After St. Louis Beer Legend Henry Herbst passed away in October, Marc Godfried of Morgan Street Brewery approached the Herbst family about creating a beer in Henry’s honor.  When the family asked what beer Henry would most like to see brewed in his honor, the family said: Oatmeal Stout.

According to the Herbst Family Blog, the beer Henry loved so much is now available at Morgan Street Brewery.  The family has invited everyone down on Saturday, December 5th at 1PM to enjoy a pint of the H2 Brew and raise a glass in Henry’s honor.

If you can, be sure to head down and have a pint in honor of someone who loved beer and St. Louis so very much.

While Henry may no longer be with us, the show will go on. Tonight’s scheduled St. Louis Brews: 200 Years of Brewing in St. Louis 1809-2009 book signing event will still take place.

Authors Don Roussin and Kevin Kious will still be at the Schlafly Bottleworks tonight from 7PM-9PM.  If you don’t have a copy of this amazing book, you can purchase a copy at the Bottleworks retail center tonight.

Henry’s family will be in attendance for the event tonight and I’m sure there is going to be a pint raised in Henry’s honor.  If you can, go out to support this amazing book, some great authors and a great man.

Sad news to report this morning, St. Louis beer historian Henry Herbst has passed away.  Henry was a legend in St. Louis brewing with an almost encyclopedic knowlegde of the history of beer in St. Louis.

When Tom Schlafly and Dan Kopman wanted to put together the museum in the Schlafly Bottleworks the called on Henry to help put together the photos, memorabilia and information.

When I saw Henry before he was made King of the Hop at the 2009 Hop in the City, he looked like a man who had run through a bought of cancer and had been in the hospital for a couple of months.  But the first thing he said when we saw me was, “I heard you lost your job.”  All I could do is smile, here’s a man who was battling cancer and he was still looking out for others.

Henry was a very good man and someone I considered a friend. We’ve all lost someone very integral to beer in St. Louis.  Raise your glass in honor of Henry today.

For those interested, Tuesday – Visitation is at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 350 East Fourth Street, Eureka, MO 63025, from 3pm to 9pm. Wednesday – Funeral Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 350 East Fourth Street, Eureka, MO 63025, at 11am. Burial following at 1 pm at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, 2900 Sheridan Road, St. Louis, MO 63125. The ceremony at Jefferson Barracks is only set to last 15 minutes.

Reception following from 2pm to 6pm at Schlafly Tap Room (Club Room,) 2100 Locust Street, St. Louis, MO 63103.

Back in March, I let you know about what will probably be the definitive book about brewing in St. Louis, St. Louis Brews: 200 Years of Brewing in St. Louis 1809-2009. Well, the book is now available, and first off, you MUST pick this up.  It’s wonderfully detailed and full of amazing photographs from throughout the past 200 years of brewing in St. Louis.

This upcoming Monday, October 19 from 7PM-9PM, will provide you with the chance to get a signed copy of St. Louis Brews by one of the book’s authors Henry Herbst at the Schlafly Bottleworks.  I don’t know if any of you have been following along with Henry’s condition, but things aren’t going great.  But Henry is going to fight through hell and high water to attend the event.

If you have the chance to attend, I’d love for everyone to stop by and thank Henry for this book and have a chance to meet a legend of the St. Louis beer scene.

If any of you attended the History of Craft Beer discussion at during the St. Louis Craft Beer Week you’ll know that Henry is probably one of the most interesting and knowledgeable people in the St. Louis beer scene.  Henry is also one of the authors of the upcoming book St. Louis Brews, 200 Years of Brewing in St. Louis.

So, I thought it was important to let everyone know that Henry was diagnoses with pancreatic cancer and is currently in the hospital undergoing treatment. The good news is that his surgery to remove the cancer was successful, the bad news is that he’s still not able to drink any beer, the worse news he’s still in the hospital.

But with any luck, he’ll be out of the hospital in the next few days.  You can follow updates on Henry via a blog his family created to update everyone on his condition.  Please stop by and send some kind words to Henry, he’s a really great guy.

Also, be sure to check out a special label the guys at Schlafly created for Henry when he’s able to start drinking beer again: