Diane Pineiro-Zucker is reporting for the Daily Freeman Tommy Keegan, the founder and owner of Keegan Ales in Kingston, died Fri., April. 30, of an apparent heart attack, according to posts on Facebook and the Keegan Ales website. Keegan, 50, opened the St. James Street craft brewery about 15 years ago. The brewery posted to its Facebook page, “Late Friday afternoon Tommy was out doing what he loved most in the world — riding his 'Cappuccino Machine' on the trails with his best motorcycle buddy when he suffered what appears to be a heart attack.” Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan tweeted Saturday night, "Like so many, I am still in shock and completely devastated by the news of Tommy Keegan’s passing. He was truly one of a kind - generous, kindhearted, and someone who always saw (and brought out) the best in everyone around him. In a statement on the city of Kingston's Facebook page, Mayor Steve Noble said he was saddened to learn of Keegan’s death, calling him one of the “finest Kingston residents and a friend.” Political and community leaders in the city of Kingston and beyond, including U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado and Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro, expressed their sympathies, calling Keegan's sudden death a devastating blow for his family and for the community at large. Keegan was a Long Island native. While working as a brewmaster at a Long Island beer company he heard about the brewery on St. James Street, which had stood vacant since the Woodstock Brewery went out of business in 2001. He moved to Kingston in 2003 with his wife and their two sons and started the brewery. Keegan grew Keegan Ales from a small operation offering just three craft ales to an array of brews that can now be found all across the Hudson Valley. By 2005, Keegan had added a bottling line and in 2007, he added the pub. Keegan was was a frequent guest on Crossroads Brewery's co-owner Ken Landin's Hudson Valley Tap Show, which formerly aired on WGXC-FM. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.