Los Dos Potrillos Brewery Kicks Off Canning Effort With a Personal Message

In 2018, the family behind the popular Los Dos Potrillos suburban restaurant chain did something unusual in the world of Mexican food: They bought a former brewpub as their fourth location. Why was it unusual? Because Mexican food is more often associated with macro brands like Corona and Pacífico than with craft beer. And because there weren't — and still aren't — that many Latino-owned craft breweries in Colorado.

"We are always asking ourselves: 'What will set us apart? How do we become uncommon?'" Luis Ramirez, who runs the restaurant group with his brother, Daniel, and their father, Jose, told Westword at the time.

After a slow start — and the pandemic — the beer program at Los Dos Potrillos Mexican Restaurant y Cerveceria, 19340 Cottonwood Drive in Parker, is now picking up speed.
There are currently eleven housemade beers on tap, and this week, Los Dos will package five of those beers for the first time in 16-ounce cans to go. Three of them, Mexican Lager, Ava's Passion Fruit Wheat, and Sol Tropical Hazy IPA, will also be distributed to a few local liquor stores.

"We have seen a tremendous shift toward the Los Dos beers" and away from the macro beers, says head brewer Chris Gilmore, who joined Los Dos in May after four years at Lone Tree Brewing. "We went from roughly one in five beers served being Los Dos to nearly three in five. The biggest boost has come from people simply finding out that we have a brewery [here]. Obviously, we're known for our food, but getting folks in the door with the mindset of also wanting to try our beer has been incredibly beneficial."

But that effort will coincide with another project.

Daniel Ramirez, who pushed his father and brother to get into the brewery world back in 2018, was diagnosed with testicular cancer last April and underwent surgery and three rounds of chemotherapy.

Now, after bouncing back, he wants to use the brewery as a platform to help "normalize frequent check ups for men, because early detection is critical," the restaurant says. So for all of November, Los Dos will sell 32-ounce Crowlers of its beer that are wrapped in photos and testimonials from friends who also have experience with cancer. Half of the proceeds raised will go to organizations of the men's choosing.

Daniel "is a constant driving force," Los Dos says, "whether that be swift operational adjustments that led the company to do exceptionally well during the pandemic with to-go operations only, adding a food truck to an already successful four restaurant locations, or being the creative inspiration who continually makes the company grow in ways unheard of for a locally owned suburban Mexican restaurant."