WATCH: Gene Keady tries new beer made in partnership with Sun King
WATCH: Purdue basketball legend Gene Keady tries new beer made in partnership with Sun King
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — On the main level of Harry’s Chocolate Shop, tucked at the main table beside the bar’s big picture windows, former Purdue basketball coach Gene Keady was surrounded by close friends as he took a sip of the first draft pour of his new signature beer, “Play Hard Lager.”
“That’s good beer,” Keady said, as he took another sip. “Thank God I don’t have to drive,” he said to laughs. “I’d be arrested,” he said to more laughs.
The private release party held in conjunction with Keady, his wife, Kathleen, Harry’s Chocolate Shop owner Mary Cook, and representatives from Sun King Brewing, brewer of the signature beer, offered those closest to the Purdue icon a taste of his latest venture in a venue just as iconic.
As friends stood around with pints in hand, admiring the brew’s smooth taste and easy drinkability, Chuck Penix, owner of NeoVision Optical in Lafayette, recalled how the desire for Keady to have his own drink almost came to fruition as a bourbon rather than a beer. The idea behind the beer, Penix said, was that it would reach more Purdue fans than a bottled spirit would, while still being a collectible item for Purdue fans.
Penix, Indiana Sen. Ron Alting, Gene and Kathleen all piled into a limo in late August to take the coach to Sun King’s Indianapolis headquarters for him to taste which beer he wanted to become “his.” After sampling 10 brews, Gene chose the easy drinking lager.
In developing the beer, Alting said the group didn’t want to pick a beer just to put the coach’s photo on the can, but rather one that represented Gene’s coaching reputation.
“Hard work, excellence and perfection: all of the great things the coach stands for and has instilled in so many young men throughout the years,” Alting said. “I think when you taste this beer, you’re going to find out that people are going to buy it, not only because of the great coach and marketing of the can.”
The group trip to Sun King was one of the most fun days he’d ever had, Alting said, noting the selection of the lager was unanimous as the favorite.
Andrew Porter, a sales representative for Sun King, said 20 bars and restaurants are currently contracted to sell the Play Hard Lager on tap, while majority of area liquor stores will offer the beer in cans on the official Oct. 18 release date.Purdue basketball fans will also have the chance to enjoy the new brew at Mackey Arena, Porter said, as the venue is contracted to sell the beer as well.
The project of getting Gene his own signature beer was one he had his heart in, Alting said, as a way to offer his thanks for the several years of friendship the two have shared.
“I know I speak for everyone in this room and all of the Purdue alums throughout the country, but we did this just as an appreciation and an honor to thank the coach for everything he has given us throughout the years of watching,” Alting said. “It wasn’t just about winning or losing for him, it was about discipline, self-respect and inclusion. It was about great things that not only do we need more of in Indiana, but the entire country.”
While Gene sat at the round table in front of a large backdrop of the beer can’s logo, he worked through a stack of posters matching the banner’s design to address to friends. He’d never been much of a drinker, Gene said, attributing that trait to his early athletic career.
“Because I was an athlete, it was always against the rules to drink, so I tried to be careful,” Gene recalled. “When you’re a coach, you don’t want your players to drink, so you try to be a role model.”
But at 88, Gene was relaxed as he drank a pint of his signature beer, still in disbelief that this had been organized in his honor.
“It’s unbelievable,” Gene said. “I can’t believe they did this. I appreciate it, and I hope we don’t let them down.”The “them” Gene refers to, Kathleen said, are Purdue fans, who are No. 1 in the coach’s life.
“And I’m No. 2, which I don’t mind, because it is all about them,” Kathleen said with a laugh. “He’s so loved. It’s just precious the way fans react to him. They really respect him, and he loves it; it’s what keeps him going.”
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal and Courier. She can be reached via email at jellison@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ellison_writes.
