got their start. What’s the history behind yours?

Not a traditional story, I worked in a software testing industry for 25 years for major companies.  I was a leisure home brewer, and would bring beer to company picnics and networking parties to share, noticed many people liking my craft.  I had a small following and of course business savvy–I played with the idea of opening my own brewery, but didn’t have the courage to do so until I was laid off in Dec of 2009.  A month later i took my hobby and turned into Twisted Manzanita.  A three barrel brew house with a 100 square foot tasting room in 2010.  Very quickly the demand for Twisted Manzanita grew significantly, we decided to expand and relocate.  We built a new 30 barrel brew house with six 60 barrel fermenters 18 months later.  Where we still reside today in Santee, Ca.

My passion stems from people who enjoy beer and creating a great tasting craft that is affordable across the board.  When my customers are happy I am happy.

We love meeting people who share our passion for the outdoors. Tell us a bit about the folks involved with your brewery, and what they enjoying doing outdoors.

We are spoiled here in San Diego, we have a wide range of things we can do out doors.  We all take full advantage of it all–mountain biking, golfing, skate boarding, hiking and camping.  We are in a community that shares the love of camping and off-roading.

Is your beer available in cans?

Yes our Core Line is available in Cans

Where can we find your beer?

Major Grocery stores, Bev More, Sprouts, we have a great bottle finder on our website that will help with the smaller stores, liquor stores, and tap houses.

If people want more info about your brewery, where can they go?

Twistedmanzanita.com