Head Right Brewing opens lager-first taproom and kitchen in Surprise

Head Right Brewing is betting that a lager-first identity can help it stand out in a crowded West Valley market, and the new Surprise taproom gives that strategy some real muscle. The brewery opened on May 20 at 14312 W. Waddell Road with a 3,500-square-foot space, a 20-barrel brewhouse, a kitchen, and enough production infrastructure to look like more than a neighborhood pour stop.

That matters in a region where many new breweries lean small and taproom-only. Head Right arrived with a built-in production plan, advertising contract brewing and packaging space alongside its retail operation. The company says it is launching with annual production capacity of 25,000 barrels and has infrastructure in place to scale beyond 100,000 barrels within five years, a setup that points to a business built for both local traffic and broader distribution.

The brewery’s physical plant backs up that ambition. Head Right says its brewhouse includes custom-built 20-bbl and 5-bbl four-vessel systems, along with full kegging and canning capabilities. On the consumer side, the space is meant to work as a casual hangout, with an industrial design, a dog-friendly patio and room for games and everyday stops from the surrounding Surprise area, including visitors headed to and from Luke Air Force Base.

The beer list makes the concept even clearer. Head Right Light Lager anchors the menu, described as an enhanced light lager at 4.00%-4.40% ABV and 20-30 IBUs. The lineup also includes Cabeza Derecha Spanish Lager, Rory’s Irish Stout, Honey Do Shandy, Frost Delay IPA and Walk Shame Wheat, but the center of gravity is still the lager program.

Head Right’s own materials say the founders bring more than 75 years of combined experience across craft beer, large-scale brewing, beverage innovation and business operations. That background shows up in the way the brewery is staged, from the production capacity to the canning line to the kitchen that launched alongside the taproom.

Summer hours that began June 1 split the operation by day: Monday and Tuesday run from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. for beer only, with no cocktails and no kitchen, while Wednesday through Sunday bring full bar and kitchen service. The address is 14312 West Waddell Road, Surprise, Arizona 85379, and the phone number listed is 520.241.4778.

For Surprise drinkers, the appeal is simple: Head Right is not just pouring beer, it is making a case that a focused lager brewery with real production capacity can be the kind of place people return to, and grow with, over time.