Surprise Beer Crawl: O.H.S.O., Head Right Brewing, Manny’s Place & Pizza
Adam and Dedra kicked off a full Saturday beer adventure with breakfast beers at O.H.S.O. Surprise, checked out the massive new Head Right Brewing facility, stopped by favorite tap house Manny’s Place, and wrapped the day with BYOB pizza and a Tree House beer share at Deno’s Pizza. Along the way, they found great potatoes, questionable breakfast eggs, promising new beers, Weller bourbon redemption, and the kind of craft beer chaos that only happens with a good group of friends.
Adam & Dedra
7/10/202610 min read
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Breakfast Beers, Surprise Breweries, Manny’s Place, and a BYOB Pizza Finish
Some Saturdays start with sleeping in, coffee, and pretending you’re going to be productive.
This Saturday started with leaving the house around 8:30 in the morning so we could go drink beer with friends.
That is either a problem or a beautiful lifestyle choice, and we are choosing to call it brunch.
We packed ourselves up, joined a dangerously fun group of craft beer people, and headed out to Surprise for a full day of beer, food, more beer, bourbon, slightly questionable breakfast decisions, and eventually pizza. The stops included O.H.S.O. Surprise, the new Head Right Brewing, Manny’s Place, and Deno’s Pizza.
It was a very West Valley kind of day, which means it was hot, full of beer, and somehow ended with us sharing Tree House cans in a pizza place like responsible adults with coolers.
Starting the Day with O.H.S.O. Surprise
Our first stop was O.H.S.O. in Surprise, and yes, we got there shortly after 9:00 a.m.
Technically, this was breakfast.
Emotionally, it was brunch.
Spiritually, it was a penny beer situation.
O.H.S.O. has a breakfast menu where certain items come with a selected O.H.S.O. beer for a penny. And listen, when someone offers you a beer for one cent, you do not ask too many questions. You simply become the kind of person who drinks a grapefruit IPA before most people have finished their first cup of coffee.
Adam started with Boom Dynamite, O.H.S.O.’s grapefruit IPA and one of those beers he usually grabs when he’s there. It’s a solid West Coast-style IPA, bright and reliable, and exactly the kind of breakfast beer that makes you feel like maybe society has been doing Saturdays wrong this whole time.
Dedra started with Wren House Spellbinder, because O.H.S.O. also carries Arizona guest beers, and a hazy IPA at breakfast is just called hydration if you believe in yourself.
The beer was good.
The breakfast sandwich was not the hero of this story.
The Breakfast Sandwich That Started a Domestic Investigation
We ordered a breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese, bacon, and bread. On paper, this should be almost impossible to ruin. It is basically the breakfast version of “how hard can this be?”
Apparently, harder than expected.
The egg came out aggressively cooked. Not over medium. Not a little runny. Not even gently firm. This egg had been through something. It had no yolk movement, no softness, no breakfast joy. Dedra described it with the kind of betrayal usually reserved for crime documentaries and bad Yelp reviews.
The potatoes, however, saved the plate.
The breakfast potatoes were seasoned, crispy, and easily the best part of the meal. At one point, Adam was eating them with the sandwich toothpick like they were fancy little hors d’oeuvres, because apparently once you start drinking beer before 10 a.m., basic utensils become optional.
Dedra was not impressed with the sandwich.
Adam still ate it.
Marriage is compromise.
O.H.S.O. Beers and the Barrel-Aged Bright Spot
After the penny beer round, Adam grabbed Lost Viking, a creamy stout that hit more classic than wild. Dedra moved into a full pint of Can’t Be Hazy, which came in at 6.8% and helped improve the overall breakfast mood.
O.H.S.O. as a brewery sits in an interesting spot for us. Their standard beers are good, drinkable, and reliable. They may not always blow your mind, but they do the job and they do it well.
But their barrel-aged program?
That is where O.H.S.O. really shines.
Their barrel-aged stouts and barleywines are the kind of beers Adam gets genuinely excited about. We’ve had some great ones from them before, including Banana Archie at the Smelter Town beer festival, and those beers show that O.H.S.O. can absolutely hit another level when they get into the barrel-aged world.
The Surprise location itself is also a great spot. Big patio, nice layout, plenty of room for a group, and a good Arizona beer selection. We rolled in with a big crew, pushed tables together, and turned breakfast into a small craft beer field trip.
