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Sitting on our desk is a labor of love. It’s a 270-page, richly illustrated book called “St. Louis Brews: 200 Years of Brewing in St. Louis.” We are looking forward to reading it. Judging by the intensity of research and the breadth of coverage, it may be the definitive history of beer-making in St. Louis.

But first, we need to pay tribute to one of the authors, Henry Herbst. Sadly for us and for those who knew him, Herbst did not live to see his labor of love get the recognition it deserves. He passed away last month after fighting pancreatic cancer.

Troika Brodsky, who works on marketing for the Schlafly brewery, called Herbst a “beloved friend.” His death is “a very big deal in the St. Louis beer world,” Brodsky said on Schlafly’s Facebook page.

Herbst, who was born on Oct. 17, 1940 and worked at Anheuser-Busch in the 1960s, had a bevy of favorite phrases. One was, “I’m just a kid from Dogtown, what do I know?” But when we talked to him early last year, he seemed to know quite a bit - if not everything - about the history of Prohibition and its aftermath in St. Louis. We talked Lemp, Falstaff, malt, hops, crates…whatever came to mind. As a young reporter on deadline, we remember appreciating his knowledge and willingness to share it.

Mike Sweeney, who runs the STLhops.com blog, remembered that when Herbst was named King of the Hop earlier this year at the Hop in the City festival, he looked like a man who 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,’” Sweeney wrote. “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,” Sweeney wrote. “We’ve all lost someone very integral to beer in St. Louis.”

Marc Gottfried, brewmaster at Morgan Street Brewery, decided to commemorate Herbst in his own way. He asked Herbst’s family what type of beer he would have wanted to be brewed in his memory. Answer? Oatmeal stout.

Gottfried set out to create a unique beer in Henry’s memory. “I used oats from a classic grain elevator in rural Missouri, something Henry would have liked for its historic value,” Gottfried said. “No ingredients were measured during the brewing process - I simply ‘channeled Henry.’” The beer will be out soon - with a picture of Herbst on the tap handle.

We hope to try some. And when we do, we will raise an extra glass in memory of Henry Herbst. Rest in peace.