Chef Lawrence Weeks Named Pawpaw Ale-8 Favorite Soda

The Louisville chef highlighted the unique Kentucky soda as his top choice in a recent Southern Living magazine feature.

Updated on Oct. 13, 2026 in Healthy Food

Bold vector illustration of a pawpaw fruit and a glass of soda, representing local Kentucky culinary culture. — Chef Lawrence Weeks named Pawpaw Ale-8 his favorite soda, highlighting a successful product collaboration born from university pawpaw research in Kentucky. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Chef Lawrence Weeks, owner of Murray's Creole Pub in Louisville, named Pawpaw Ale-8 his favorite Southern soda. The beverage, a collaboration between the Ale-8 company and Kentucky State University, has returned for its second summer run.

Why it matters

The partnership demonstrates how academic research can directly support local businesses and consumer markets. By applying findings from the Kentucky State University pawpaw research program, the project connects historical university studies with modern product development.

Kentucky State University maintains a research site at the Harold R. Benson Research and Demonstration Farm with over 2,000 trees spanning 12 acres. The facility curates genetic material from 17 different states to support their ongoing studies.

The players

Lawrence Weeks

He is the chef and owner of Murray's Creole Pub located in Louisville.

Kentucky State University

The institution manages an extensive pawpaw research program at the Harold R. Benson Research and Demonstration Farm in Frankfort.

Ale-8

This soft drink manufacturer is headquartered in Winchester, Kentucky.

The details

The Pawpaw Ale-8 drink blends the unique fruit with the company's traditional ginger and citrus soda base. This collaboration highlights research that has been ongoing since 1990, focusing on genetic diversity, orchard practices, and fruit storage.

Kentucky State University began its formal pawpaw research in 1990.
The Pawpaw Ale-8 beverage originally debuted in 2025.
The drink returned for its second season during the summer of 2026.

Culture Shift

The collaboration highlights a move toward regional specialty ingredients gaining mainstream traction through institutional partnerships. This integration of local agricultural research into commercial goods reflects a broader shift toward valuing state-specific flavor profiles in the food and beverage industry.

For Louisville residents, this trend introduces unique, locally developed flavors to the seasonal beverage market. Consumers can look for the limited-run soda in local retail channels during its summer availability window.

The takeaway

The success of the Pawpaw Ale-8 highlights the potential for partnerships between university research departments and regional businesses. Residents interested in local agriculture can explore similar regional products that utilize indigenous fruit varieties.