As one does.
Head Right Brewing: Hidden Behind a Feed Store and Full of Potential
The main reason for the day was checking out Head Right Brewing, a newer brewery in Surprise located just a few miles from O.H.S.O.
We drove right past it the first time.
That was not because we were bad at directions. It was because the place is tucked back behind what looked like a pet feed store, and nothing about the approach screams, “Giant new brewery lives back here.”
But then you pull around, and there it is.
A huge, brand-new facility with massive ceilings, a ton of open space, and the kind of production area that makes you immediately think, “Oh, they are planning for something big here.”
Inside, Head Right Brewing feels like it has a lot of room to grow. The space is beautiful, clean, and wide open. There were not a ton of tables yet, and the walls were still pretty minimal, but you could feel the potential. One wall had the American flag, Arizona flag, and military branch flags, which was a nice touch.
Then there was the brewing setup.
Through a big window toward the back, you could see a huge production area with brewing equipment that looked almost bigger than the taproom itself. There was also a mural showing the brewing process, which was a cool detail and exactly the kind of thing we should have taken a picture of but probably forgot because beer.
The Beers at Head Right Brewing
Head Right’s beers were very classic in their naming.
No wild pun names.
No “Juice Goblin’s Revenge.”
No “Grandma Fell Into the Mash Tun.”
Just Light Lager, American Lager, Hazy IPA, American IPA, Session IPA, Vienna Lager, and so on.
Simple. Direct. Maybe a little too direct, but at least you knew what you were ordering.
Dedra started with the Hazy IPA, because of course she did. It was fine. Not bad, but not one she needed to run back for. Adam started with the American IPA, and that was probably the standout of the beers we tried. It had a juicy, grapefruity character that reminded him a little of Four Peaks Hop Knot or Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA. It had some sweetness, some bitterness, and enough hop character to make it memorable.
The Vienna Lager was also solid. It is not usually Adam’s go-to style, but for what it was, it was well-made and enjoyable.
Dedra also tried the Session IPA, which landed somewhere in the “fine, but not life-changing” category. It had decent flavor, but the body came across a little thin. Session IPAs can be tricky because sometimes they drink less like “crushable” and more like “someone whispered IPA near a glass of water.”
This one was not bad.
It was just not the star of the day.
Green Chili Pork Fries: So Close, Yet So Wet
Head Right also had a food truck on site, and since the O.H.S.O. breakfast sandwich had already hurt Dedra emotionally, we gave the food another shot.
The order: green chili pork fries.
That sounds impossible to mess up.
French fries? Good.
Pork? Good.
Green chili? Good.
Put them together and you should have a guaranteed win.
Almost.
The fries themselves were good. Crispy, salty, and cooked well. The green chili flavor was there. The pork had decent flavor too.
The problem was the juice.
There was too much liquid from the pork, and when juicy meat hits crispy fries, the clock starts ticking. Very quickly, you go from loaded fries to meat-flavored mashed potato territory. A thicker sauce would have helped. Smoked pork may have helped. Something to keep the fries from drowning definitely would have helped.
It was not terrible.
It just needed some structural engineering.
Dedra Finds the Real Winner: Weller Full Proof
At some point, Dedra noticed that Head Right had a small spirits setup with bourbon.
Then she saw Weller Full Proof.
And just like that, the beer review portion of her day became a bourbon rescue mission.
Weller Full Proof is one of her favorites, especially after trying it at Trevor’s, and she ordered it neat because it does not need ice, water, permission, or improvement. It took a little while to arrive, but once it did, Dedra was finally at peace.
After two okay beers and two food attempts that did not quite land, the Weller became the highlight.
Then Head Right did something really cool.
As we were getting ready to leave, they brought around a round of free drinks for the ladies in the group. That was a classy move and genuinely appreciated. We had a big group, spent some money, and they made us feel welcome.
Head Right is still new and clearly has room to grow, but the facility is impressive, the staff was friendly, and there is a lot of potential there.
We’ll be watching that place.
Preferably with bourbon nearby.
Manny’s Place: Always a Good Stop
After Head Right, we headed to Manny’s Place, one of our favorite tap houses.
