Solemn Oath Brewery in Naperville is debuting a new beer this weekend made in honor of Chicago restaurant owner Claudio Velez, better known as “Tamale Guy.”
El Rey del Tamal — “the tamale king” in English — is a limited-edition hazy paleta pale ale that will be sold until the supply runs out.
Some of the sales proceeds will go to help cover expenses Velez incurred during his month-long hospital stay for COVID-19 treatment and complications from the virus, Solemn Oath Marketing Director Jared Saul said. He contracted the illness just two weeks after opening his first restaurant.
“(Velez) has always and will always be an icon of Chicago nightlife and I, along with so many Chicagoans, I’m certain, are thrilled to see his dream of opening his own restaurant realized,” Saul said.
For 20 years before opening the restaurant, Velez built his reputation for tamales by selling them out of a red cooler to late-night bar customers on Chicago’s North Side.
Originally, El Rey del Tamal was intended as a collaboration between Solemn Oath and Velez in celebration of Velez’s restaurant opening in August, Saul said. The brewery wanted to find a flavor that paired well with tamales.
Velez’s favorite paleta ice cream pop flavor is mango, which the beer is flavored with as well as strawberry, ancho chile and a hint of umami, Saul said.
“When (Velez) was hospitalized with COVID-19, the project took on a deeper meaning as the city of Chicago rallied behind him to beat this horrible virus,” he said.
The beer will be on draft, sold in four packs and available for pickup and delivery at Solemn Oath, 1661 Quincy Ave., and in limited quantities at All Together Now, 2111 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, across the street from the Tamale Guy Chicago restaurant.
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