Manny’s is one of those places that just feels good. They have a strong tap list, a fridge with additional options, and a very welcoming vibe. It is also pet-friendly, which makes sense because Manny’s Place is named after the owner’s dog.
That alone earns points.
Dedra has a special connection to Manny’s because after her ankle appointments, we would often stop there to celebrate good news with a beer. For a while, it became part doctor follow-up, part emotional support tap house.
Eventually, Dedra realized the bartender she had been talking to all those times was actually the owner, which made the place even better. Sweet, humble, friendly, and running a great local spot.
That is exactly the kind of place we love supporting.
The Silent Reading Ambush
The only issue with this visit was timing.
We walked in after two brewery stops, several beers, some bourbon, and a group that had been warming up since 9:00 a.m.
Manny’s was hosting some kind of silent reading or book fair event.
That is a beautiful idea.
It is also a dangerous environment for a group of beer people who had already been out for several hours.
We walked in loud by accident. Not “trying to be rude” loud. More like “we have been responsibly enjoying craft beverages since breakfast and forgot libraries exist” loud.
Still, we grabbed some beers and enjoyed the stop.
Adam had to get his usual Destihl DeadHead, which Dedra remembers as “number 18” on the tap list because sometimes the number is easier than the name. Adam also had Super Fudge 2 from Chapman Crafted Ales.
Dedra was hoping Manny’s would have Drekkar on tap, but it was still listed as coming soon. She was ready to help drain whatever keg needed to go so the Drekkar could be tapped. Ten to twelve people deep, she believed we had the manpower.
Honestly, she might have been right.
Deno’s Pizza: BYOB and Beer Share Heaven
By the time we left Manny’s, food had become urgent.
The breakfast sandwich had not done enough. The green chili pork fries had not fully saved the day. We needed real food.
So we headed to Deno’s Pizza.
Deno’s has a great setup because they do not serve alcohol, but they allow BYOB. That made it the perfect final stop for a group of craft beer people traveling with coolers full of cans.
We ordered pizza and wings, and then we turned the table into a beer share.
That is the kind of sentence that makes us proud.
The pizza was okay. The crust was good. The sauce was good. The toppings were where things got a little weird. We had a pizza with jalapeños, mushrooms, and sausage, but the toppings were under the cheese, which meant some of them did not cook down as much as we would have liked. The mushrooms especially felt a little too raw.
Next time, a simple cheese pizza may be the move.
The wings were there too, but honestly, the beer share became the main event.
Tree House for the Table
We brought several beers, including Tree House cans, and got to share them with friends who had never had Tree House before.
That is one of the best parts of craft beer.
Yes, we love drinking it.
Yes, we love visiting breweries.
Yes, sometimes we plan entire Saturdays around beer in a way that would concern our younger selves and impress our current selves.
But the best part is sharing something new with people.
We brought beers like King Julius and Emperor Julius, plus a handful of others, and opened them up for the group. Other friends brought beers too, and suddenly Deno’s turned into a mini bottle share with pizza, plastic cups, coolers, and a table full of happy people.
IPAs do not age like stouts. You cannot just hold onto hazy IPAs for years and expect them to stay perfect. The hop character fades, oxidation can creep in, and eventually you are just storing regret in your fridge.
So you drink them fresh.
Even better, you share them fresh.
And that is exactly what we did.
Final Thoughts: A Full Day of Beer, Friends, and Food Recovery
This day had everything.
Breakfast beers.
A penny pour.
A breakfast sandwich Dedra may never emotionally forgive.
Excellent potatoes.
A new brewery with a giant facility and serious potential.
A Weller Full Proof bourbon save.
A beloved tap house with a silent reading surprise.
A BYOB pizza stop.
And a Tree House beer share with friends.
Not every food stop was perfect. Not every beer blew us away. But the day itself was exactly what we love about doing this show: finding new places, revisiting favorites, sharing great beer, eating our way through questionable decisions, and spending time with people who make the whole thing better.
O.H.S.O. Surprise gave us penny beers and potato redemption.
Head Right Brewing showed off a huge new space with room to grow.
Manny’s Place reminded us why it has a permanent place in our hearts.
Deno’s Pizza gave us the perfect landing spot for a BYOB beer share.
And by the end of it, we were full, happy, and reminded once again that craft beer is best when it comes with good people and a story worth telling.
Cheers, everybody.
